Store Street Espresso, Continental Stores

 54 Tavistock Pl, Saint Pancras, London WC1H 9RG
There is something genuinely divine about Store Street Espresso’s Tavistock Place location. The Bloomsbury institution has two stores with the flagship being on the street it takes its name from but it’s the secondary one that really bowls you over with charm.
Only about a ten minute walk from its sister store, this café doesn’t immediately give its intentions away as the shopfront sign claims it as ‘Continental Stores’. There’s something otherworldly about this, as though it is from another time completely and the quaint charm of the bold painted letters were too delightful to be done away with and so, it’s only when you look at the mirrored windows do you see it is, indeed, a Store Street Espresso coffee spot.
Inside is thin and narrow but not to the point where sitting down becomes cumbersome or an imposition. It creates a level of intimacy without forcing you into an unwanted advance on the other customers around you. A breath of fresh air about the place is that it is neither a shabby chic spot of upcycled seating arrangements nor a chrome and glass monolith of modern machinery as so many other coffee shops are but rather a light, bright space of contemporary but down to earth design. It’s comfortable yet modern and, when you drink as much coffee as I do, it really is nice to find somewhere that doesn’t have exposed brickwork and lightbulbs as part of the decor.
The house blend of Square Mile’s Red Brick seasonal blend is matched by a guest espresso that can be conjured up with any dairy or dairy-free alternatives whilst the brunch options far exceed what you might expect from such a small establishment. There’s something quite wholesome about the whole experience be it just stopping by for a coffee on the go or dropping in for a match cookie and a chat, it’s odd that you find anywhere, in a city the size of London, with a genuine sense of welcome.