Ground Floor 40 Brushfield Street London E1 6AG https://nagare.co.uk I wanted to check out a Japanese-inspired coffee shop opposite the main market hall of Spitalfields that, lacking clear signage, appears to be a vintage importer of fruit and veg but hides a cosy cubby hole of caffeinated delight. Far more popular than its size allows for, all of the limited seating is occupied when I arrive but, no matter, as I opt for a takeaway and breathe in the rustic wood panelling and elegant earthenware mugs of cheering concoctions. Red flyers with golden and black Asian calligraphy are scattered across the walls as people mumble to one another or read literature at tiny mismatched tables. There is a touch of idyllic elegance about it, like the food from a Ghibli film or a scene from a Beatrix Potter book. A small glass display case holds a smattering of cakes and cookies, so I snaffle up a slice of vegan chocolate banana bread that has a cathartic crunchy, toasted top. Here, I notice on the menu there is something of a speciality of the spot. It is intriguing enough to tear me away from my usual oat latte as I instead go for the Pearl 40, which has jasmine pearl, vanilla, espresso and, in my case, oat milk all delicately mixed into one and topped off with crushed pistachio in a sweet, flowery drink of soul-warming pleasance. I am charmed by it all and resolve to return one time when I can maybe fight for a seat of my own. Alas, I fear its placing will always make it a busy spot but one can hope.
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183 Holloway Rd, London N7 8LX, England https://www.ezmoss.co.uk Breaking tradition always feels somewhat traumatic, whether intentional, necessary or unavoidable. For some time my father and I had always ventured to Piebury Corner before match days, a tiny, tiled pie and mash shop that would spin reggae records on a sound system outside as you cajoled, elbows out, for one of the limited seats or found yourself standing outside, balancing a paper plate of gravy and peas in one hand. Arsenal memorabilia on the walls and each dish named after a legendary player. There was something right and proper about a pie before football, and it was good food too! Alas, covid and business rates did for it what the Ides of March did for Caesar, so now we search for somewhere new for match day fare. Holloway Road is the shopping centre of the world, and you can get all sorts of cuisine, covering half the globe, on this one stretch of road so, in theory, finding somewhere suitable should be no challenge. Some light research uncovers EZ & Moss, a cafe specialising in vegetarian and vegan food but we’re unable to contact them beforehand and so roll the dice on chancing upon a table on the premises. Arriving shortly after 9am, we’re the first in there and so easily settle in the back amongst the bric-a-brac of Victorian era posters and plant life. The coffee is Allpress, the sort of strong, earthy coffee that goes great with sweet treats and pastries but I circumnavigate these to go for the vegan breakfast of scrambled tofu and onion on rye sourdough toast, with avocado, vegan smoked salmon, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and a homemade alternative to labneh cheese. It’s not got the stodgy delight of a pie or burger on a cold day for football but it’s immeasurably good and sets me up well for freezing on the terraces. My oat latte is silky yet, dark - the sort of coffee that you know has caffeine in and that you can feel oozing its magic through you. I have one with my meal and then follow up again to make sure I’m warmed through and ready to sit through a few hours of potential pain or great pleasure. It buzzes on the tongue with sweet but balanced complexity of apple acidity and a spiced aftertaste. Whether it becomes a regular spot for when we go to games (not that our attendance could be called regular) is yet to be seen but I’d certainly have no qualms about it being a haunt for food and frothy lattes anytime I venture into Islington. https://www.oatcoffee.com OAT - 154 Bricklane, E1 6RU Like an artery between Spitalfields and Hoxton, Brick Lane spills bloody points of interest all over the place. So often clogged with the fatty cholesterol of hipsters clotting around the vintage clothing stores, antiques markets, and IPA serving bars, its constantly refreshed retailers scab and flake away from time to time but the DNA remains the same. I’m here on a work do, dragged into the recesses of a bowling alley at the start of the afternoon to experience the joys of unnatural light and your colleagues drinking from midday whilst you go for a cigarette every 20 minutes just to remind myself what sunlight looks like. Stepping out, bleary-eyed, and blinking into the day - almost directly across from the All Star Lanes, on the corner of Buxton Street and Brick Lane, OAT stands as a beacon of caffeinated reprieve. The bright green tile work covered in stickers and flyers, bench seats jutting out from the wall as if rammed in at a right angle as a sort of afterthought, it is a welcome sight to my tired eyes and flagging mind. I can’t do all day drinking anymore, partially because I don’t drink. But even without imbibing alcohol, I can’t mentally cope with a full day of being out in bars with those who are on the booze. Conversation becomes a little sloppy and drama heightened, so this welcome oasis of coffee where I slip away to for five minutes to stand calmly, quietly and just order a nice, smooth coffee is…bliss. The checkered flooring, shiny chrome equipment and doodles on the back wall all scream peak coffee shop. You can brunch here, without question, and I try to take as much in as possible in my wavering state of mind. Pastries litter the front of the serving area and, despite it being my first time, I’m confident I can get alternative milk here - It’s called OAT for goodness sake. My coffee, an oat latte (of course), is sweet, like really sweet for a drink with no sugar in. Not unpleasantly so, but it’s rare you get a coffee that bright without adding something to it and I haven’t had one like that since the days of the now defunct Taylor Street Baristas, who used to have warnings on the tables telling you to try your coffee before adding sugar. The oat milk does a lot for this but the coffee beneath is carrying a juicy, fruitiness forward and it’s exactly what my dilapidated aura needs right now. To say I am now sprightly would be misleading, but I ready myself for trails around Shoreditch pubs and karaoke bars that I may otherwise have baulked at. To find a spot for oneself in a day meant for others can be quite cheering. Pangea, the supercontinent from which all land masses derived, it is perhaps ironic then that this tiny, one-roomed cafe is named after it then. But Spitalfields is the sort of hipster-central that is awash with great speciality coffee options so standing out from the crowd takes some work, especially when you are effectively a part of a pub given over to another beverage that isn’t alcoholic. I, however, adore this spot for its cosiness and size, with just a single table and a window bar for places to sit, often with a dog lying across the centre of the room, searching out spots of sunlight to bathe in whilst you drink your Dark Arts coffee. Although small in stature, this has all the coffee shop staples you’d expect with bakes and cakes available and succulent-filled windows to peer out onto the main road, to watch the bustling metropolis pass by. If you ever have the time, and they have the space, I’d say it’s well worth stopping by. 4 Butler Pl, London SW1H 0RH I’ve made straight for Formative Coffee from the tube stop, having looked up where serves iced coffee and hoping, not in vain, that it might have air-con. The sign outside merely says ‘Coffee’, as if this statement of beverage is enough to entice you in and no more is needed. Fit out in a minimalist style, it’s a place for coffee purists with no brunch menu, and a sparse few bakes to couple with your coffee choices. I am served my iced oat latte in something resembling a dessert bowl where a tiramisu or luxurious chocolate cake might feel more appropriate. It is almost too ostentatious and grand for me to be slurping down a cooling caffeine boost but I am desperate in the late summer heat and welcome the flat, earthy taste in its refreshing form. Smooth but not sweet, there’s something intriguing about having this particular brew with so much oat milk, it feels as though it should be sweeter against the creaminess of the milk alternative and so each sip comes as, a not unpleasant, surprise. Everything inside gleams with a little bit of well-conditioned perfection that makes me a sweaty juxtaposition against the simple shininess. I too shine, but not in a clean and fresh manner. 324 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, London SW1V CA is a pink palace of sugary sweet delights just a stone’s through from Victoria Tube station. Having formerly been “Coffee Addict”, it has pivoted towards pancakes and waffles but still produces decent coffees to go with your dessert of choice. I only opt for an iced oat latte but I’m intrigued to see they do a Spanish latte for those who want condensed milk in their coffee and desire a sugar hit on top of their caffeine burst. It’s almost a shame that it’s not entirely for speciality coffee anymore but I understand the need to diversify, and the Barbie pink colouring and on-street tables still offer it a real character. You can only stay for 15 minutes if ordering only drinks though, so it’s not one for those looking to sit too long and while away the day, but if you wanted a sweet treat and a good coffee, perhaps worth a look. https://flatwhitesoho.co.uk
17 Berwick St, London W1F 0PT I lament the loss of London’s edgier areas, the places in between the cracks that are so often described in unsavoury terms but were at least full of character. Now the creeping tide of gentrification sweeps over the city and slowly rounds off any rough edges but also makes it all so blandly homogenous and safe so that investors and the beige middle-class can feel more comfortable. I see it happening in places South of the river like Deptford, Lewisham and Woolwich but Soho is also a prime example of this, as what makes it the place it has become is slowly driven from it. It’s not that I necessarily think we should champion the seedier side of city living but at least it is living rather than a sanitised version of life that comes at an inflated cost. I used to get tattoos down an alleyway just off of Berwick street from, what was then, London’s longest running tattoo parlour but even that now has fallen to development as the alleyway has become a cleaner, wider through route with high-end fashion boutiques and high-street chain sex shops as opposed to the independent ones that stood there before and catered towards more niche tastes. Afterwards I would slither through to Berwick Street, stroll past the graffiti and grime and pick up one of the strongest coffees you can get in the capital at Flat White. The apartment blocks (that’s “flats” to those of us who remember a time before they needed to become an ostentatious Americanism) and upmarket restaurants that have moved in have changed the face of one side of the street, whilst the other clings on for dear life with its seamstress, second hand clothing and, thankfully, the glorious Flat White. I must have been coming here since my time at university and, without fail, it has been playing Queens of The Stone Age music every time I’ve gone in for a drink. This alone speaks volumes about the sort of grungey vibe it garners, with its cramped interior serving up a smattering of tables and just a tiny bar to order from but it’s a proper cafe with a proper vibe and proper coffee. Walk-in only, no syrups or flavours and a selection of cakes and pastries for food. What more could you want? I love it so wholeheartedly for what it is, because it’s set menu of coffee drinks is what you get. I go in on a day where it hits 30ºc in the great metropolis, I’m almost scared to ask if they do iced coffee because I don’t see it on the board. Thankfully they do and scoop out a cup full of ice from a drawer under the counter that makes it look like it could come from anywhere, as the tattooed, tank-topped dude serving me froths some oat milk before splashing over a strong, strong, but oh so tasty espresso shot and topping off with a bit more milk alternative. I sit on the wooden pew outside and just stare into the street, sodden and sticky, as another staff member comes out to roll a cigarette and clear away anything left out there. God, I love it. I just love it and I hope it stays here forever and a day but it’s not in the nature of things to last and so I enjoy it now and for what it is, but God I love it. https://www.blankstreet.com
80 Kingsway, London WC2B 6AG Turn left out of Holborn tube station and it’s near impossible to miss Blank Street coffee after a few good strides down the road. A small but smart coffee bar painted in a sophisticated British racing green it has two bars you can perch at, by either window, or two small tables if you can steal in before anyone else does. Despite this limited seating arrangement, it feels somewhat laidback as you peer out onto High Holborn watching the suits and idlers wander by. Apparently, there are a few of these Blank Street spots popping up about the city but this is the first I’ve come across, and it’s unfortunate that the espresso machine is undergoing repairs when I drop by but the weather is warm and I’ve been working up a sweat immersing myself in culture in the John Soane and Hunterian museums which are a mere few hundred metres away so I have no issue opting for the in-house coldbrew. I also allow my eye to be drawn to the array of pastries as I notice, with wide-eyed delight, the vegan custard Danish sitting front and centre of the glass cubby hole housing the baked goods. My conversion to Veganism means I don’t think I’ve had a Danish pastry since actually visiting Denmark some many moons ago (ironically, where they refer to them as Austrian pastries) so I can’t resist them calling to me. I try a violet lemonade too, intrigued as to how those two flavours will work together but, as always, my main concern is the coffee. Refreshing yet dry, it’s a flat sensation, no sweetness or bitterness, making it perfect for a summery cold brew. All too often you can find them too intense and uninviting because they become over-brewed in an attempt to really draw out a strong coffee flavour but this was pitched perfectly to still complement the sweet, flaky pastry without being too dark or rich. Slightly sour and a bit nutty, it’s surprisingly full-bodied as well, as cold brews tend to run toward being a little thin sometimes because of the water to coffee ratio (hence the aforementioned overdrawing) but the well-rounded nature of the whole thing made it perfect for such a situation. The lemonade, cut through nicely too with a short, sugary but sharp, shock of lemon with a lilting essence of violet draped over the top of it despite the neon purple colouring suggesting it may be overwhelming. A Brooklyn native chain that’s recently relocated to our fair capital, I’m not sure how I feel about a coffee shop that’s business model involves merchandise selling in each store too (although, I do concede it’s becoming increasingly prevalent and I’m no stranger to some of these purchases). The draw is that they operate on a small scale, independent style system in each cafe and it certainly seems to apply itself well here. I do worry for independents across London though, with a cost-of-living crisis, rents going up and now more American chains moving into the market. That being said, this isn’t the Starb*cks model and it serves great coffee (or the coldbrew at least) so for now I’m happy to recommend it because ultimately it comes down to the coffee and if that’s good, it’s hard to argue with the rest. 82 Marylebone High St, London W1U 4QW Hagen espresso bar is a Danish speciality coffee concept born in London. Danes love their coffee and there are a few former world champion baristas floating around Copenhagen, so it’s no surprise that a concept coffee shop would be based around their exquisite approach to caffeine production. There are a few locations across London but this is the first I've come across and I'm impressed by the completed air it has. So often speciality coffee appeals to the hipster crowd with pared back furniture and a sort of higgledy-piggledy approach that is designed to minimise cost and feel quirky. The problem with this is, when everyone does it, the quirk is lost. Sleek and shiny, the whole place feels like a schooling in modernist design, with chrome and mirrors everywhere, accented by pictures of Danish culture. Illustrated with the streets of Copenhagen or pictures of vikings and mermaids, there's a quaintness injected into the almost sci-fi feel of everything else and big, collective tables where you share the space are the prominent feature. A shiny bowl of oranges sit on the counter so you might order freshly squeezed orange juice and watch the process happesn in front of you but I opt for my usual oat latte and perch on a bench in the window as all of the marbled table space is occupied. Surprisingly, my oat latte is not as sweet as I expected it to be. Intensely rich and smooth but with no sweetness, there’s almost an umami taste to it that really takes me by surprise and it lacks any bitterness whatsoever. Genuinely, I think it may be one of the best coffees I’ve had in London (or certainly for quite some time) and I would gladly have lingered longer had I not had a plan in place for the day. 308 Old Brompton Road, London, UK I’d arrived at Earl’s Court quite a bit earlier than I needed to be, so there was time to kill and I didn’t much fancy getting back on the train. After wandering up and down the high street a bit, I checked Google Maps to see if there was anything of interest nearby and, just down the road was another coffee shop that I thought might be worth visiting. A slow amble brought me to Black Rabbit Coffee where I intended to sit down and while away an hour or so before heading for my meal but it was late in the day and they were intending to close up shortly so could only offer me a takeaway. This threw my plans out the window but I was still keen to sample their coffee which was an espresso blend from well-known high-quality roasters, Allpress. A well-balanced cup that had a touch of sweetness to it, there was a slight spice that combined in a sort of fruitcake essence that was complex and made you work a little bit for it. The cafe itself is a lovely little corner spot on Old Brompton Road, filled with plants and the few tables they can fit into the limited space, but on warmer days you can sit outside and take in the comings and goings of Brompton Cemetery literally opposite the site. It is everything you would expect from a speciality coffee place, and it has a classic aura that makes it welcoming to approach and comforting to be in. I only wish I’d been able to spend more time there. |
AuthorThe Mean Bean Machine (Vincent Wood) Archives
February 2024
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