New cafe bistro opens in Kirkcaldy High Street

The opening of a new cafe bistro in Kirkcaldy High Street is a dream come true for Corrie Robertson and her partner Diana Marques.
The owners of the newly -opened Roots and Seeds cafe bistro  - Corrie Robertson and Diana Marques , with Diana's mum Luisa. Pic: Fife Photo Agency.The owners of the newly -opened Roots and Seeds cafe bistro  - Corrie Robertson and Diana Marques , with Diana's mum Luisa. Pic: Fife Photo Agency.
The owners of the newly -opened Roots and Seeds cafe bistro - Corrie Robertson and Diana Marques , with Diana's mum Luisa. Pic: Fife Photo Agency.

The eaterie, which is based in the premises previously occupied by La Speranza, opened its doors for the first time on Saturday.

The cafe bistro offers a wide variety of tasty treats including a wide ranging breakfast menu, lunch including soups, sandwiches, wraps and paninis as well as coffees, teas, scones and cakes.

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Corrie (28), who is originally from Aberdeen, told the Press she met her partner Diana (27), who is from South America, when they both worked in hospitality in Newcastle.

Corrie Robertson and Diana Marques are the owners of Roots and Seeds Cafe Bistro. Pic: Fife Photo AgencyCorrie Robertson and Diana Marques are the owners of Roots and Seeds Cafe Bistro. Pic: Fife Photo Agency
Corrie Robertson and Diana Marques are the owners of Roots and Seeds Cafe Bistro. Pic: Fife Photo Agency

She said: “Saturday was a soft opening to see if there were any issues with the layout or with the till.

“We are planning to advertise the cafe bistro through social media as well as handing out flyers to people to let them know we are here.”

The new bistro is open Monday to Saturday from 8am until 5.30pm – but it is looking to expand.

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Added Corrie: “At some point we are hoping to open on a Friday and Saturday evening to offer some tapas style dishes and more adventurous dishes.

Inside Roots and Seeds, the new cafe bistro which has opened in the premises formerly occupied by La Speranza. Pic: Fife Photo AgencyInside Roots and Seeds, the new cafe bistro which has opened in the premises formerly occupied by La Speranza. Pic: Fife Photo Agency
Inside Roots and Seeds, the new cafe bistro which has opened in the premises formerly occupied by La Speranza. Pic: Fife Photo Agency

“I am from Aberdeen, Diana is from South America and her mum Luisa, who has been working with us, is from Portugal originally, so that’s where the roots comes from, we want to offer food which represents our different cultural roots – some traditional food that I and people here are used to as well as food with different flavours.

“For example, we have a full breakfast which offers Arepa which is fried cornmeal, instead of toast, which is what you would have in South America; a filled one of those instead of a filled roll.

“We are just trying to offer something a bit different.”

Corrie and Diana have both worked in either hospitality or catering for the past five or six years.

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Corrie said: “I have always wanted to do something of my own.

“I love cafes. I started working for the National Trust for Scotland in Aberdeenshire that is how I got into catering and cooking.

“I was there for around five years before moving to Newcastle.

"I worked down there for five years doing some cafe work and fine dining and hotels and that is where Diana and I both went to culinary college.”

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They came to live in Kirkcaldy, where they have family connections, last November.

“My sister lives here, my mum is in Wormit and my dad is in Aberdeen so I wanted to be closer to them,” said Corrie.

“I managed to convince Diana it was a good idea. I love it here.”

“We got the lease for the premises in February, but with Covid it took us a while to get going because of lockdown.

“We also had quite a lot of work to do internally.

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“But everyone loved La Speranza and everybody has been asking us what we are doing and having a look to see what has changed.”

She added: “This has been my dream for the last few years – having my own cafe where everything is local and freshly made – a nice and friendly place to be.”

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