Cool Beans: London’s best coffee shops
How do you like your coffee in the morning? Even with all the accoutrements – the V60s and the Chemexes, the Aeropresses and French presses – making a frothy flat white or achieving that perfect crema at home that little bit easier, nothing beats a caffeine hit from your favourite cafe. London’s coffee scene has been brewing for years and there are international imports and local roasteries in every corner of the city. Our favourites, however, include the ones championing carefully sourced beans from near and far, specialist independent stores that have won the hearts of locals and, naturally, those with well-designed interiors. Here’s our guide to the best coffee spots in the capital – no matter how you take it.
NORTH
1. Everyday Sunshine
Stoke Newington is home to myriad coffee houses, but few are as feel good as Everyday Sunshine: the appropriately named shop that, along with delicious coffee, sells jolly graphic art. Following through on its name, it’s every bit as bright and joyful as you’d expect, not least because its owners, Abi and Rupert, are as uplifting as your first flat white of the morning. Pick up an Allpress coffee from their sunshine-yelllow hatch or step inside and browse punchy prints while you wait. Dash, the cat, is always on hand to greet customers too.
2. Kentish Town Stores
The flower-lined windows of Kentish Town Stores might have you believe it’s purely a homeware shop, but it brews excellent coffee too. Beautiful ceramics from independent craftsmen make ordering an Americano all the more enjoyable. And, if you’re hungry, why not stay for some food? There’s a great daily rotating menu of sandwiches – Monday’s miso aubergine with smashed avocado deserves a mention. Upstairs there’s space to sip your coffee while you work, among leafy green plants and soft furnishings, where they also host creative workshops.
3. Frequency
Frequency had us at hello, thanks in part to the pleasing monochrome tiles that sit pretty at the front of its King’s Cross outpost (its sibling can be found in Angel). Better still are its beans, which are roasted at the wonderful Tate Britain. Each roast supports the institute’s museums and galleries across the country, giving art aficionados and Tate card holders alike all the more reason to visit. Bonus points: Frequency doubles as a cocktail bar. Espresso martini, anyone?
4. Batch Baby
Batch Baby was set up by coffee connoisseurs Tom and Saskia in 2021, who also head up the much-loved Pavilion in Victoria Park. Ask for a filter coffee at this De Beauvoir spot and Tom will tell you everything you need to know about his beans, which are rotated regularly. As well as making coffee, Batch Baby has a well-stocked shop of carefully curated beans: each month, its thoughtful offering changes and takes inspiration from different regions around the world.
SOUTH
5. Monmouth Coffee
This coffee house is something of a stalwart in the roasting game, having opened its namesake location in 1978. While you can find Monmouth’s expertly made beans scattered all over the city, its Borough Market store is arguably its best known, thanks to its bustling surroundings. There’s normally a queue growing outside its doors before it opens at 8am. If you can manage it, grab a seat by the window for peak people-watching.
6. St David Coffee House
The usual walk from Forest Hill station up to the Horniman Museum might mean you’d miss St David Coffee House. But take the slightly longer route and you’ll be rewarded with this gem, hidden behind a tangle of vines and climbing leaves. It’s owned by the team behind south-east London’s Browns of Brockley and Bon (both worth a visit), all three of which serve Square Mile beans and Little Bread Pedlar loaves. If it’s nice outside, buy a coffee and perch on the bench; on slightly greyer days, head downstairs and find a seat by the open fire.
7. Lumberjack
Sitting on Camberwell Church Street is Lumberjack, a neighbourhood coffee shop, deli and workspace. Keeping it local, they serve single-origin coffee from Assembly, a roastery in Brixton, as well as temptingly sweet treats and groceries. Stock up on its well-curated assortment of artisan cheeses, natural wine, craft beer and heady ciders. Be careful not to trip on the owners’ resident pooch, who’s usually asleep in a warm patch of sun.
8. Origin Coffee
Although a native to Cornwall, Origin is one of our London favourites, partly because it is conveniently located around the corner from our headquarters. Situated underneath railway arches, it’s a light and airy space serving frothy flat whites and smooth filter coffees, breakfast and lunch. In keeping with its roots, everything is served on Dor & Tan flatware, an independent maker from the north coast of Cornwall.
9. Juliet’s Quality Food
If you find yourself in Tooting, we implore you to drop by Juliet’s Quality Food. Not only because it’s charming and has an exceptional menu, but because it was founded by one of our own: Lauren Johns, who’s a member of our appraisals team. Pop by for a coffee to go, made with beans from Berlin’s The Barn. And trust us when we tell you not to leave without a jar of its Nutzilla spread: an addictive combination of salted maple-roast pecans, caramelised white chocolate and shiro miso.
EAST
10. E5 Bakehouse
E5 Bakehouse isn’t just an ambitious and brilliant bakery, kneading out countless loaves from under the arches in London Fields, but back in 2017, it decided to try their hand at roasting its own beans – and it’s been a great success. Of course, bread and coffee are a perfect pairing: pick up a loaf of its famous Hackney Wild sourdough while ordering a cortado. There is also a selection of beautifully labelled bottles of natural wine, books on urban farming and preservation, and tools to make your own coffee at home, too.
11. Violet Cakes
In between Broadway Market and Dalston lies a pretty white-walled bakery and coffee shop with a regal reputation. Violet Cakes, owned by Claire Ptak and photographed here by Oliver Hooson, might be known to some as the bakery that made the royal wedding cake for Harry and Meghan, but locals love it for its particularly creamy oat flat whites and salted chocolate chip cookies. And yes, there is a vegan version. On a sun-filled day, its coffee is best enjoyed alfresco on one of the tables in front of the pretty building.
12. Ozone
Oscillating between Antipodean coffee culture and London’s brewing scene sits Ozone, a sustainably minded coffee bar that roasts its own beans. Located in a sprawling space just off Bethnal Green Road, there’s plenty of room to sit with friends or spread out while working. And, at Ozone, with great coffee comes great brunch plates – sourdough crumpets with mackerel; smoked oyster mushroom omelettes – give even more reasons to frequent.
13. Climpson & Sons
Climpson & Sons may have begun as a modest stall on Broadway Market in the early noughties, but today it’s something of an east London institution. It has its own roastery under a neighbouring arch and a permanent spot in an old butcher’s shop on the same street it started on. Stroll past early on the weekend – it opens at 7am – and you’ll catch swathes of cyclists perched outside on the benches, enjoying a pastry and a well-deserved caffeine hit.
WEST
14. The Monocle Café
The Monocle Café has all the design accolades of its eponymous magazine: there’s the petite storefront with its striking black and white awning, the pared-back wooden interior, and the living room at the back that feels like you’ve stepped into the editor’s impeccably furnished home. Not to mention the great coffee made from Allpress beans, and menu largely inspired by its love of Japan (grab the Tamago Bento if you’re feeling peckish).
15. Second Shot
This is a coffee house with a conscience: Second Shot Coffee is a social enterprise that trains, employs and supports people affected by homelessness. It operates a pre-pay system, so if you wish, you can donate a drink, meal or hot-water bottle when you purchase your morning espresso. Not only is the coffee really good, but it’s located on Church Street, a market strip that feels quintessentially old London in the very best way and is home to the four-storey treasure trove that is Alfie’s Antiques.
16. Dark Habit
Residents and visitors of Queen’s Park, this is where to source your morning and evening essentials: coffee and wine. Dark Habit champions seasonal single-origin coffee in a setting defined by exquisite dark Iroko wood from Nigeria. They do a particularly brilliant pour-over for those seeking a reason to linger a little longer in the beautiful interiors.
CENTRAL
17. Prufrock Coffee
Anyone who’s worked within the vicinity of Leather Lane will probably know Prufrock Coffee as the best place for a brew, captured here by Oliver Hooson. While its first-choice beans come from Square Mile Coffee Roasters, they also feature other independents and have an ever-changing menu, whether you’re into espressos, filters, flat whites or long blacks. And for budding baristas, Prufrock’s experts even offer a training programme.
18. Omotesando Koffee
Known as one of the best coffee shops in Tokyo, Omotesando’s founder based his concept on the Japanese principles of shokunin (craftsmanship) and omotenashi (hospitality). The result at its Soho location is a wood-panelled espresso bar that’s all clean lines and clutter-free – interiors to make minimalists melt. Order an espresso and a kashi on the side – a smooth creamy cube of creamy fried custard to cut through the coffee’s bitterness and brings out its natural sweetness.
19. Rosslyn Coffee
Australian coffee culture meets Irish hospitality at Rosslyn. You’ll get a meticulous cup of coffee here, with baristas using different roasts depending on whether you like your coffee black, milky or filter. They predominately use Origin beans but also endeavour to shine a light on lesser-known roasteries whose beans aren’t available anywhere else in the capital, including Proud Mary from Melbourne, The Coffee Collective from Copenhagen, SEY from New York, and Switch from Tokyo.
20. Watch House
Watch House is one for aesthetes. While its original London store occupies, yes, a former watch house on Bermondsey Street, this one under the arches on Maltby Street is particularly pleasing. This sleek espresso bar doubles as the brand’s roastery and office, so you know you’re getting a good cup. Designed by London-based studio Kirkwood McCarthy, the space features a beautiful terracotta bar, where you can sit and grab a macchiato while getting an education in coffee from one of the baristas. You can watch the magic happen through floor-to-ceiling glazing while getting your dose of caffeine.
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