Wolverhampton cafe serving cultural mix of tasty treats and unique flavours

L'ouis-Mella Café Patisserie on Stafford Road in Oxley offers a traditional range of cakes and hot drinks, but also embraces the Jamaican heritage of the owners through a bold menu of meat-packed Caribbean patties and pasta served in soft, Caribbean-style coco bread.

The cafe, which opened in August, is run by Camille and Gareth Laing and their daughter Chanae, with the name derived from the middle names of Camille and Gareth.

Chanae spoke about the food menu and how they came up with the idea of the patties.

She said: “The menu is set based on a coffee- and cake-type cafe, but then we do the things like the patties and paninis based on our Jamaican heritage.

“We do cakes, but they’re done with a bit of a twist, such as a cherry Bakewell done in a cheesecake style, plus caramel cakes and vegan and gluten-free options, so we cover people’s different dietary requirements.

“The patties are definitely something I remember from growing up as they are part of our diet and our culture and we used to eat them all the time.”

Ms Laing said the reception from the community had been really positive and they had developed a lot of regulars who enjoyed the different cakes and patties on offer and who they already knew the orders of when they walked through the door.

“People have come in and tried things that they’ve never tried before and they really do quite like them, so we’re happy to be able to offer a big range of things.

“If people want to come down, I think we have something for everyone, whether you’re a sweet person or a savoury person, and we have something for every palate.”