Blank Street, Holborn

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.
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