London 
is a vast city and it can be difficult for first time visitors to find a side to it away from the tourist traps. One of the best ways to explore off the beaten track London or to take a break from the crowds is to observe life from one of its many street-front cafes. The cafe scene in London has influences from the French to the Italian to that of English hippies so there are an astounding amount of trendy, sophisticated hang-outs to get your caffeine fix whilst watching life roll by.
Here are ten of London's best coffee shops:
Central London Coffee Bars Including Freud Bar, Covent Garden
Covent Garden and Soho areas abound with great cafes just minutes away from the commotion of Leicester Square.
Monmouth Coffee
Company, 27 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden: This cute little cafe has hardly any tables but the coffee is surely London's best. The smell of beans roasting as you sit in the small wooden booths is very conducive to staying a long time. There is also a branch at Borough Market, another area chock a block with great cafes next to one of London's most popular fresh produce markets.
Freud Bar, 198 Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden: Freud, situated down a steep flight of stairs in a space which is the epitome of industrial chic, claims to be England's first cafe-bar. By day it's a stylish arts space as well as a great coffee stop (and, in fact, doorstep sandwich stop). By night, it does good cocktails to boot. You can nearly always get a seat: not many people know about it. The coffee? Great. The smoothies? Excellent (but they run out fast).
Fernandez and Wells Coffee Bar, 73 Beak Street, Soho: This is a great venue - cozy, intimate and serving exquisite coffee. Staff are friendly but the seating space is limited. There's also a nearby espresso bar run by the same people. It's a rarity to find such a relaxed appealing cafe so centrally.
North London Coffee Bars — Including Candid Cafe, Islington
North London is home to trendy neighbourhoods like Camden with its alternative markets and underground music scene, Islington with its streetside cafes and the beautiful old village of Hampstead, playground of the rich and famous.
Candid Cafe, 3 Torrens Street, Islington: Behind Angel Underground Station in an old warehouse used for alternative therapy and art classes is this relaxed Bohemian cafe, wih cool art by local students on the walls and a general air of sohisticatedness. Expect battered armchairs and long communal tables. The coffee is good but the chocolate cake is sublime and the sandwiches generous. There is also a downstairs outside courtyard section.
Louis Patisserie, 32 Heath Street, Hampstead: This traditional old Hungarian-syle cafe offers a blend of exceptional service and second-to-none cakes. The refined air of old elegance (think a scene from the dining car of the Orient Express) is the perfect place to enjoy such specialties as the heavenly marzipan cake. You may have to wait a while to get a seat: it's a popular place.
Gail's, 64 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead: Hampstead is about the best people-watching, coffee-sipping spot in London, and Gail's is about the best within Hampstead. The secret to Gail's is simplicity: it provides great cakes and exquisite fresh breads, not to mention one of the meanest coffees (fair trade) in the neighbourhood. There are inside and outside tables.
West London Coffee Bars
With a plethora of posh neighbourhoods it's no surprise that cafes here are a real pleasure. Sloane Square and every Londoner's dream borough of Richmond are top of the people watching areas.
Cafe Parisien, 7 Lower George street, Richmond Upon Thames: One of Richmond's many great people-watching spots. There are tables both outside and upstairs and an air of colourful, rural French charm about it. Main meals are possible here too, and they are exceptionally good.
East London Cafes
Counter Cafe, 4 Roach Road Hackney Wick: This Aussie-owned hang-out truly is an oasis of great coffee and filling, cheap baguettes, not to mention the amazing breakfasts that are the order of the day here. There are outside seats but the interior is pretty hip too: divided into two with comfy leather seats and plenty of tables at which to gossip the weekend away.
South London
Down south, trendy Clapham and East Dulwich are South London's answers to Hampstead whilst further south are more down-to-earth neighbourhoods like Crystal Palace, all boasting great parks nearby and a selection of fine coffee bars.
Gastro, 63 Venn Street, Clapham: OK, so this is as much if not more a French restaurant than a coffee bar but you will not find a more styish, French-reminiscent cafe anywhere in London. Battered wooden tables and an authentic French menu (steaming bowls of coffee to soups, the great foie gras and the steaks) along with a people watching table right alongside the window make this an unforgettable London coffee shop experience.
Booking.com
Domali, Westow Street, Crystal Palace: Crystal Palace is so up and coming, it could be the new Clapham. This, at least, is what the locals say, and if this smart, relaxed cafe is anything to go by, they'd be right. There are armchairs at the front, other tables further back and a charming garden right at the rear. The food here is healthy and comes in generous portions: it's one of South London's trendiest eateries and drinkeries.
Author Sunil S.
is a vast city and it can be difficult for first time visitors to find a side to it away from the tourist traps. One of the best ways to explore off the beaten track London or to take a break from the crowds is to observe life from one of its many street-front cafes. The cafe scene in London has influences from the French to the Italian to that of English hippies so there are an astounding amount of trendy, sophisticated hang-outs to get your caffeine fix whilst watching life roll by.
Here are ten of London's best coffee shops:
Central London Coffee Bars Including Freud Bar, Covent Garden
Covent Garden and Soho areas abound with great cafes just minutes away from the commotion of Leicester Square.
Monmouth Coffee
Company, 27 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden: This cute little cafe has hardly any tables but the coffee is surely London's best. The smell of beans roasting as you sit in the small wooden booths is very conducive to staying a long time. There is also a branch at Borough Market, another area chock a block with great cafes next to one of London's most popular fresh produce markets.Freud Bar, 198 Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden: Freud, situated down a steep flight of stairs in a space which is the epitome of industrial chic, claims to be England's first cafe-bar. By day it's a stylish arts space as well as a great coffee stop (and, in fact, doorstep sandwich stop). By night, it does good cocktails to boot. You can nearly always get a seat: not many people know about it. The coffee? Great. The smoothies? Excellent (but they run out fast).
Fernandez and Wells Coffee Bar, 73 Beak Street, Soho: This is a great venue - cozy, intimate and serving exquisite coffee. Staff are friendly but the seating space is limited. There's also a nearby espresso bar run by the same people. It's a rarity to find such a relaxed appealing cafe so centrally.
North London Coffee Bars — Including Candid Cafe, Islington
North London is home to trendy neighbourhoods like Camden with its alternative markets and underground music scene, Islington with its streetside cafes and the beautiful old village of Hampstead, playground of the rich and famous.
Candid Cafe, 3 Torrens Street, Islington: Behind Angel Underground Station in an old warehouse used for alternative therapy and art classes is this relaxed Bohemian cafe, wih cool art by local students on the walls and a general air of sohisticatedness. Expect battered armchairs and long communal tables. The coffee is good but the chocolate cake is sublime and the sandwiches generous. There is also a downstairs outside courtyard section.
Louis Patisserie, 32 Heath Street, Hampstead: This traditional old Hungarian-syle cafe offers a blend of exceptional service and second-to-none cakes. The refined air of old elegance (think a scene from the dining car of the Orient Express) is the perfect place to enjoy such specialties as the heavenly marzipan cake. You may have to wait a while to get a seat: it's a popular place.
Gail's, 64 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead: Hampstead is about the best people-watching, coffee-sipping spot in London, and Gail's is about the best within Hampstead. The secret to Gail's is simplicity: it provides great cakes and exquisite fresh breads, not to mention one of the meanest coffees (fair trade) in the neighbourhood. There are inside and outside tables.
West London Coffee Bars
With a plethora of posh neighbourhoods it's no surprise that cafes here are a real pleasure. Sloane Square and every Londoner's dream borough of Richmond are top of the people watching areas.
Cafe Parisien, 7 Lower George street, Richmond Upon Thames: One of Richmond's many great people-watching spots. There are tables both outside and upstairs and an air of colourful, rural French charm about it. Main meals are possible here too, and they are exceptionally good.
East London Cafes
Counter Cafe, 4 Roach Road Hackney Wick: This Aussie-owned hang-out truly is an oasis of great coffee and filling, cheap baguettes, not to mention the amazing breakfasts that are the order of the day here. There are outside seats but the interior is pretty hip too: divided into two with comfy leather seats and plenty of tables at which to gossip the weekend away.
South London
Down south, trendy Clapham and East Dulwich are South London's answers to Hampstead whilst further south are more down-to-earth neighbourhoods like Crystal Palace, all boasting great parks nearby and a selection of fine coffee bars.
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Gastro, 63 Venn Street, Clapham: OK, so this is as much if not more a French restaurant than a coffee bar but you will not find a more styish, French-reminiscent cafe anywhere in London. Battered wooden tables and an authentic French menu (steaming bowls of coffee to soups, the great foie gras and the steaks) along with a people watching table right alongside the window make this an unforgettable London coffee shop experience.
Booking.com
Domali, Westow Street, Crystal Palace: Crystal Palace is so up and coming, it could be the new Clapham. This, at least, is what the locals say, and if this smart, relaxed cafe is anything to go by, they'd be right. There are armchairs at the front, other tables further back and a charming garden right at the rear. The food here is healthy and comes in generous portions: it's one of South London's trendiest eateries and drinkeries.
Author Sunil S.
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