It used to be said of London that you’re never more than a few feet away from a rat. The same truism might now be applied to the coffee shop. They’re everywhere, both chain and independent shops. Prices vary wildly. A cappuccino can still be procured for under £1 in certain ‘greasy spoons’ and Italian-style delis, although the quality is likely to be low. At the upper end, richly brewed bevvies occasionally exceed the £4 mark, especially if you’re drinking in. You’ll notice the quality, and the hole in your purse. The average price, at least among chain coffee shops, seems to have settled somewhere around the £2.20 mark for takeaway.
But where to go? If you’re prepared to pay for quality, then you’re most likely to find it in an independent shop. For some reason, these often sport one-word names like ‘Nude’, ‘Dose’, ‘Kaffeine’ and ‘Workshop’.
Another trend employs the use of cheery phrases, like ‘Tina We Salute You’ and the cycling-obsessed café ‘Look Mum No Hands’. All share a passion for proper coffee, usually made from locally roasted beans. I like to play a little game of ordering a cappuccino in the afternoon, just to see if any of the baristas get sniffy about this social faux pas. Never happens, though, for indie coffee shops are universally staffed with polite, charming people.
True coffee fiends would argue the merits of individual beans, bars and baristas, but most people, including myself, don’t have palates that could rank these nuances. The following, then, is my own personal selection, which is influenced more on how much I like sitting in these places than any acts of arcane beanmanship.
Oh, and Soho’s Bar Italia would undoubtedly make my list, but I’m saving that for 2am.
Half Cup
100–102 Judd Street, WC1H 9NT (King’s Cross St Pancras)
My current favourite is this relatively new coffee shop. It’s only a short walk from St Pancras, but just far enough away to escape the hordes. For similar reasons, it has a relaxing rather than trendy vibe, and much more seating space than the typical independent. Love it. The nearby Moreish café (76 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AG) is also a worthy stop, with more of a food offering, and excellent window seats from which to watch pedestrians attempt to cross London’s most ludicrous cycle lane.
The Attendant
Downstairs, 27a Foley Street, W1W 6DY
(Goodge Street or Oxford Circus)
If you think modern coffee prices are taking the piss, here’s one venue that revels in the allusion. The Attendant is a subterranean café housed inside a Victorian men’s public toilet. I’d walked past the elegant ironmongery many times over the years, wishing that the long-closed convenience might be recalled to life. My wish came true, in a most peculiar way, in 2013. You can now tuck your legs into a porcelain urinal, whose curvaceous partitions make for surprisingly elegant table dividers. Really, it has to be seen to be believed. There’s nothing crappy about the food and drink, all scrupulously sourced from ethical suppliers, and the best sandwiches you’ll find in any lavatory, anywhere.
Cabbie’s shelter
Embankment Place, WC2 (Embankment)
This distinctive green hut near the Playhouse Theatre is one of 13 remaining cab shelters dotted around town. It’s still used by cab drivers and the public are not permitted inside. You can, however, order a very cheap cup of tea from the takeaway serving hatch on the side. Hardly darjeeling at the Ritz, but an amiable experiences that is unique to London.
Gran Sasso
44–46 Caledonian Road, N1 9DT (King’s Cross St Pancras)
I have to admit that the contrarian in me has chosen this one. The no-frills traditional Italian coffee shop has none of the twee trappings of the more trendy independents (such as Drink, Shop, Do just across the road … I’m looking at you). Instead, you can expect a genuinely warm welcome from Val and Mario, attentive service and prices about half the rate elsewhere (again… cf. Drink, Shop, Do).
The Legal Café
81 Haverstock Hill, NW3 4SL (Chalk Farm)
With a name seemingly implying that all other cafés in the area are somehow illegal, this curiosity on the slopes of Hampstead is a must-visit for all seekers of oddness. The conundrum is resolved once inside. It turns out that the café is attached to a law firm, and you can order a legal consultation alongside your skinny latte. It’s not, of course, mandatory, and I’d much rather spend money on a barista than a barrister.
Yumchaa
The Granary Building, N1C 4AA (King’s Cross St Pancras)
The trend for ever-more-sophisticated coffee shops has left the humble cup of tea somewhat abandoned. Yumchaa is on a mission to revive the beverage, with a number of branches across the capital. This one recently opened just inside the main campus building of Central St Martin’s, and it’s a doozy. No tea bags here. Instead, you choose from a bewildering set of loose-leaf options, arrayed in sniffable containers on the counter. If the weather’s fine, you can take your brew of choice outside and watch the dancing fountains of Granary Square. Civilised has a new definition.
Láng
The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, SE1 9SG (London Bridge)
Western Europe’s tallest building contains many bars and restaurants, all of which are inevitably more spendy than eateries with less altitude. You can, however, grab a top-grade coffee for £4 in this ground floor café, part of the Shard’s Shangri-La hotel. The only view is of people heading up the escalators, but you can enjoy impeccable service and a mightily tempting range of cakes, and then tell your friends you dined in the Shard.
No. 67
67 Peckham Road, SE5 8HU (Peckham Rye)
Cafés don’t come more homely than this independent business betwixt Camberwell and Peckham. Indeed, it’s built into an old home – complete with front and rear gardens – tacked on the side of the South London Gallery. The place stays open all day and evening, turning into a bar-restaurant later on, but I reckon a mid-afternoon cuppa is the best time to catch it.
The Bridge
15 Kingsland Road, E2 8AE (Hoxton)
This Hoxton mainstay has to be seen to be believed. The downstairs makes an artform out of clutter, with antique boxing gloves, costume hats and a stray viola all vying for wall space. The upstairs is equally eccentric, resembling an over-furnished Victorian brothel. They do offer takeaway coffee, but with this decor, leaving would be an outrage.
Hoxton Hotel
81 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HU (Old Street)
199–206 High Holborn, WC1V 7BD (Holborn)
Hotels are an often-overlooked option for coffee. Many are pricey or perhaps seem too formal for a casual stop-off. Not so Shoreditch’s Hoxton Hotel, which is abuzz all day with business meetings and friendly catch-ups. A coffee costs £3–4, which isn’t bad given the stylish surroundings and friendly table service. The formula has been so successful that a sister hotel has now opened in Holborn. The hotel’s fortunes are curiously mirrored by the Grind mini-chain of coffee shops, whose first branch was also in Shoreditch (213 Old Street, EC1V 9NR), and second is next door to Hoxton Hotel Holborn.
Various locations across town
We all have one of those friends who has a knack of appearing randomly in the most unlikely places. The peripatetic Giddy Up is a bit like that. We’ve encountered their little one-man stalls in obscure parks, city streets and even outside the Guildhall. You could find out where they’re currently trading from their website or Twitter, but I always believe that they’ll find you, in the very moment when your need for caffeine is greatest. Not only do they serve superior artisan coffees, they also help out young ex-offenders by training them up in hospitality skills. Coffee with a conscience.
Paperback Coffee & Tea
153 South Ealing Road, W5 4QP (South Ealing)
I had no business being in South Ealing. I think I only got the train there because I’d heard it was one of only two tube stations to contain all the vowels. But I’ve since revisited twice purely to spend an hour in this smashing little coffee shop. The vibe is relaxed, yet playfully undermined by witty notes on coffee-shop etiquette (this is not a place to bring bawling children). Coffee is locally roasted; the tea selection is huge and exotic. In a nod to the shop’s name, you can leave or take paperback books from the shelves dotted around. The last time I visited there was a bit of a sci-fi thing going on.
Bubbleology
45 Pembridge Road, W11 3HG (Notting Hill Gate)
I’ve only ever tried bubble tea twice. I’m not sure it’s for me, but the Taiwanese tea with chewy tapioca balls certainly has its adherents. You only have to visit this branch of the mini-chain Bubbleology for evidence. I’ve yet to walk past without seeing a queue out of the door -- especially in summer when Notting Hill fills with tourists. When you finally get to the counter, the range is boggling with available flavours such as taro, papaya and kumquat.
Coffee chains are usually less expensive, with the trade-off being that you get weaker drinks and less individuality. Nevertheless, their brews are generally very drinkable, if nothing remarkable. It’s easy and fashionable to bash coffee chains, but they sometimes offer advantages you wouldn’t find elsewhere. So, to the horror of coffee snobs everywhere, I’m going to finish by recommending the very best of the maligned mainstream.
Starbucks: The branch in Liverpool Street Station is decked out like a Georgian dining room with beautiful wooden panelling quite unlike anything else inside the station. The café in St Katharine Docks, meanwhile, inhabits a rotunda building known as The Coronarium. This was formerly an all-faiths chapel and is surely the only Starbucks whose building was originally opened by the Queen. Finally, the Camden Town branch sits charmingly along the canalside and maintains a somewhat unexpected small museum of Camden history inside.
Caffè Nero: If you look carefully, you’ll find a branch inside the horseshoe of Broadcasting House. I say ‘look carefully’ because it’s the only Nero that doesn’t have its distinctive blue-and-black logo emblazoned above the door. This is because it’s positioned directly opposite the glass-walled studio in which The One Show is filmed. The BBC’s rules disallow any form of product placement, hence no nameplate.
Costa: Never found a remarkable one yet. Sorry. They’re all friendly, competent and pleasant, but never distinguished.
Crussh: Surprise your friends by leading them into 4 Millbank (SW1P 3JA), a posh-looking office complex used for political television broadcasts. To the left of the lobby is a largely hidden branch of this juice and salad bar, devoid of tourists and with free Wi-Fi and laptop charge points.
Pret: The omnipresent sandwich shop does pretty decent coffee for a chain, but tends to be the most uniform across its branches. All exposed brick and wooden surfaces – at least they’ve stopped playing that infernal light jazz that was once a limiting factor on one’s tolerance. What Pret lacks in character, it makes up for in space. The main Victoria branch, for example, has a huge upstairs seating area that is a champion spot for freelancers to linger with their laptops.
An increasing number of smaller chains are muscling in on the market, but I’d better stop there before I’m lynched for supporting evil corporates.