The Caffeine Chronicles: Prufrock Revisited

Update: In September 2022, Prufrock offered an experience where customers could try a shot of specially prepared Il Grifone espresso brewed on a vintage Faema espresso machine, lovingly restored by James Hoffmann, alongside Square Mile's Red Brick blend. I had to go along and try it for myself, and I shared a few photos on Instagram,

I've featured my search for good specialty coffee in London, New York and beyond on this blog since 2008, but I didn't start posting detailed reviews until 2012 when I launched my Caffeine Chronicles series. 

My second ever Caffeine Chronicles post was about perennial Clerkenwell favourite Prufrock, and it remains one of my most read blog posts. I can just about get to Prufrock and back from my King's Cross office in a lunch hour and I used to go regularly, but as my lunch breaks have shrunk and often vanished, my visits to the Leather Lane café have become less frequent.

Although I love to try out new coffee places, the hunt for the next great thing can mean that I neglect old favourites — and Prufrock has remained in my top ten London coffee shops since 2012 (I hadn't discovered it in time for my first list in 2011). This is a rather long-winded way of introducing my return to Prufrock for weekend brunch a couple of weeks ago, but the take-home message is that favourite places are usually favourites for a reason and that the pleasure of re-discovery is as great as the joy of discovery.

Prufrock itself needs little introduction: founded in 2009 by former World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies and Jeremy Challender, it started life as a (now-defunct) concession in a men's boutique in Shoreditch High Street, before expanding to the large, airy café and barista training school on Leather Lane. 

The name is, of course, a reference to the eponymous narrator of T.S. Eliot's poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, who talks of measuring out his life with coffee spoons. Whimsy is one of the café's best features: I love that the eight-ounce takeaway cups feature an illustration of an eight-legged creature (currently a crab), the six-ounce cups a six-legged creature (currently a cricket) and the four-ounce cups the signature Prufrock bunny.

Leather Lane itself is very hectic during the week when market stalls take up the road and much of the pavement, but it's usually calmer at the weekend. I arrived at Prufrock just before noon on a Sunday and it wasn't yet too busy — by the time I left, some 90 minutes later, there were barely any free tables and a queue had formed at the coffee bar. There's another motto: the early bird gets the avocado toast.

The coffee menu is, as you might expect, extensive with various single-origins from Square Mile, Tim Wendelboe and Colonna. I ordered a piccolo (£2.60) and then asked the barista for advice on my filter choice: there was a Colombian coffee roasted by Tim Wendelboe brewed through the Chemex, and two V60s, a Colombian from Colonna and a Kenyan from Square Mile (all £5). The barista recommended the latter and so I went for it. It had been at least a week since my last avocado toast so I ordered that too (£6.50). Twist ending, I know.

I took a seat opposite the coffee bar — coincidentally, I ended up sitting at the same table as on my first visit — and just next to the wall display of spoons; Eliot (and Private Eye) would be proud. My piccolo arrived first and it was both beautifully presented and impeccably prepared: rich, strong and smooth, and with the perfect amount of milk to bring out rather than mask the flavours of the coffee.

The V60 was also excellent. I sometimes struggle to pick out the flavour profiles even when I know what they are but as soon as I brought the cup to my lips, my nose picked up the blackcurrant notes right away. I looked up the coffee (a Gichathaini PB) when I got home and was pleased to see that I had got it right for once.

Prufrock does a mean avocado toast: thin slices of avocado on a hunk of sourdough toast, with olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of chilli. £6.50 is a little pricey given that it wasn't the hugest portion, but it's hard to mind when it tasted so great. If you aren't in the mood for brunch, there are a few lunch dishes too and a selection of cakes — the 50p brownie bites are hard to resist.

Prufrock is also a great place to come for a little coffee-themed retail therapy. They sell various bags of coffee beans and a bewildering assortment of coffee-making equipment and coffee-related books. And if you'd like to sign up for some barista training, they run SCAE courses at various levels.

Absence certainly did make my heart grow fonder in the case of Prufrock. It's still one of my favourite coffee shops in London and I'm going to try to go back more often — on lunch breaks or otherwise. In the words of J. Alfred Prufrock himself, "Let us go and make our visit."

Prufrock Coffee. 23–25 Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7TE (Tube: Farringdon or Chancery Lane). Website. Instagram. My original 2012 review.

Swing When You're Winning: Swingers London

When I was much younger and my dad was going through a golf phase, he would sometimes take my brother and me with him to the local driving range. I would work my way through a bucket of balls, hitting them into the abyss — too much power and not enough control was always my problem. It's an issue that is exacerbated on crazy golf courses where my solution is to whack the ball as hard as I can and hope for the best.

The Caffeine Chronicles: Frequency Coffee

The King's Cross speciality scene is developing slowly but surely with Caravan, Notes and Lanark all clustered fairly close to King's Cross station. There are some great options in Islington and Clerkenwell too but there hasn't been anywhere to get good coffee in the triangle between these three areas. That's why coffee- and music-lover Justo didn't waste any time when he spotted a vacant shop on King's Cross Road, a few minutes' south-east of King's Cross station.

The Right Side of the Tracks: Bone Daddies, Bermondsey

Since my trip to Japan in 2014, I've been on a bit of a ramen kick but somehow hadn't made it to Bone Daddies, which opened to much acclaim in 2012 thanks to its tasty bowls of Japanese comfort food. The Soho original now has several sister restaurants, including one in Old Street, which opened a few weeks ago. Of more interest to this Bermondsey blogger, however, is their Spa Terminus location in one of the railway arches on the Old Jamaica Road.

The Caffeine Chronicles: Missing Bean Roastery, Oxford

When The Missing Bean arrived in Oxford's Turl Street almost seven years ago, I was delighted that specialty coffee had finally found its way to my hometown. Although I no longer live in Oxford, I go back regularly to visit my parents and The Missing Bean is usually my first port of call after a Saturday morning run. They told me a couple of years ago that they were opening a roastery, but I hadn't yet found time to visit.

The Caffeine Chronicles: Society Café, Oxford

I grew up in Oxford and as my parents still live just outside the historic city, I often get to go back but I don't always have a lot of time to visit new coffee shops and old favourites. Last weekend, though, I had a whole afternoon free and made it to three new-to-me coffee spots. I will review two of them this week and will then be posting an updated guide to Oxford's rapidly changing specialty coffee scene in the near future.

At Padella, Simple Pasta Pans Out Perfectly

Lining the shelves of the central, open-plan kitchen at Padella are dozens and dozens of steel pans. This is hardly surprising: the Borough Market restaurant's name means 'pan' and the main section of its menu consists solely of pasta dishes. I'd never been to the restaurant's older sister — the hugely successful Highbury-based Trullo — but Padella's stylish but unpretentious restaurant and superb pasta has already won it plaudits.

Weekday Brunch at Friends of Ours (CLOSED)

Update: Unfortunately, Friends of Ours' Hoxton cafe is now closed. But you can still find them in Hyde Park.

When I took last Friday afternoon off work, I didn't have grand plans, but culture, coffee and brunch were all on my shortlist so naturally, I headed to Shoreditch. I had heard great things about Friends of Ours, a cosy, Aussie-style neighbourhood café located a few blocks northeast of Old Street roundabout. I was particularly pleased to hear that their brunch-ready menu is available throughout the week.

The Caffeine Chronicles: Vagabond @ Trade Union (CLOSED)

UPDATE (April 2018): The whole Trade Union complex, including the Vagabond coffee shop, has permanently closed. You can still find Vagabond coffee at their Holloway home in N7.

The St Katharine Docks, nestled next to Tower Bridge's eastern flank, are lovely and lively at the weekend but Thomas More Square, a few blocks further east, tends to be much quieter. Although it's only a 25-minute walk from home (and houses my closest Waitrose), I've never had much reason to go there, save for the odd meeting with journalists.

The arrival of new all-day venue Trade Union changes all that: now you can go for coffee, lunch or cocktails, buy flowers and even have your hair cut all under the same roof. Friday was their first full day and coincidentally, I had the afternoon off work. 

I was too late (or early) for lunch or dinner and not quite ready for a cocktail, but I was keen to check out the coffee shop, which is run by north London roaster Vagabond. I've heard great things about Vagabond but rarely find myself in Finsbury Park or Highbury, where there first two locations are based.

The lobby at Trade Union is large and high-ceilinged with décor that marries industrial chic with art deco. I turned right and headed to Vagabond, which occupies a long and attractively decorated space that was bathed in natural light on the sunny afternoon of my visit. A long wooden bench runs along the length of the wooden counter, which is accented with white geometric designs, a monochrome menu and pops of vibrant yellow.

It is the gorgeous Conti espresso machine sitting in pride of place at the head of the counter that you first notice when you walk in, however. The back of the machine is fitted with a transparent panel so that you can see its inner workings. Very cool indeed.

Espresso-based drinks dominate the coffee the menu. I saw a Chemex on the counter but I don't think it was in use. Instead, I ordered a piccolo (£2.40) and a huge slice of banana bread (£2), and chatted with the baristas for a few minutes before taking a seat. There were a few other customers but it was fairly quiet, which I quite enjoyed. 

I can imagine that once business takes off, it will be hard to find a seat there during the week — very nice for the local workers to have an infinitely more interesting place for a coffee break than Pret. The soundtrack was very cool too: it was the first time in ages that I'd heard a great song called Chamakay by Blood Orange.

I forgot to ask what was in the hopper — Vagabond roast their own coffee — but in any case, my piccolo was made with great care and it tasted great: chocolatey and very smooth. The banana bread was also nice, although could perhaps have done with a few more minutes in the oven; it was, however, very moist and fruity. A wide range of sandwiches and salads are also available — again, the perfect antidote to endless cycles of Pret lunches — and the prices are reasonable.

On my way out, I peeked over at the restaurant and bar. The former is serving salads (including one called Kale, Caesar!), pizzas, and a few large plates (burgers, steaks and fish). The cocktail menu also looked impressive, both in its design and its contents. Trade Union is a really interesting concept and I hope it does well. I am, of course, delighted to have another specialty coffee spot just across the river.

Vagabond @ Trade Union. 3 Thomas More Street, London, E1W (Tube: Tower Hill). CLOSED

17 Specialty Coffee Shops To Visit in Oxford (Updated 2025)

As regular readers know, I grew up in Oxford before defecting to The Other Place for university. I still go back to Oxford several times a year to visit my parents and eventually, I realised that the city had more than enough specialty coffee spots for me to put together a guide and map. And here it is — compiled in July 2016, but regularly updated ever since.

Etc — June 2016

Jika Jika (CLOSED)

Although I spend more time than I would like walking between King's Cross and Euston Square, I was surprised not to have found out about Jika Jika until relatively recently. I was helping to run a conference across the road from the coffee shop's North Gower Street location and just had time for a quick coffee before we kicked off. 

Small and cheerful with mint green walls and a La Marzocco to match, Jika Jika was a welcome respite from the chaos of the Euston Road. I had a piccolo, which was very good, although the breakfast menu was also rather impressive; it was just a shame I had already eaten.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

One of my all-time favourite Shakespeare adaptations is Gil Junger's 10 Things I Hate About You. I saw it as a teenager with my family and we all loved its smart but sweet take on The Taming of the Shrew. In Anne Tyler's new retelling of the play, Kate Battista is a 29-year-old preschool teacher who still lives at home to look after her teenage sister Bunny and grumpy scientist father. 

Kate does everything for her father and sister but her father still wants one last favour: for Kate to marry his brilliant Russian research assistant, Pyotr, so that he can get a green card and continue to work for Dr Battista. The eponymous vinegar girl isn't going to be won over without a fight, though, or without plenty of bile being spilled along the way.

Tyler's reimagining is charming and enjoyable, with its tongue firmly in its cheek (watch out for the 'shrew' joke and Cole Porter reference). Kate herself was perhaps too sympathetic and neither feisty nor truculent enough for the role. Will the shrew be tamed? Will Pyotr run out of proverbs from his country? And will any of the other characters learn to say his name correctly? All of these will be revealed in due course but, like, the ending of the novel, you probably have a good idea.

Disclaimer: Vinegar Girl is out now, published by Vintage Books. I received a pre-release copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.


White Mulberries

Every time I go to White Mulberries, it reinforces my view that the diminutive café is one of London's finest. It's actually pretty close to home for me — just the other side of Tower Bridge in St Katharine's Docks — but because it's slightly tucked away, out of sight occasionally becomes out of mind. 

White Mulberries really shines on sunny days like last Sunday, where you can enjoy your coffee with a view of the boats bobbing in marina. This time I had a piccolo, which was pretty close to perfect with the latte art running all the way down, but I've always had great coffee here, whatever I order. My only problem is that I get distracted by the toasties on the counter and forget to order the avocado toast. A rookie error.

Eleanor by Jason Gurley

I was drawn to Jason Gurley's novel Eleanor by the stunning, ethereal cover, which jumped out at me from the shelves of Portland's wonderful Powell's Books. I didn't have room for the weighty hardback in my suitcase but I borrowed it as soon as it became available in my local library. 

It's a hard novel to describe — it is better experienced — but essentially it tells the story of three generations of women from a single family (two of whom are called Eleanor) and set on the Oregon coast during three different decades. Each one is haunted by loss and seeking redemption, meaning and perhaps happiness. Ripples of tragedy seep across the generations, wreaking consequences for decades to come.

There is also a strong fantasy component interspersed within, and in fact integral to, the story — strange, other-worldly beings may offer some form of redemption. I was less interested in these elements and think Eleanor would have made a stronger story if they had remained more ambiguous, more implicit. Gurley's prose is beautiful, poignant and haunting, however, and although I wasn't always sure where Eleanor was going, it was an imaginative ride.


Game of Thrones season six

After The Good Wife ended, I was feeling hugely uninspired by TV. I wasn't even going to watch the latest season of Game of Thrones at all as I hadn't been impressed with season five, but I persevered and boy am I glad I did. The whole of season six was great entertainment, especially the last two episodes and, in particular, the spectacular opening sequence of the finale, which was fantastic television. 

The music is spot on as usual, but most importantly the audience finally gets some pay-offs for years of loyal viewing. If you aren't yet caught up to the latest season, it's worth doing. Besides, you have about ten months now until season seven starts.