New cafe Bisque Coffee opens in Southampton city centre

Bisque Coffee opened its doors to customers on March 1.

The High Street cafe is owned and run by 21-year-old law student Fiza Rahman, who was keen to offer a space for students and remote workers to enjoy.

Fiza Rahman at Bisque Coffee (Image: Maya George, Newsquest)

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She said: “I wanted to bring something different to the city.

“At Bisque, we want people to have a space where they can study and work, and we want people to enjoy great coffee and cake alongside all of this.

“We provide free Wi-Fi and power outlets. And, we also have a meeting room in the cafe, and this is what makes us different compared to others in the cafe market.

“We’ve had a lot of enquiries about it already.

“My main interest in setting up Bisque was to provide another option for students.

“Some don’t want to go to the library or a coffee shop to study. But lots of people also come here to catch up and read the papers too.

“There’s nothing like this in Southampton.”

Inside Bisque Coffee (Image: Maya George, Newsquest)

For Fiza, interior design played a major part in the creation of the café.

With cool, muted tones throughout and a range of seating options, she wants to cater for all cafe visitors.

Fiza said: “We have focused a lot on the space and we have different types of seating areas.

“It gives customers more options.

“We want our customers to feel like they are staying in a nice place with a warm and comforting atmosphere, with good coffee and cake.

“A lot of people walk past as we have the cruise ships, and we have seen a great mix of people come in.

“We usually have elderly people visit in the morning, and people and students work in the cafe as well.”

Bisque Coffee can be found at 117 High Street and is open 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10.30am to 6pm on weekends.