07 April 2012

The Caffeine Chronicles Part III: Prufrock Coffee Review

On the way back to the office from DoCaSA on Thursday, I had planned to stock up on ground coffee at the Espresso Room but noticed Prufrock Coffee, hidden behind a market stall on Leather Lane. Prufrock has been on my coffee to-do list for a long time but I had always assumed Leather Lane was much further east and so never got round to visiting. As soon as we entered, I knew it was my kind of place and even though we didn't sample the macchiato, I knew the coffee would be very good. I went back this afternoon to check out how Prufrock checked out against my gut reactions.


As is normal in Clerkenwell, Leather Lane was much quieter today than during the week but there were several other customers in Prufrock and one of their regular coffee training courses had just let out, so there was a nice ambiance but plenty of free tables for me and my crossword. I ordered my usual double macchiato and, as is usually a good sign, I got to say when there was enough milk (a long splash or a short dribble, in my case). The coffee was really good--rich and almost chocolatey--and had I not already had a mug of AeroPress this morning, I might well have been tempted to have another. You can also sample various fancy brew methods--Syphon, AeroPress, and so on.

Macchiato plus brownie bite
There are a selection of sandwiches, pastries and cakes on offer. The brownie was great and you can also buy a brownie "bite" for 50p, which is perfect for people like me who find it hard to resist a good brownie but don't always have room for a whole one. The designs on the take-away cups are also really cool: the four-legged bunny is for the 4 oz cup, the six-legged flying insect is for the 6 oz cup, and the eight-legged scorpion appears on the 8 oz cup. You can also buy t-shirts with the bunny on but I seemed to fall between the small and the medium and so procrastinated the decision for now.

Four legs espresso, six legs flat white, eight legs Americano
The staff are knowledgeable and very friendly and Prufrock is a really nice place to hang out. It reminds me of Everyman Espresso and some of my other favourite New York espresso bars, in terms of design and ambiance. Now, if only they would open a branch in King's Cross or Marylebone (not that it would be as cool in either)...

Prufrock Coffee. 23-25 Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7TE (Tube: Farringdon or Chancery Lane). Website. Twitter.

Check out my map of my top 10 London coffee bars here and read more of my 'Caffeine Chronicles' reviews here.

2 comments:

  1. Is this a self-service cafe or does a waiter come to a table to take an order?

    ReplyDelete