cgmorgan Senior Member Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Jun 1, 2007, 4:28pm Subject: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Hey all, I'm going to London in a few days to visit the folks, and was wondering where the top coffee shops are located in the city. I'm going to be staying at their place in Kensington, right off of High Street, but really anything in the city that's decently accessible from the tube or by bus that you could recommend would be greatly appreciated.
Teme Moderator Joined: 7 Jan 2005 Posts: 1,180 Location: Finland Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Marzocco GS3 Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario
Posted Sat Jun 2, 2007, 8:31am Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Usually my visits to London are so intense that I have little time for pleasure. Therefore, I have not had the chance to spend much time exploring the coffee scene, but I can say that you should definitely check out Flat White in Soho. Monmouth Coffee is another one to visit and they have a few locations - I'd recommend the one in Covent Garden.
clipped Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Horsham Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Jun 2, 2007, 1:32pm Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
I can second the vote for Monmouth coffee. I was there today (at their location near Borough Market) and had an excellent macchiato and latte. The macchiato was perfectly balanced with a rich, savoury entry leading to a slight bitter kick on the finish... lots of length and great intensity. The milk on the latte was beautifully done... so sweet and a lovely texture. If I could offer any criticism (slight though it may be) I would say that the milk was a bit too frothy on top, making the latte art they served a bit smudgy. Still my best coffee experience in the past three months!!
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2007, 3:06am Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Hi Christopher
Teme and Brad have said it all really (I'll add that IIRC Flat White use Monmouth beans, but I would choose them over Monmouth outlets for espresso drinks - Monmouth outlets excel for drip coffee).
There are a few other places - Jim Hoffman (UK barista champ, fifth in World Barista Champs) has a section on his site on cafes, and I've heard good things about Bullet Cafe, but not been myself.
cgmorgan Senior Member Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2007, 9:54am Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Thanks a lot for the recommendations, they really paid off. I went down to Flat White first and had a cappuccino and espresso. I got invovled in a conversation with a barista there, Kirk, and he pulled me another shot of espresso as he wasn't too pleased with the first. After a quick conversation he learned where I was from, and said he had just read an article about a cafe there "something ... bean", "JJBean?" "Yeah!", "that's where I work". It was great there. Great staff, and while I don't know about the others, Kirk was really passionate about coffee. We must have talked for 45 minutes over my 3 hour stay.
From there I went just up the street to Fernandez & Wells, and had an espresso there. Following that, Monmouth Coffee for a cappuccino, although the drunken, vocal racist out front forced me to leave before I could try a cup of drip. I'll be back though, both to Monmouth and especially Flat White.
I learned about a couple others as well, one in Broadway Market, and I'm going to hit those up tomorrow or when I'm back from the Netherlands and France in a week.
I'll keep you guys updated on my espresso journey here, and keep up the recommendations, as so far they've all paid off (thanks again).
Edit: and oh yeah, you're right. Both Ferndandez & Wells and Flat White use Monmouth beans.
clipped Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Horsham Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2007, 12:41pm Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Thanks for starting this thread cgmorgan. I'll definitely have to get to Flat White ASAP. As I mentioned in another thread there isn't much for coffee in my neck of the woods (Horsham). I used to live in Vancouver though... Loved JJ and Artegiano, plus a local roaster in Kerrisdale (Bean Bros) for drip coffee... Probably have to go to another thread to continue this discussion, but have you tried Cafe Fantastico on Vancouver Island? My best coffee experience in the past 2-3 years I'd say!
cgmorgan Senior Member Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2007, 1:27pm Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
Just a quick tangent to answer your question. Unfortunately I haven't been to Cafe Fantastico, but I have had coffee from two of the people who used to work there, and if that's any indication, then it must be a really good place. I met Kat at Phil and Sebastian while back in Calgary, and she pulled me some wonderful shots, and Aaron Delazzer (sorry for butchering your last name, I think ...) works quality control at Ethical Bean in Vancouver, and pulled me one of the best espressos I've ever had there on their Syneso (plus he does some contracting work for JJBean, so I see him pretty often).
Next time I make it out to the island, I'm definitely checking it out.
cgmorgan Senior Member Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 21 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jun 13, 2007, 2:09pm Subject: Re: Good Coffee Shops in London?
And so my European coffee trip is, alas, over. I can't say I went to too many places given the overall number that there are here, I just scratched the surface, but I got a really good feel as to the coffee here, especially in London.
I'm back home in 24 hours, and within a day or two of that I'll upload all of the (amateurish) photos I took, and post some quick reviews of the places I went to. Thanks a lot for the help everyone, it really did make my trip far more enjoyable.
Also, just a quick pre-review note (foreshadowing ...?), for those of you who haven't been to Flat White, go. I've been to few cafes where the staff was so nice, helpful, and patient. I must have stood at their bar today for a good 45 minutes talking to them, snapping photos, and they were far more than welcoming in my doing so. They really set the bar for cafes in London.
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