In the last few weeks of finishing up my dissertation I got into the habit of drinking mad amounts of coffee every day and since I handed in the damn thing last week I’ve been trying to cut down on the caffeine but this is proving to be a lot easier said than done. I’ve promised myself that this week is the last of excessive coffee consumption, then I will be drinking no more than three doubles a day. Seeing how this is my last week, I thought it appropriate to try out every single good coffeehouse I could find in central London, and after this experiment (8 coffees in an afternoon – I didn’t sleep very well that night) I hereby announce my 5 favourite coffee places in central London:
Monmouth Covent Garden, 27 Monmouth Street
What can I say, I love Monmouth of all my heart, I have coffee either here or at the Borough branch almost every day and I’ve never had a bad cup. In addition, they’re a lot cheaper than many other places (£1.35 for a double espresso!) and they’re such nice people…
Kaffeine, 66 Great Titchfield Street
Goodlooking little place; great outside tables for watching Marylebone mums parading down the street, and most importantly, very good coffee
LJ Coffee House, 3 Winnett Street
Loved my espresso here (which was served with a glass of water, I like that), great atmosphere, charming barista. And sofas and Scrabble, does it get any better?
Tapped & Packed, 26 Rathbone Place
Never been here before my coffee adventure – loved it – and they told me about their home brewing classes which I’d love to go to and hopefully will soon, sounded great.
Fernandez & Wells, 16a St Anne’s Court
Very, very good espresso (the strongest of all I tried), and great food.
The others I tried – Milk Bar, Flat White and Store Street Espresso – were all good but they didn’t blow me away. I’d love to find more good coffee though, so suggestions very appreciated! Before stopping the coffee madness I am planning on a big coffee round in Shoreditch and Hackney too, then it’s green tea and water for me for a while…. hmm.
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I would be twitching pretty bad if I had eight cups! Why didn't you like Flat White? I've always found they make a decent coffee.
8 cups! You must've needed the loo pretty badly too!Strangely, I don't drink as much coffee as I used to (though I surely need that caffeine)… but now I want to try all of these!
Just came back from visiting London and fell in love with Monmouth. I bought so many bags with me home that the airport security stuff must've thought I was smuggling something else…
What a task, 8 coffees! but you came up with a great list I have to say 🙂 I drank loads of coffee too before handing in my thesis, it really takes a while afterward to return to normal.
Have been on a similar quest across London since we got here. Current favourites are pretty darn similar to yours; Tapped and Packed, Monmouth and Fernandez and Wells. If you're over east then Taylor St Baristas and Allpress are definitely worth a visit…
Richard: I was, trust me! I think Flat White do a decent cup of coffee, it just wasn't up there with the likes of Monmouth. I've also found them quite inconsistent. Su-Lin: Haha, you're quite right about the loo! Thankfully all of the shops had pretty nice toilets… Drinking less coffee is one of my promises to myself, but I find it ridiculously hard to stop… Do try them, especially Monmouth and LJ!Anon: Understandable, their coffee is THE SHIT for the lack of better words. Ute: I know, 8 cups = not the best idea, was extremely hyper and annoying to everyone around me for the rest of the evening. Really hoping to be 'normal' again soon but it's not going well… hm.Tori: Thanks for the recommendations – I live east and will do a similar coffee quest next week around here – can't wait to try your suggestions!
Get yourself to Allpress Espresso in Redchurch Street when you do head east…it's worth it for sure!
Stephen: I sure will, thanks for the tip!