Cafe in a 'brick style' building
It all started with the intrusion of large coffee chains in the country such as Coast either black coffee (if you have visited the city, you will know that in every corner you can find one of them) . It was these who were familiarizing the British with this drink, until BAM! they arrived local coffee shops, each one more sophisticated, more coffee, more hipster… taking care that the seeds are specialty and have been roasted in the most traditional way possible. The latter are the ones we want to talk about and we dare to classify them as temples of worship where to spend the morning or afternoon doing one of the things we like the most: tasting a delicious coffee, in the form of the classic with milk, cappuccino, flat white or a long latte.
We have to confess that it would not have been possible to do it if we had not come across a site Information is Beautiful , a website dedicated to distilling Big Data in Useful Charts and Diagrams and that published in 2015 an infographic with names of the best coffee shops in London. Under the name of 'A taxonomy of London hipsters coffee-shops names', this composition shows around a hundred different coffee-shops scattered throughout the city. We have visited the most popular and this has been ours (caffeinated) verdict :
1.**NOTE**
First impressions are not always the final ones. Although this coffee shop has a touch of modern franchise (in the Panaria style in Spain), its spirit is unequivocally of local coffee shop . They have been open for two years and there are now six Notes across London. For a more logistical issue than preference, we have decided to visit the one located in King's Cross , versus Two Pancras Square , a little corner with the halo of a luxury shopping center. Men in suits move office meetings to the cafeteria, young glasses sit with their laptops to type. Without a doubt, Notes is not a place of passage, but rather functions as a modern working space for all audiences.
The place is the result of a failed project between two friends who opened several years ago music shops in the city . One of them housed a cafeteria inside. When the crisis broke out, vinyl and records stopped selling, and the business fell into failure until they had no choice but to close the beach bar. However, they decided to leave that record store with a coffee shop alive and converted it into a coffee shop under the name of 'Notes'. “It refers to musical notes and not the aroma of coffee” , says Luigi, manager of the cafe in King's Cross. "Although I guess it's become a play on words." The cafeteria has not lost its musical essence, since every month they organize jam sessions and live concerts.
Recommendation: Esspresso, bitter, not acidic, with a final sweetish aftertaste in the mouth.
Where: King's Cross Boulevard
It all started for the love of music...
2.**CARAVAN**
Caravan's interior honors the industrial history of King's Cross. to the purest brick-style of the 19th century, have created a whole minimalist brickwork design atmosphere , with good service and an incomparable coffee that, by the way, they roast themselves. It may be for this reason that the premises, located in Granary Square , is full of life, always packed with people like some regular tourists or pupils of the Central Saint Martin, The University of Art London which is located in the same square. They all arrive with their long beards, their plaid shirts and their Mac Pros under their arms. The barista tells us that the founders of this place are two New Zealanders who have been in the restaurant world for some time. This was the first Caravan they opened, but we can also find two others in Bank and in Exmouth market.
Our recommendation: the daily espresso Blend, with notes of cocoa, plum and berries.
Where: Granary Square, King's Cross.
Here they roast their own coffee
3.**PATTERN**
Nothing like walking into any place and smell of freshly brewed coffee . This is how Pattern receives its clients, a small coffee shop in the middle of the tumultuous center of King's Cross that makes you escape from the big city. You will probably find Gerogina behind the bar, the same one who in 2014 decided to join the coffee business. She is in charge of making you feel at home , creating playlists like no other, decking out the place with restored furniture you buy from thrift markets, antique dealers, or even from “Things I kept from my ex” . What is most striking is the glass case that houses a typewriter and a radio from previous decades, as well as the bowler hats that hang like lampshades. We have a coffee while ** ‘How soon is now’ by Love Spit Love ** plays and we recreate ourselves in our 90s era with the Charmed series.
Our recommendation: nothing like a rich espresso in the purest Pattern style.
Where : Caledonian Road, 82. King's Cross
pattern
4.**KAFFEINE**
When Peter Dore-Smith she came to London with his wife in 2005, they didn't want to give up the habit of going out for coffee in the afternoon. “The problem is that we couldn't find any cafes,” explains Peter. That motivated them to open what for many would become one of the best coffee shops in London. In 2009 they inaugurated their purpose under the name of coffee and just a year later they were awarded as the best cafeteria in Europe for the Allegra European Coffee Symposium.
Our recommendation: or its long black, American-style coffee, but much less watered down, or its double espresso.
Where: Great Titchfield Street, 66. Goodge Street Station.
5.**VAGABOND**
When you arrive at Vagabond you wonder if instead of entering a coffee shop, you have invaded the carpenter's workspace . Quickly you dissolve doubts as soon as you see the bar counter to your right. Modestly decorated, its white walls are lined with paintings by local artists that are also for sale. Dianoras is the owner of this unique coffee shop. He and his nephew opened the store in 2011. and they have become one of the most popular roasters or coffee roasters in the city.
When we ask her the reason for the name of the café, Dianoras explains that “It has nothing to do with the idea of the homeless, but with the idea of the globetrotter, that traveler who has his house on his back” . He himself feels attached to the term: "I never wonder about the future because I never know where I'm going to be." Dianaras, before coffee grower, He was a ballet dancer and also a carpenter (hence our impression was not very wrong, since all the furniture has been made by him).
You are not in a carpentry even though it looks like it
In Vagabond they always choose the higher quality seed to later roast it themselves. In fact, in 2015 They were listed as the third best roasters in London. Therefore, if you wonder why the price of their coffee with milk is higher than normal, it is because they only serve specialty coffee, that is, a coffee grown, processed and cared for in the most careful and traditional way possible. "Coffee is like apples, there are many varieties, but not all of them taste the same." They tell it because they serve coffees from different countries in Africa and South America. If you have any questions about what to order, they will know how to guide you.
Our recommendation: Mbeya-Iyenga PB coffee, from Tanzania, with notes of currants and plums. Complex flavor, but exquisite.
Where: Holloway Road, 105. Highbury & Islington.
6.**VIOLET CAKES**
His name is Claire Ptack, She is Californian and has appeared in all the British media thanks to her baking skills, specifically thanks to the cakes she prepares at her local Violet Cakes, in East London. Before opening this tiny but cozy cafe in 2010, Ptak had a little stand in broadway market in which she sold her culinary creations. Baked delicacies with products as simple as organic flour, sugar, milk, eggs and seasonal fruit.
Our Recommendation: forget the coffee. Try all the cakes you can. A day is a day.
Where: Wilton Way, 47. Hackney
Handmade and do it yourself
You will succumb to Violet's charm
7.**TRADE**
At lunch time, you can see in the Commercial Street a long line of impatient stomachs. All in Shoreditch They want a little piece of Trade to make their lunch more pleasant and delicious, accompanied, of course, by a good coffee. This cafe is known for its renowned pastrami -spiced and smoked red meat- which they serve in sandwiches. Although Trade places more emphasis on its organic menu for foodies , which includes toasts such as avocado lime, feta cheese, grilled chorizo and a touch of chili or poached eggs served with wild asparagus and proscuitto, also pay attention to the quality of their coffee, purchased from the best local roasters.
The design of the place invites reminiscence and evokes our past as pupils with school desks, green and short. In summer, don't hesitate to go out on the terrace to take advantage of the few rays of the British sun. A detail that we also do not want to forget to mention is that its cutlery tray is cans of Perelló olive from Castellar del Vallés.
Our recommendation: this place serves the creamiest non-fat latte we've ever had in all of London. If you accompany him with his carrot cake, you will most likely experience Nirvana.
Where: 47 Commercial Street. Shoreditch.
pastrami and coffee
8. MILK
Milk was born with the drama of a frustrated dream. When Julian Porter and Lauren Heaphyde were, in their own words, “kicked out” of drama school in 2012, they decided to open this coffee shop that has become the hot spot in South London to this day. “It seemed like a much better idea to us than being unemployed,” jokes Julian. Both he and Lauren put effort and dedication into creating an establishment that served a first class coffee and a quality menu . Another thing that they have not neglected has been its interior design, fabulously kitsch and retro, with busts of ragged dolls and sinister phosphorescent pink neon signs worthy of any dangerous cinematographic den. During the summer, Julian explains, they also lengthen the evenings by serving wine from small producers from all over Europe. By the way, we love the design of your website.
Our recommendation: a simple coffee with milk, prepared with the organic brand Koppi and accompanied by a Sweet Maria (corn fritter with halloumi cheese accompanied by avocado, kasundi and lime).
Where: Bedford Hill, 20. Balham
9.**LOVE IN A CUP**
There are not a few who claim that this place prepares the best espresso in London . Far from confirming it (it would be necessary to visit all the cafes in the city and we believe that this is an almost impossible task), the truth is that we can confirm that it is worth going to East London and tasting it. its owner is kash , a well-known Australian in the neighborhood who has managed to create a loyal clientele. Honoring its name, Love in a Cup is a place to share with those closest to you, making that coffee experience more intimate and personal.
Our recommendation: order yourself a Cousin if what you want is for the caffeine to run through your veins, since it is prepared based on four shots of coffee, four! Accompany him with some of his Muffins.
Where: 15 Osborn Street. Aldgate East.
It's small but very thuggish (like their espresso)
10. BULLDOG EDITION
In the heart of Shoreditch is Bulldog Edition, the most modern and avant-garde hotel café in the neighborhood, Ace Hotel. Like an extension of its lobby, this coffee shop is one of the busiest on Shoreditch High St, probably more because it's sponsored by ACE Hotel than because of the coffee they serve. Despite this, it is worth sitting at one of its long tables to share -something that gives it a touch of a social dining room- and rest with a warm coffee roasted by the Square Mile Coffee Roasters.
Our recommendation: Flat White with a ginger cake
Where: 100 Shoreditch High St.
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