Coffee and fine dining-style food in a cafe? We talk to the Kavi Coffee team

Two friends with a passion for excellence in food and drink have a vision for the future of the high street.

Imagine a dream cafe where the highest quality coffee is prepared to perfection alongside Michelin star quality food – all at value for money prices. Award-winning barista Dhan Tamang and elite chef Gary Moreton-Jones are turning that vision into reality with stunning results.

The discreet frontage of Kavi Coffee looks like many independent cafes the length and breadth of Britain… step inside though and it’s a treasure trove of aromas and flavours. Michelin-trained Gary and coffee shop entrepreneur Dhan launched the new concept in Hampshire 18 months ago – and it surpassed its targets within months.

Fine dining meets coffee culture

“My background is in fine dining and Dhan’s is running coffee shops, so it made sense to create a destination for people seeking exceptional quality at affordable prices,” says Gary.

After 30 years’ graft at establishments including Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, he opened a string of successful venues specialising in everything from premier fish and chips to quality pop-up food.

But he admits he’s finally settling down “a bit” since designing Winchester’s newest cafe with the intention of making food and coffee an experience on a par with a £50
a head ‘special occasion’ meal.

Make your kitchen a theatre

The open-plan kitchen is a calm hive of activity next to a rear seating area where guests can watch their food being cooked. A highlight is always the pouring of the molten chocolate that goes into Kavi’s famous brownies.

“Great food is about theatre and attention to detail. People who come here know they’ll get consistently excellent food, drink and service, for far less than fine dining prices,” he adds.

Prices around the £13 mark for inventive, quality dishes such as spiced chorizo potato hash and best-seller smashed avocado on sourdough with eggs and a lime and chilli dressing, are far from eye-watering.

Balancing cost and quality

Food Director Gary says: “Our customers know we will never compromise on quality and ingredients. If it’s expensive but it’s value for money, then it’s not expensive.”

He works closely with the ex-chef rep from Country Fare and two other suppliers to ensure only the best quality ingredients are sourced from around the county.

“We play them off against each other a little bit and they know and expect that. It means we can get better longer-term deals or price reductions that suit everyone,” adds Gary.

“Costing things is a tough one but when you look at what we offer and compare it to some big chains charging £21 for a burger and extra for chips that you could do at home, we’re confident we’re excellent value.”

Surviving tricky times

That ‘affordable luxury’ mantra sits alongside a regular three-monthly menu change where the team examine margins and portion sizes in what both directors concede are “tricky times”.

The cost of chocolate has quadrupled, forcing Gary to be creative and switch the favourite loaded French toast’s main ingredient for seasonal vanilla and New Forest strawberries.

“Sometimes people ask why a dish isn’t on and the team are trained to communicate openly with them about the cost of ingredients,” admits Gary. “We offer a friendly welcome, we know our customers by name and they expect and receive consistency every time.”

Shake up your menu

Prep day is Thursday when pork belly from a local farm is slowly braised in bay leaves and onions before being cooled and marinated in Dijon mustard and maple syrup before being sliced and served with bacon jam to create the venue’s house roll.

Gary’s mushrooms are cooked down, mashed with garlic and onion before being grilled and cut into soldiers, covered in Parmesan and added to eggs with sourdough and a ramekin of hollandaise. They’re now one of the most asked for items.

It’s those fine dining meets coffee culture touches that he
insists are easy for any trained chef to incorporate in their menu.

Be flexible and delight your guests

Gary adds: “You have to always put yourself in the shoes of the customer and ask what they would want besides chilled vibes, a relaxed environment and high standards of service.

“We noticed a slight lull in food orders between 2 and 4pm on a Sunday so we started our loaded Yorkies and they’ve gone down a storm.”

Hardly surprising, given the choice of quality cuts of local
pork, lamb shoulder or beef in a plate-sized Yorkshire pudding, plus horseradish cream or apple sauce on a bed
of potato puree and the freshest seasonal vegetables.

“Again, it’s a fine dining, quality roast dinner that most couldn’t match at home for £17 in a good portion size, and
we still make a margin on it,” adds Gary.

Gary insists: “We aim to be 1% better every day. We want to be known as having the best Full English in the region, being the best coffee shop in the country and being an international brand within five years.”

The Coffee Guru

When Nepalese-born Dhan tasted great coffee for the
first time after leaving his homeland, it was a revelation
that changed his life forever.

That first taste of luxury set him on a journey to discover
the minute details of a drink that’s now one of the nation’s
last affordable luxuries.

He moved to the UK as a trained barista in 2016 midway through a run of six consecutive wins in the UK Latte Art championship and was once ranked the world’s fourth best
in his field.

On the back of his notoriety he set up his first business, growing it to run 13 coffee shops and published a coffee art
book before founding Kavi and joining forces with Gary in 2024.

The coffee counter at their venue is where high tech precision, pressure and water temperature meets beautifully smelling grinds – and pastries or mains to match.

“I love a flat white because of the coffee-to-milk ratio, but increasingly we’re seeing a rise in demand for 20-hours prepared cold brew coffee and green or blue matcha,” he says.

“We source our coffee from a speciality roaster that donates profits to conservation and community projects, and always ensure the food on show is too tempting to resist.”

Dhan is now sharing his passion at a Coffee School on
Kavi’s second floor. Interactive latte art and home barista courses are causing a buzz in the town in more ways than one.

Dhan says: “The coffee shop is people’s main access point
and because we’re so passionate about creating the perfect brew, it’s like going down a rabbit hole for many. Great coffee, great food and great company – that’s the secret
to our success so far.”

But it won’t end there. The pair also have plans for a Cookery School and a Pilates studio at the three-storey
venue as part of their plan to make it a food, drink and
leisure blueprint for the future.

The Dishy Dads

Gary and best friend personal chef Jay Gheddes have lots to say about the state of the hospitality industry… and they’re not afraid to share it.

They’ve launched the Dishy Dads podcast to share their passion for food and fatherhood. It covers everything from mental health to tapas and hairy backs to sweltering kitchens.

Their sometimes sensible, sometimes frivolous take on the world of cheffing started when they were invited to be on-stage stars at the Foodie Festival roadshow.

Gary says: “We were making food and chatting, and someone said we should do a podcast so we thought ‘why not?’ It’s the kind of stuff you hear in every kitchen and it seems to be hitting the mark.

“We’ll discuss anything from dad bods to
man flu and famous people we’ve cooked for, so it’s all fairly random but fun and serious when it needs to be.”

Check out their YouTube video on how they created the kitchen at Kavi.