A Guide to London’s Best Coffee

Upon first landing in London I began a personal mission to find the best coffee possible. Coming from Melbourne where the coffee culture is huge and top quality coffee choices are endless, I arrived in a city where I could count the good coffee spots on one hand, funnily enough, all of which were set up by fellow coffee-loving Aussies and Kiwis.

Amazingly, since arriving in London over 2 years ago, the coffee culture has made its way over to the big smoke and infiltrated the streets of central, east and north London, exploding in popularity. There are new independent coffee shops opening up all over the city where trained barristers, most of whom have beards so they must know what they’re doing, are making carefully crafted flat whites for renowned coffee snobs and oblivious Londoners alike.

So put down that giant bucket of Starbucks rubbish and kiss your local Costa’s goodbye, here’s your ultimate London coffee guide

Central

Monmouth – A coffee institution in London, it’s so popular that long queues out the door are the norm, but you can normally skip the line if you also want to buy some beans!

• 27 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9EU
• Tube Station: Covent Garden / Leicester Square
• Website

Fernandez & Wells – Amazing food and coffee made from a specialty Has Bean blend, they have a few coffee bars around London including Beak Street, St. Anne’s Court, Lexington Street, South Kensington, Somerset House.

• 73 Beak St, W1F 9SR and just a few doors down at 43 Lexington street, W1F 9AL
• Tube Station: Oxford Circus / Piccadilly Circus
• Website

Lantana – Great Aussie cafe serving up Square Mile coffee in Fitzrovia who put on an amazing brunch too. Expect to queue for brunch on weekends. There’s two other Lantana branches in Old Street and Camden.

• 13 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SN
• Tube Station: Goodge Street / Tottenham Court Road
• Website

The Attendant – The Caravan coffee blend isn’t quite as smooth as I normally like it but they still take a lot of time and care to prepare a delicious coffee. The fact that it’s in an old public toilet is pretty cool… and they serve lamingtons!

• 27a Foley Street, W1W 6DY
• Tube Station: Goodge Street/Oxford Circus
• Website

Kaffeine – A cosy cafe that I like to pop into before braving shopping along Oxford Street. They serve up Square Mile coffee with some very tempting food and cakes at the counter.

• 66 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 7QJ
• Tube Station: Oxford Circus/Goodge Street
• Website

Also worth a mention…

• Workshop Coffee Co. – 27 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1M 5RN (Farringdon/Barbican)
• Prufrock Coffee – 23-25 Leather Lane, EC1N 7TE (Farringdon/Chancery Lane)
• TAP Coffee – 193 Wardour Street, W1F 8ZF (Tottemham Court Road/Oxford Circus)
• MilkBar – 3 Bateman Street, Soho, London W1D 4AG (Tottenham Court Road)

 

North

Vagabond – A very cool space with a great backyard, Vagabond is one of my favourite haunts to spend the afternoon working in, drinking their delicious Has Bean coffee. I’m always surprised with their latte art too – love hearts are so 2 years ago, these guys paint swans!

• 105 Holloway Road. N7 8LT
• Tube Station: Highbury & Islington (Victoria line)
• Website

EZ & Moss – I know we’re talking about coffee, but the Chai latte is definitely worth mentioning here as it’s the only place in London that I’ve found amazing Chai (organic, fresh tea leaves). This vegan/vegetarian cafe also serves delicious Allpress coffee and a great brunch! The staff take a while to warm up to you, but the cafe is very warm and welcoming, and it has a great window seat to sit and watch the world go by.

• 183 Holloway Rd, N7 8LX
• Tube Station: Holloway Road/Highbury & Islington
• Website

Le Péché Mignon – Where you’ll find me most weekends. The delicious Monmouth coffee and tempting array of French specialties got me through the door, the amazing service keeps me coming back each week. There’s a very cute courtyard out the back too, for those warmer weekend days.

• 6 Ronalds Rd, N5 1XH
• Tube Station: Holloway Road/Highbury & Islington
• Website

Maison d’Etre Coffee House – Despite the slow service, the Square Mile coffee makes this worth a visit, especially if you get a table and don’t mind a wait.

• 154 Canonbury Rd, N1 2UP
• Tube Station: Highbury & Islington (Victoria line)
• Website

The Coffee Works Project – I’m a little disappointed that Angel doesn’t have more good coffee around, however this place is definitely the stand out in the area. They use Has Bean coffee and have a great selection of salads and cakes, and big windows to sit in front of and people watch from!

• 96-98 Islington High St, Islington, N1 8EG
• Tube Station: Angel (Northern line)
• Website

Caravan – This used to be my absolute go-to place for brunch but the service has become terrible in recent months, however the coffee is still great and definitely the best in the area. They also have a smaller set up in Exmouth Market (11-13 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QD).

• 1 Granary Square, N1C 4AA
• Tube Station: Kings Cross
• Website

Sunday – Amazing hidden gem, I hesitated putting this on the list in case the word spreads too far. Their brunches are very possibly my favourite in London at the moment too, definitely worth a try.

• 169 Hemingford Rd, N1 1DA
• Tube Station: Caledonian Rd & Barnsbury Overground Station
• Website

 

East

Nude Espresso – A long time favourite, this is my number one choice for coffee on my way to work. They roast their own beans and I always buy some for home too! If that’s not enough, they also put on a great weekend brunch with the best Eggs Benedict in town.

• 26 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR
• Tube Station: Liverpool St/Shoreditch High Street overground
• Website

Ozone – Run by Kiwis, this huge warehouse space has seats on the top and bottom floor, where you share the space with their own impressive roastery. Amazing brunches too, but expect to queue on weekends.

• 11 Leonard Street, EC2A 4AQ
• Tube Station: Old Street
• Website

Shoreditch Grind – Very cool cafe on the Old Street roundabout, they have a big outdoor area for warmer days and they get a boozy in the evenings.

• 213 Old St, London EC1V 9NR
• Tube Station: Old Street
• Website

Look mum no hands! – Part coffee shop, part bicycle shop, they serve delicious food too. The coffee is wheely good (sorry, I had to!)

• 49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX
• Tube Station: Old Street
• Website

Also worth a mention…

• Brooklyn – 139 Commercial St, E1 6BJ (Shoreditch High Street/Liverpool Street)
• Lantana –  55 City Rd, EC1Y 1HQ (Old Street)
• Franze & Evans – 101 Redchurch St, London E2 7DL (Shoreditch High Street)

South

Monmouth, Borough Market – The famous Monmouth coffee roasters opened up their second store at Borough Market. It’s open Mon-Sat and be prepared to queue out the door for a takeaway coffee during peak hours

• 2 Park Street, The Borough, SE1 9AB
• Tube Station: London Bridge
• Website

M1lk – This laid back cafe in the south of London serves an amazing Workshop Coffee Co. coffee and top quality, Aussie-style food

• 20 Bedford Hill, London SW12 9RG
• Tube Station: Balham Tube (Northern Line)
• Website

Browns of Brockley – They serve Square Mile coffee and have a pug called Ludd. ‘Nuff said.

• 5 Coulgate St, SE4 2RW
• Tube Station: Brockley Overground Station (Overground)
• Website

 

West

Fernandez & Wells – Their South Kensington branch brings some much needed coffee culture into West London, a perfect location for those days spent exploring the area’s museums and exhibitions

• 8 Exhibition Road, London SW72HF
• Tube Station: South Kensington
• Website

Loft – North West London isn’t known for it’s great coffee spots, so Loft, who use Monmouth coffee beans, are a good find

• 4 Canfield Gardens, NW6 3BS
• Tube Station: Finchley Road
• Website

 

What are your favourite coffee spots in London? Share them in the comments

LNG x