Monmouth Coffee, Borough Markets and Covent Garden
We have to say this is our favourite coffee bean and one of our fave places to grab a good latte. Always so consistent in taste, stronger caffeine hit and really smooth froth. Have never had burnt milk a Monmouth which is a frequent crime of the chains (Costa, Nero, Starbucks etc.). Monmouth roast their own coffee which come from about a dozen places around the world including Africa and South America. Many other good coffee places around London use Monmouth's coffee (and I have forgotten which ones but do remember speaking to some baristas who mentioned they were using Monmouth). I love the Borough Market Monmouth. Have taken loads of Aussies here (even my bro David, who never drinks coffee but actually liked the coffee here- Mel's latte of course!). Have even taken some English and European friends here for meetings (designers love the shabby chic-ness). Covent Garden is always packed, but great for t/a before/after/during shopping the boutiques.
Cost per latte: £2.30
Size: "Normal" Oz sized take-away, but if you have in it's more a large Oz size.
Grace, St Pauls (links to Twitter)
We are pro-supporting local businesses (London is heaving with chains... food, cafes, restaurant, coffee places) and this is our "local" in the true sense of the word. We go to the sunny corner store, Grace, pretty much everyday to visit "coffee guy" and "coffee girl" (whom "coffee guy" recently recruited). Coffee is a pretty serious matter here. You can only get take-away (have to say don't quite support the polystyrene cups but the things you do for a decent latte!) and "coffee guy" maintains quite a lot of consistency, never burns the milk and gives us a strong dose of espresso delivered all in British earnest. There's a massive Gaggia, and you can choose medium, dark or organic roasts. You can also pick up some neat homemade treats, which we find really hard to bypass on a daily basis while waiting for our coffee.
Cost per latte: £1.50 (did we mention what a bargain this was for great coffee?)
Size: More a medium-large Oz size t/a
Nude Espresso, Spitalfields
Believe it or not, an English friend introduced me to this place. Lovely, bright and red, Nude does great coffee with a New Zealand smile. Located close to many design companies I know, Brick Lane, Spitalfields Markets and in vintage shop central it's also a great people-watching joint!
Cost per latte: £2.30
Size: Normal Oz size if you have in
Fernandez and Wells
In SoHo, F&W has been the place of quite a number of meetings for me. There are a few locations within walking distance, but I quite like the one of Beak Street (which is pictured below). Long wooden benches make good use of the small space, but that doesn't quite deter long meetings at F&W!
Cost per latte: Around £2.30
Size: Normal Oz size if you have in
Flat White, Soho
I think Flat White is the most famous among the Aussie community. Alongside Monmouth, it has one of the bigger cafe spaces and stepping inside makes us feel like we are back in Paddington, Sydney. It has such a similar atmosphere and interior and often makes me homesick (like it did last weekend when we were there). Flat White also serves great Aussie cafe food for breakfast and lunch.
Cost per latte: Around £2.30
Size: Normal Oz size if you have in or t/a
Lantana, Fiztrovia
Have not been to Lantana yet, but am meeting a friend there next week. My Aussie-living-and-working-in-London friend Myles, who authors her own food blog, Gourmet Safari (and here's a link to her own London coffee post) has been there and notifies me that Lantana do banana bread- a rare find in London! Can't wait to try Lantana coffee and banana bread next week. The cafe also does a neat blog called Scrambling Eggs.
Cost per latte: Around £2.30
Size: Normal Oz size if you have in
Some final words on good coffee in London....
You might have noticed that I have described coffee cup sizes. This is because most coffee you buy in London will come as massive servings (it makes Oz coffee look like babycinos for kids). While good value, most Aussies in London would choose quality over quantity any day. If you must go to a chain, we think Eat or Apostrophe do OK.
Also, most UK places don't know what a flat white is, so we'd recommend going for a latte (as cappuccinos are usually served with far too much bad froth).
As a final point to this post, some great person has plotted some good coffee places in London and around the UK. Great for all the UK travels. You can view the Google map here.
Some additional links on the subject matter of coffee in London:
Luke Bozier's blog post, 9 July 2009
In London Aussies and Kiwis do it better (coffee that is)
TimeOut London, 31 July 2009
Raising the bar - the independent cafes and Antipodean attitudes regenerating our coffee culture
