06 September 2017

My Favourite London Specialty Coffee Shops (Updated 2025)


I've been writing about London's first forays and then larger leaps into the specialty coffee world since I started this blog in 2007. I've written about more than 200 London coffee spots over the years — some have since closed and my tastes have changed too, especially as the city's specialty coffee scene burgeoned and boomed, spreading from Soho and Shoreditch, into other central areas and then way beyond.

I compiled my first concise London coffee guide in 2011, updating it in 2012 and 2014. An update was long overdue but I knew a top ten would barely even scratch the surface and because friends, family and others often ask for my recommendations, I needed something more in-depth. 

Created in 2017 but updated regularly with my latest coffee shop discoveries, my guide currently comprises 150+ London specialty coffee shops and cafés, from Crouch End to Clapham and Dalston to Deptford. These are my personal favourites based on my own experiences and by no means represent a fully comprehensive list — there is a central/eastern bias based on where I live, work and hang out. 

As with my New York coffee guide, many of the featured venues have sister branches, and rather than listing every location I've visited, I've selected my favourites. Asterisked venues below (purple on the map) are my top favourites. I've linked below my reviews, and for more information, including my photos and details of other branches, please check out my accompanying Google Map. Finally, this Flickr album includes many photos of these and other London coffee spots.

Last updated: March 2025.



My London Specialty Coffee Guide


% Arabica 2 Market Street, Spitalfields Market, London E1 6DT Review

15grams 28 Greenwich Church St, London SE10 9BJ (Greenwich) Review

Abuelo 26 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7RS (Covent Garden) Review

Alchemy 8 Ludgate Broadway, London, EC4V 6DU (City) Review

Allpress 55 Dalston Lane, London, E8 2NG (Dalston) Review
58 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DP (Shoreditch) Review

* Amoret Coffee 53 Pembridge Road, Notting Hill, London, W11 3HG (Notting Hill) Review

The Attendant 27a Foley Street, London, W1W 6DY (Fitzrovia) Review
74 Great Eastern St, London, EC2A 3JL (Shoreditch) Review

Bar Termini 7 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 5JE (Soho) Review

* Batch Baby Rose Lipman Building, 43 De Beauvoir Road, London, N1 5SF Review

The Black Lab 18 Clapham Common Southside, London, SW4 7AB (Clapham) Review

The Black Penny 34 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AA (Covent Garden) Review

Browns of Brockley 5 Coulgate Street, London, SE4 2RW (Brockley) Review

Brunswick East Unit 3D Stamford Works, Gillett Street, London, N16 8JH (Dalston) Review

Bühler and Co 8 Chingford Road, London, E17 4PJ (Walthamstow) Review

Calico Coffee Unit C, 101 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7AB (Waterloo) Review

Canada Water Cafe 40 Surrey Quays Road, London SE16 7DX (Canada Water) Review

Caravan 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA (King's Cross) Review
30 Great Guildford Street, London, SE1 0HS (Southwark) Review

Carbon Kopi 11 Margravine Road, London, W6 8LS (Hammersmith) Review

Catalyst Cafe 48 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LT (Clerkenwell) Review

Chapter 72 72 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD (Bermondsey) Review

Chief Coffee Turnham Green Terrace Mews, London W4 1QU (Chiswick) Review

Climpson & Sons 67 Broadway Market, London, E8 4PH (Hackney) Review

Coffee Circus 136 Crouch Hill, London, N8 9DX (Crouch End) Review

Coffee Island 5 Upper St Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9NY (Covent Garden) Review

* Colonna & Small's 96a Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7TX (Clerkenwell) Review

Craft Coffee Battle Bridge Place, London, N1C 4TB (King's Cross) Review

Crispin The Pavilion on The Corner, White’s Row, London, E1 7NF (Spitalfields) Review

Crol & Co 77 Dunton Road, London, SE1 5TW (Bermondsey) Review

Curators Coffee Studio 9A Cullum Street, London, EC3M 7JJ (The City) Review

Daisy Green 20 Seymour Street, London, W1H 7HX (Marylebone) Review

District 7 New Union Square, London, SW11 7DN (Nine Elms) Review

The Espresso Room 31-35 Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3HZ (Bloomsbury) Review
24 New Row, London, WC2N 4LA (Covent Garden) [Formerly New Row Coffee; review]

Establishment Coffee 11 Saint Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AS (The City) Review

FWD Coffee 126 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3PJ (Shoreditch) Review

* Flat White 17 Berwick Street, London, W1F 0PT (Soho) Review

* Formative Coffee 4 Butler Place, London, SW1H 0RH (Victoria) Review

Four Boroughs 10 Church Road, London, SE19 2ET (Crystal Palace) Review coming soon

Frequency 121 King's Cross Road, London, WC1X 9NH (King's Cross) Review
13 Camden Passage, London, N1 8EA (Islington) Review

Friends of Ours 61 Pitfield Street, London, N1 6BU (Shoreditch) Review

* The Gentlemen Baristas 63 Union Street, London, SE1 1SG (London Bridge) Review
11 Park Street, London, SE1 9AB (London Bridge) Review
162 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EF (Mayfair) Review

* Good as Gold 209 Mantle Road, London, SE4 2EW (Brockley) Review

Hagen Espresso Bar 27-29 Swallow Street, London, W1B 4DH (Mayfair) Review

Half Cup 100-102 Judd Street, London, WC1H 9NT (Bloomsbury) Review

Hej 1 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN (Bermondsey) Review (This location has closed but you can still find their café–roastery in Rodney Place, SE17.)

Host Café St Mary Aldermary, 69 Watling Street, London, EC4M 9BW (The City) Review

* HR Higgins 79 Duke Street, London, W1K 5AS (Mayfair) Review

I Will Kill Again Arch 216, 27A Ponsford Street, London, E9 6JU (Hackney)  Review (relocated, in espresso bar form, to 1–5 Rosina Street)

Intermission Coffee Unit 2, The Hardy Building, Heritage Lane, London, NW6 2BR (West Hampstead) Review

Iris & June 1 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1BH (Victoria) Review

Jacob the Angel 16 1/2 Neal's Yard, London, WC2H 9DP (Covent Garden) Review (closed — but planning to reopen in another location)

Juliet's Quality Foods 110 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NG (Tooting Broadway) Review; brunch mini-review

* Kaffeine 66 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7QJ (Fitzrovia) Review

Kafi 20 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 4JA (Fitzrovia) Review

Kanella & Co 106 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich SE22 8HF (East Dulwich) Mini-review

Kapihan 13A Parkgate Road, London, SW11 4NL (Battersea) Review (this location closed but it has reopened nearby at 547 Battersea Park Road, SW11 3BL)

Kiss the Hippo 51 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SG (Fitzrovia) Review
50 George Street, Richmond, TW9 1HJ (Richmond) Review

Lane Eight Coffee 6 The Pavement, London SW4 0HY (Clapham) Review (review of the now-closed East Dulwich location)
 
Lantana 13 Charlotte Place, London, W1T 1SN (Fitzrovia) Review
44–46 Southwark St, London, SE1 1UN (London Bridge) Review

LIFT 133 Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LP (Notting Hill) Review

LoFi 11A Broadway Parade, London, N8 9DE (Crouch End) Review coming soon

Lomond Coffee Arch 7, 4 Deptford Market Yard, Deptford, London, SE8 4BX (Deptford) Review

London Grind 2 London Bridge, London, SE1 9RA (London Bridge) Review

Louie Louie 347 Walworth Road, London, SE17 2AL (Walworth) Review (This location has closed but you can still visit them at their Elephant Park location, Little Louie.)

Lumberjack 70 Camberwell Church Street, London, SE5 8QZ (Camberwell) Review

Lyle's The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ (Shoreditch) Mini-review

MAKEMAKECOFFEE Lower Road, Surrey Quays, London, SE16 2UF (Surrey Quays) Review coming soon

Milk 18–20 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9RG (Balham) Review

Monmouth Coffee Arch 3 Spa North, Dockley Road, London, SE16 4EJ (Bermondsey) Review
2 Park Street, London, SE1 9AB (Borough) Review

Monocle Cafe 18 Chiltern Street, London, W1U 7QA (Marylebone) Review

Moonstruck Cafe 153 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1XN (Stockwell) Review

Mouse Tail 211 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1JA (Borough) Review

Nagare Coffee 40 Brushfield Street, London, E1 6AG (Spitalfields) Review
Ground Floor, 2 Newburgh Street, London W1F 7RD (Soho) Mini-review

Nkora 21 Hackney Road, London, E2 7NX (Shoreditch) Review

* NOLA 224 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4NL (Peckham) Review

Nostos Coffee 10a Battersea Park Road, London, SW8 4FF (Battersea) Review
6 Orchard Place, London, SW1H 0BF (Victoria) Review

Notes 1 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG (King's Cross) Review

Nude Espresso 26 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR (Shoreditch) Review

Old Spike Roastery 54 Peckham Rye, London, SE15 4JR (Peckham) Review
251 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 6FJ (Elephant & Castle) Review

* Omotesando Koffee Rathbone Square, London, W1J 5EZ (Fitzrovia) Review

* Origin Coffee 65 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3PE (Shoreditch) Review
96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB (King's Cross) Review
* 84 Scoresby Street, London, SE1 0XN (Southwark) Review

Over Under Coffee 145 Ladbroke Grove, London, W10 6HJ (Notting Hill) Review  

* Ozone Coffee Roasters 11 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4AQ (Shoreditch) Review
8 Pritchard's Road, London, E2 9AP (Bethnal Green) Review

Paradox Design + Coffee 13–23 Westgate Street, Netil Market, London, E8 3RL (Hackney) Review

The Pear Tree Greenland Place, Yeoman Street, London, SE8 5ET (Surrey Quays) Review

The Penny Drop 13 Tottenham Street, London, W1T 2AH (Fitzrovia) Review

Presse Books 140 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4GW (Borough) Review

* Profile Coffee 1b Highbury Park, London, N5 1QJ (Highbury) Review

* Prufrock Coffee 23–25 Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7TE (Clerkenwell) Review

Queens of Mayfair 17 Queen Street, London, W1J 5PH (Mayfair) Review

Red Lion Coffee Co Batavia Road, London, SE14 6AX (New Cross) Review
The Scalpel, 52–54 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7AF (The City) Review

* Redemption Roasters 84b Lamb's Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LR (Bloomsbury) Review
Stable Street, King's Cross, London, N1C 4AQ (King's Cross) Review

The Roasting Shed Echo Building Unit 2, East Bay Lane, London, E15 2SJ (Hackney) Review

* Rosslyn Coffee 78 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4N 4SJ (The City) Review
118 London Wall, London EC2Y 5JA (The City) Review

* Saint Espresso Angel House, 26 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9HJ (Islington) Review
214 Baker Street, London, NW1 5RT (Marylebone) Review
13 East Bay Lane, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 3BS (Hackney) Mini-review

Saint Nine Coffee 67 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0HX  Review

* Scenery Coffee 171 Union Street, London, SE1 0LN Review

Shoreditch Grind 213 Old Street, London, EC1V 9NR (Shoreditch) Review

Soho Grind 19 Beak Street, London, W1F 9RP (Soho) Review

* Special Guests 8 Aybrook Street, London, W1U 4AW (Marylebone) Review

St David Coffee House 5 David's Road, London, SE23 3EP (Forest Hill) Review

Stir Coffee 111 Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1 AA (Brixton) Review

Store Street Espresso 40 Store Street, London, WC1E 7DB (Bloomsbury) Review
54 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9RG (King's Cross) Review
222 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QD (The City) Review

Story Coffee Ram Quarter, 15 Barley Walk, London, SW18 1UL (Wandsworth) Review

TAB x TAB 14–16 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5RH (Notting Hill) Review

Tao Cafe 2A Ruskin Square, Croydon, CR0 2WF (East Croydon) Review

Urban Baristas 138 Wapping High Street, London, E1W 3PA (Wapping) Review

* Velasquez and Van Wezel 78 Park Road, London, N8 8JQ (Crouch End) Review

WatchHouse 199 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UW (Bermondsey) Review
37 Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YR (Bermondsey) Review
* 36 Maltby Street, London, SE1 3PA (Bermondsey) Review
70 St Mary Axe, London EC3A 8BE (The City) Review

Where's Fred's 7 Frederick's Place, London EC2R 8EA (The City) Review

* White Mulberries Ivory House D3, St Katharine Docks, London, E1W 1AT (Wapping) Review
Unit 6, Hay’s Galleria, Tooley Street, London, SE1 2HD (London Bridge) Review

Wood St Coffee Blackhorse Workshop 1–2 Sutherland Road Path, London E17 6BX (Walthamstow) Review

* Workshop Coffee 80 Mortimer Street, London, W1W 7FE (Fitzrovia) Review
1 Barrett Street, London, W1U 1DN (Marylebone) Review
25 London Street, London, W2 1HH (Paddington) Review


Closed London Coffee Shops


Gone, but not forgotten! These London specialty coffee shops were once on my list but unfortunately, have now closed permanently:

  • 80 Stone Cafe, 7a St George's Circus, London, SE1 6HS (Elephant & Castle) Review
  • * Association Coffee 12 Creechurch Lane, London, EC3A 5AY (City) Review
  • Black Box, 8b Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JA (Covent Garden) Review
  • Black Salt, 26 Vauxhall Street, London SE11 5LG (Vauxhall) Mini-review
  • Black Swan Yard, 37 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF  (Bermondsey) Review
  • Brooklyn Coffee, 139 Commercial Street, London, E1 6BJ (Shoreditch) Review
  • Bulldog Edition at the Ace Hotel, 100 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JQ (Shoreditch) Review
  • BUSI 42–48 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 7NB (Fitzrovia) Review (closed — but planning to reopen in a new location)
  • Coffee Works Project, 96-98 Islington High Street, London, N1 8EG (Islington) Review
  • Coleman Coffee, Unit 5, Dockley Road, London, SE16 3SF (Bermondsey) Review
  • Coleman Coffee, 20 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RJ (Waterloo) Review
  • Craving, 39B Markfield Road, London, N15 4QA (Tottenham Hale) Review
  • CREAM, 31 New Inn Yard, London, EC2A 3EY (Shoreditch) Review
  • Curators Coffee Gallery, 51 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SG (Fitzrovia) Review
  • Daily Goods, 36 Camberwell Church Street, London, SE5 8QZ (Camberwell) Review
  • Department of Coffee & Social Affairs, 14-16 Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7SU (Clerkenwell) Review
  • Embassy East, 285 Hoxton Street, London, N1 5JX (Hoxton) Review
  • The Espresso Room, 23 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 5HA (Holborn) Review [Formerly Free State; review]
  • Federation Coffee, Unit 77-78 Brixton Market, Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8PS (Brixton) Review
  • Fernandez & Wells, 43 Lexington Street, London, W1F 9AL (Soho) Review (of now-closed Beak Street location)
  • Flor, 1 Bedale Street, London, SE1 9AL (London Bridge) Review
  • Four Corners, 12 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RJ (Waterloo) Review
  • Fowlds, 3 Addington Square, London, SE5 7JZ (Camberwell) Review
  • Hopper Coffee, 4 Roger Street, London, WC1N 2JX (Bloomsbury) Review
  • House of Morocco, 82 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9DN (King's Cross) Review
  • Hubbard & Bell, 199–206 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BD (Holborn) Review
  • Ko Coffee, 258 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JY Review
  • Lane Eight Coffee, 11 Melbourne Grove, London, SE22 8RG (East Dulwich) Review
  • Lantern Coffee, Little London, 8 Mill Street, London, SE1 2BA (Bermondsey) Review
  • Le Café Alain Ducasse, Unit 16, Bagley Walk Arches, Coal Drops Yard, London, N1C 4DH (King's Cross) Review
  • London Velo, 18 Deptford High Street, London, SE8 4AF (Deptford) Review
  • Lundenwic, 45 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4DW (Covent Garden) Review
  • Machine, 97 Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 4TW (Bermondsey) Review
  • Macintyre Coffee, 428 St John Street, London, EC1V 4NJ (Islington) Review
  • Milkbar, 3 Bateman Street, London, W1D 4AG (Soho) Review (closed, at least for the time being)
  • Modern Society, 33 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ (Shoreditch) Review
  • The New Black, 10 Philpot Lane, London, EC3M 8AA, (City) Review
  • Old Kent Coffee Supply, 364 Old Kent Road, London, SE1 5AA (Walworth)
  • Over Under Coffee, 4 Ham Yard Hotel, London, W1D 7DT (Soho) Review
  • Pattern Coffee, 82 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9DN (King's Cross) Review
  • The Pigeon Hole, 2 Datchelor Place, London, SE5 7AP (Camberwell) Review
  • Sans Pere, 84 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3JL (Shoreditch) Review
  • Scarlett Coffee Roastery, 30 Duncan Street, London, N1 8BW (Islington) Review
  • Second Shot, 49 Church Street, London, NW8 8ES (Marylebone) Review
  • Second Shot, 475 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 9QH (Bethnal Green) Review
  • Small White Elephant, 28 Choumert Road, London, SE15 4RE (Peckham) Review
  • TAP Coffee, 193 Wardour Street, London, W1F 8ZF (Soho) Review; 114 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 5AH (Fitzrovia) Review; 72 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5BA (Bloomsbury) Review
  • Timberyard, 7 Upper St Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9DL (Covent Garden) Review
  • Treves & Hyde, 15-17 Leman Street, London, E1 8EN (Whitechapel) Review
  • Terrone, Netil Market, 3–23 Westgate Street, London, E8 3RL (Hackney) Review
  • Vagabond x Trade Union, 3 Thomas More Street, London, E1W 1YW (Wapping) Review
  • Walker Wyatt Coffee, 3 Upper Tooting Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 7TS (Tooting) Review


More London Specialty Coffee Resources


My list is far from comprehensive but luckily, there are myriad resources for finding the best coffee in London. Sadly, most of my fellow London coffee bloggers (including Bean There atBean ThinkingBrian's Coffee and Cups of London Coffee) are no longer blogging regularly, but their blogs are still a great resource for anyone interested in the London coffee scene in the 2010s and early 2020s.

The London section of the Best Coffee website (and accompanying Best Coffee app) is a great first port of call when visiting a new neighbourhood. James Hansen put together an excellent shortlist of 15 of London's best coffee shops for the (now-defunct) London edition of Eater. Keep an eye on SpecialtyCoffee.London's Instagram account for new specialty coffee openings in London.


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