Alkaline Kitchen

patavery

10 Dec 2025

Tasty plant-based food in a calm space

4

4

Date of visit: November 2025

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment and moving around.

Overall Rating

Good

Whenever I go somewhere new, I look for vegetarian or vegan places to eat and I was very pleased that I found Alkaline Kitchen. In the end, I only had enough time for a takeaway bowl and smoothie before catching my train home, but it took long enough to be ready that I could hang out a bit, take in my surroundings and check out the accessible bathroom. The atmosphere was chill and calming with the café being decorated in pastel colours and not too loud. I got a sense of community spirit thanks to the posters for local events, artists’ greeting card for sale and the connect four game next to the counter. If I lived in Middlesbrough, this would probably be one of my go-to places to meet people for a coffee and a chat.

Disabled Access In and Around

Average

There is a small step up to the door, which I managed to take in my powerchair with a bit of effort. The door is only a single door, which opens to the outside right, which was part of the struggle. The handle is a long vertical metal bar running along almost the entire length of the left side of the door (as seen from the outside). When you come in, the counter is to your left and a display of cards is almost right in front of you, so you need to turn left a bit to avoid that. There are multiple small tables with moveable chairs that have backrest that wrap around the sides of the seat. There are loose cushions on the chairs. The tables at the back of the restaurant have a wooden bench with throw pillows on one side. There is a clear walkway to the bathroom, but I had to ask the person sitting at the table in the front to move so that I could fit past in my chair. The counter is a bit high, but not so high that I was not able to see the staff. I was, however, not able to see anything that was behind the glass on top of the counter. (There might not have been anything interesting there to see – but I could not tell you.) The menu is orange on pink, which does not make it easy to read if you rely on higher contrast. You can access a pdf in the same design on their website.

Accessible facilities: Single-level venue, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas

Parking & Transport

Good

I travelled to this place by walk or wheel

The café is only about 120 metres from Middlesbrough Station if you go via Zetland Street. There is also a bus stop for the number 9 right outside the door. There are some spaces for street parking on Albert Road.

Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking

Accessible Toilets

Average

There is an accessible toilet at the back, which is also the only bathroom in the small café. The wood flooring ends at the door to the bathroom, so it is maybe half an inch down into the bathroom, or – more crucially – up when you exit the bathroom. It is medium-sized and thankfully not cluttered. The door is manual and opens to the outside left. No key is needed to access the bathroom. The handle on the outside is a small metal band that is bend outward and down so you can put your fingers behind it and pull. There is a handrail on the back of the door and it locks by lifting up the handle. The bin and sink are on the wall to your right when you come in. The toilet is on the back wall. There is a fixed vertical and a horizontal handrail to the right of the toilet that can be lifted and moved out of the way and a fixed horizontal handrail on the wall to the left of the toilet. The flush is a spatula lever on the side of the cistern. The toilet paper holder is to the left of the toilet. There is space for a left-side transfer. The red cord is to the right of the toilet and ends about a foot above the floor. There are vertical handrails on either side of the sink. The sink is a small wall-mounted sink and the tap is a twist knob on the right side. There is also a warm water tap coming from a heater on the wall above the sink tap that has a twist dial to activate. There is a mirror above the sink. The soap is in a dispenser on the left back corner of the sink. There is only a hand dryer, no paper towels. It is mounted on the wall to the right of the sink. There is a swing-lid bin underneath.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Good

The one staff member I interacted with was nice but a bit reserved.