Flat White, Berwick Street, Soho

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.