Dove Café is our community café that is currently open every Tuesday between 10.30 am and 2 pm. We offer free drinks and biscuits between 10.30 am and 12 noon. From 12 noon till about 1.45 pm, we serve simple but affordable lunches. Our emphasis is on good, well-prepared, wholesome food at very reasonable prices. The café happens in our Lower Hall, a fresh and bright venue on the ground floor of the Centre.
The café offers a safe and welcoming space to have a leisurely drink and chat. Users of the Palace Gate Centre and visitors use the café as a place to meet or to enjoy a piece of home baked cake. Centre chaplains or volunteers from the church are always available to chat with those who come if they wish it. Free wi-fi is available at Dove Café.
During Dove Café, a quiet space is open for people to visit it or sit in for quiet reflection and prayer. Centre chaplains regularly offer Dove Prayers to which all are welcome.
The former Exeter MIND group also use Dove Cafe as a place to continue to meet most Tuesdays and offer support to those coping with poor mental health. Other groups also use Dove Cafe as a place to meet each other more informally.
Dove Café acts as a work placement experience in partnership with the Devon Partnership NHS Trust, which manages mental health services across the county. The NHS Partnership sends men recovering from mental health problems on placement to help them gain confidence and new skills. In this way, we hope Dove Café benefits these men and helps to break down stigmas about mental health.