Our Guide to the Best London Coffee Shops

Jul 9th 2010

For most of us, a morning cup of coffee has become an essential helping hand to get us started on a busy day of work. Regardless of where you are in London, there is no shortage of places to find your coffee (or tea) fix, but it can be a little difficult to know which London coffee shops have the premium roast, and which just serve up ‘grounds’.

The London Insider guide to the six best London coffee shops aims to help coffee connoisseurs find their way to some of the finest establishments in town.

City of London Coffee Shops

Dose
Much beloved by its regular clientele, Dose – located on Long Lane in The City, close to our London meeting rooms at Old Bailey – is an “owner-operator artisanal espresso bar”. If that doesn’t mean much to you, just know that the coffee on offer here is exceptional and made with real passion. James, the aforementioned owner-operator, operates his business to a strict ethical policy, including only using coffee that has been ethically sourced, organic milk, and recycled packaging wherever possible.

Pitch 42
This appropriately-named street stall, found at pitch 42 in Whitecross Street Market, operates every weekday morning, serving commuters and locals superb coffee at very reasonable prices. The stall is operated by Lee Hart and Jeremy Challender, two affable espresso experts with an eye for top quality beans and attention to detail when it comes to pouring the perfect coffee. One to visit even if it takes you out of your way.

West End Coffee Shops

Milk Bar
A few blocks east from our London meeting rooms at Glasshouse Street lies the Milk Bar. This Bateman Street London coffee shop is the sister establishment to Flat White, which takes its name from the ubiquitous way of serving coffee popular the world over. Like most of the best coffee shops around this area, the beans are sourced from the Square Mile Coffee Roasters, ensuring the espresso is of the highest quality.

Kaffeine
Kaffeine on 66 Great Titchfield Street is an independent London coffee shop run by an Australian/New Zealand team with “over 20 years industry experience”, so you can be sure that they know what they’re doing when it comes to coffee. As well as the drinks, Kaffeine also offer delicious breakfast and lunch menus – perfect if you’re working at our London meeting rooms at Cavendish Square and are looking for somewhere to get a quick bite to eat.

West London Coffee Shops

Cafe Ginkgo
Ginkgo in Hammersmith is a West London treasure, acclaimed by all who drink in it. A bright and airy space with a relaxing outdoor area (no surprise really, given that it is surrounded by the Ginkgo Gardens), this coffee shop offers all the modern amenities that someone on a break from our Hammersmith London meeting rooms could want, such as wi-fi and comfy seating. As the website states, “many of our customers have adopted it as a ‘coffice’ – so bring your laptop”.

The Troubadour
The Troubadour cafe has one of the quirkiest interiors of any of our featured coffee shops, which adds to its charm and somewhat magnetic pull that seems to capture return visitors again and again. Open every day from 9:00am – 12:00am, the cafe offers tasty food and beverages, which can be consumed in the fantastical interior of the cafe itself, or in the secluded garden area. Check out some photos of the cafe here.

Finally, here is a great video shot by Coen Remmelts during a coffee shop tour of London, featuring some of the places mentioned above (including Dose, which is where this video was first embedded):