02 September 2013

The Caffeine Chronicles: No. 67 Café Review

Inspired by Saturday's film fun in Burgess Park, when I was craving coffee yesterday afternoon, I decided to explore another new part of Southwark: Peckham. During the winter, I went to the pool at the Peckham Pulse once a week, but I've been meaning to explore the bits of the area that have more to offer than pawn brokers and betting shops. I consulted my copy of The London Coffee Guide, which flagged up two potential caffeine candidates: Café Viva, near Peckham Rye station, and No. 67, the café of the South London Gallery. The former is closed until later this week, so No. 67 it was.



No. 67 occupies a lovely terraced townhouse on a mainly residential stretch of the Peckham Road and is a great spot for a post-culcha tipple or nibble, although they also do lunch, dinner and a very tempting brunch, which I'll have to sample at some point. I'd already eaten, though, so I just ordered my usual double macchiato and took a seat at one of the brass-topped tables inside. With its mid-grey walls and monochrome, periodic table-themed artwork, the small café is a very chic place to while away a pleasant half an hour. There are also a few long, wooden tables in the café's front yard at the moment.




The coffee is from Allpress and my macchiato was excellent, with a rich, complex flavour and just a dash of milk and a dab of foam. Just the way I like it.



No. 67 is also a great place for people-watching, and it was fun to catch extracts of the conversations of some of other customers as they sipped their Prosecco and discussed the current exhibition at the South London Gallery. It's Peckham, folks, but not as we know it.


No. 67. 67 Peckham Road, London, SE5 8UH (transport: Peckham Rye Overground). Website. Twitter.