Crema Coffee is a speciality coffee shop on Christchurch Road in Boscombe, a short stroll up from the pier and seafront. Opened in late 2022, it was the second site for an unusual local idea: a café positioned at the front of a building whose other rooms are rented out as beauty treatment spaces to self-employed nail technicians, massage therapists and other similar professionals.
Coffee and the idea behind it
Trading as Crema within a space known as Collective, the café was planned as the building's social centre rather than tacked on as an extra. Coffee leads the menu, with sandwiches, smoothies and pastries alongside and kitchen specials that rotate regularly. The thinking is straightforward: beauty professionals get a smart, flexible workspace with no lease to sign, and the rest of Boscombe gets a decent coffee shop to call into, treatment booked or not.
Finding it
The address is 687 Christchurch Road, BH7 6AA, on the main shopping run through Boscombe. It makes a convenient pause while browsing Boscombe's shops and cafés, or a break from a seafront and pier walk a little way to the south. On brighter days there are tables outside at the front.
Practical details
Hours are Monday to Thursday 7am to 4pm, Friday and Saturday 8am to 4pm, and Sunday 9am to 4pm, which matters if you want an early weekday coffee or a slow weekend one. The café has no car park of its own, but street parking and Boscombe's public car parks are nearby. Like any independent café, it can change its menu or hours, so glance at Crema's Facebook page before a special trip.
A stop at Crema is a good reason to see Boscombe beyond the beach. Combine it with a walk along Christchurch Road, or browse our food & drink guide for other places to eat and drink close by.