The recipe for the perfect specialty coffee shop sounds simple: great coffee served by friendly baristas in a beautiful, relaxed setting. In practice, though, it's all too easy to miss the mark on one or more of these ingredients. Commons at Old Street Works nails all three and scores plenty of bonus points for their Oreo canelés. Yes, you read that right!
The Barn has long been one of my favourite European specialty coffee roasters so I was excited to hear that they were opening their first London coffee shop. I've been to several of the German roaster's coffee shops in Berlin and was actually visiting their Mallorca café the week the London location opened. Since my return, I've been a couple of times. It's a great addition to Fitzrovia — already an excellent neighbourhood for coffee.
Colourful houses, a world-famous carnival and market and, of course, a film with a certain H. Grant and J. Roberts. These are just a few of the images London’s Notting Hill conjures up. But there’s a lot more to the neighbourhood than elegant architecture and *that* movie. My one-day itinerary will help you uncover Notting Hill’s rich cultural and social history — and make the most of its excellent dining and shopping.
London's Borough and Bankside neighbourhood, on the South Bank of the River Thames, has long been a popular destination for locals, tourists and food lovers alike. And in recent years, exciting new openings have made the area a specialty coffee destination in its own right. Whether you're after a post-market caffeine hit or want to elevate your lunch-break coffee game, this guide has you covered.
If you're partial to a perfectly brewed pourover coffee, there's never been a better time to visit London. One of the newer additions to the city's specialty coffee scene is Calico Coffee, a beautiful café in the Waterloo neighbourhood. I've visited several times since it opened in December, drawn back by the well-curated coffee menu, welcoming staff and peaceful design.
London has welcomed some truly special new specialty coffee shops in recent months. One of my favourites is Special Guests, a beautifully designed cafe in Marylebone that serves an exceptional range of coffees.
I first came across Scenery Coffee when I enjoyed one of their particularly delicious Colombian coffees at Loam in Brighton earlier this month. When I found out that Scenery's café–roastery is much closer to home, in London's Borough neighbourhood, it didn't take me long to pay them a visit. With a wide selection of great coffees served in an airy and spacious café, it was well worth the lunchtime walk.
With signs of spring finally arriving in London, it's the perfect time to share some of my favourite coffee discoveries from the past few wintry weeks. Whether you're looking for standout London cafes to visit or great specialty coffee to brew at home, this round-up will keep you well-caffeinated.
I don't often make it up to North London, but as Profile Coffee has been on my to-visit list for an age, it was high time I paid a visit to the Highbury specialty coffee shop. With welcoming and knowledgeable baristas serving exceptional coffee in a beautiful, calming space, Profile was well worth the wait.
Today I'm sharing the most delicious and caffeinated of my end-of-year recaps, where I pick my favourite specialty coffee shops, eateries and bars from among those I visited for the first time in 2024 — in London and on my travels around the world.
My favourite London coffee opening of 2021 was Nostos Coffee's original Battersea cafe. Nostos lives up to its name (from the Greek for 'homecoming') — I felt at home there from my first visit. Their coffee is impressive too. Nostos's second coffee shop goes even further, with an experience bar, where you can enjoy unique coffees and brewing techniques.
Bermondsey is, without doubt, one of London's best neighbourhoods for foodies. Yes, I'm biased: I've lived in the area since 2012 (it was one of the reasons I moved here). It's home to Maltby Street Market, which draws huge crowds every weekend, and Spa Terminus, where you can hop between the railway arches, tasting and shopping for everything from kimchi to comté. There's a reason why it earned the nickname 'London's larder'. But if you're looking for a restaurant, bar or coffee shop, look no further than Bermondsey Street. And if you're looking for a guide to the best places to eat on Bermondsey Street, read on! (Scroll to the end for a handy map.)
As the end of 2023 hurtles towards me, I am frantically typing up the 13th edition of my annual specialty coffee and food awards, in which I share my favourite coffee shops, eateries, bars and individual dishes from among those I visited for the first time in 2023 — in London and on my travels around the world.
Colonna & Small's has long been one of my favourite specialty coffee shops in the UK and I stop by every time I visit Bath for a coffee and to stock up on beans. I was thrilled to hear that Maxwell and Lesley Colonna-Dashwood were opening a second coffee shop a little closer to (my home). It finally opened on Leather Lane in Clerkenwell earlier this month and — spoiler alert — it's just as wonderful as the Bath original!
Since I moved back to London 15 years ago, I have spent a lot of time eating my way around the city's increasingly diverse and impressive restaurant scene. To help me keep track — and for when friends and family asked for recommendations — I started jotting down my favourites in a Moleskine City notebook, which eventually evolved into a Google Sheet and then a blog post in 2016. An update was long overdue and here it is: my 50 favourite restaurants in London.
Sometimes a new specialty coffee shop opens that just has it all: warm hospitality, beautiful design, a relaxed atmosphere and, of course, excellent coffee. Nagare Coffee, which opened in Spitalfields at the end of January, lives up to all of these, and both of my visits so far have been a pleasure.
I've been spending more time in and around Elephant & Castle since I moved house earlier this year and although there are plenty of great eateries in the area, there aren't a lot of speciality coffee options. So, I was pleased to come across a new location of Old Spike — the Peckham-based coffee shop and roastery — mere steps from Elephant & Castle Tube on one of my lunchtime walks.
Since I moved house in the summer, I often walk past the Bricklayers Arms, a former roundabout with a flyover, which connects the Old and New Kent Roads. It's a historically important location — it was a key stopping point on the pilgrimage route out of London, way back when — but isn't exactly a major point of interest these days. So, I was excited when I saw a sign just across the road announcing the impending arrival of Presse Books: a café, bookshop and arts venue.
