31 July 2017
The Ipswich, MA, Caffeine Chronicles: Little Wolf Coffee
When I first started to look into the speciality coffee possibilities for my trip to Massachusetts a few months ago, about the only place outside the Boston area that I found was Little Wolf Coffee, a cafe–roastery in the small, historic town of Ipswich. There was a nice Sprudge article a few months ago about Little Wolf's awesome wolf-themed packaging and branding — which was a big draw for me both as a fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers (AKA Wolves) and in terms of the design.
28 July 2017
The Portsmouth, NH, Caffeine Chronicles: Profile Coffee Bar
After a gorgeous sunny day at the wonderful Good Harbor Beach on Wednesday, the weather was a bit more unsettled yesterday so we decided to drive up to the Kittery Outlets, a few miles over the Maine border, for a bit of retail therapy. I had done a bit of research beforehand and come to the conclusion that there wasn't any speciality coffee to be had in the town of Kittery and so didn't bring my camera with me.
25 July 2017
The Cambridge, MA, Caffeine Chronicles: Broadsheet Coffee
If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may know that I'm currently on holiday with my family in Massachusetts. We're staying at a beach house near Gloucester on Cape Ann, about 40 miles northeast of Boston. To the best of my knowledge, the only speciality coffee on Cape Ann is that which I am making in our rental house (I brought some coffee from Catalyst and Five Elephant with me), although there is a coffee shop and roastery I'm looking forward to checking out in Ipswich.
20 July 2017
The Caffeine Chronicles: Coffee Circus
Coffee wasn't the main motivation for my recent trip to Crouch End, but a quick bit of research soon indicated that the pretty, north London neighbourhood was not without its coffee merits. I wrote about Velasquez and Van Wezel earlier this week and the second speciality coffee shop I visited in Crouch End was Coffee Circus, a café with cosy, colourful interiors on Crouch Hill (the road that forms the southeastern 'arm' of the X of Crouch End).
Coffee Circus opened in 2011 and although its décor includes various circus-themed elements, it was much calmer than its name suggests late on a Saturday afternoon. The café is long and slender, with the coffee bar occupying most of the front room, while the main seating area, which has plenty of rustic wooden furniture, is in the back. The back room is surprisingly bright and although there were still plenty of other customers when I visited, it was relatively quiet.
I had heard good things about the brunch, but had already partaken that day, and I was so full that although the cakes looked lovely, it probably would have taken a chocolate-peanut butter brownie (my favourite sweet treat) to tempt me into pudding. There were also various soups, quiches and salads if you aren't of a brunch persuasion.
The coffee is from East London-based Mission Coffee Works, and there are Aeropress, V60 and French press options if you're in the mood for a hand-brewed filter coffee. I was a little pressed for time and so went for a cortado (£2.20) with Mission's Bells Espresso, a nutty chocolatey blend of Brazilian and Peruvian coffees. My coffee was well prepared and slipped down very well. I would have liked to try a pourover too but I will have to save that experience — and the brunch — for another visit.
Coffee Circus was a relaxed venue for hanging out over a cup of coffee, with warm, efficient service and a very pretty shopfront.
Coffee Circus. 136 Crouch Hill, Crouch End, London, N8 9DX (Tube: Highgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
Coffee Circus opened in 2011 and although its décor includes various circus-themed elements, it was much calmer than its name suggests late on a Saturday afternoon. The café is long and slender, with the coffee bar occupying most of the front room, while the main seating area, which has plenty of rustic wooden furniture, is in the back. The back room is surprisingly bright and although there were still plenty of other customers when I visited, it was relatively quiet.
I had heard good things about the brunch, but had already partaken that day, and I was so full that although the cakes looked lovely, it probably would have taken a chocolate-peanut butter brownie (my favourite sweet treat) to tempt me into pudding. There were also various soups, quiches and salads if you aren't of a brunch persuasion.
The coffee is from East London-based Mission Coffee Works, and there are Aeropress, V60 and French press options if you're in the mood for a hand-brewed filter coffee. I was a little pressed for time and so went for a cortado (£2.20) with Mission's Bells Espresso, a nutty chocolatey blend of Brazilian and Peruvian coffees. My coffee was well prepared and slipped down very well. I would have liked to try a pourover too but I will have to save that experience — and the brunch — for another visit.
Coffee Circus was a relaxed venue for hanging out over a cup of coffee, with warm, efficient service and a very pretty shopfront.
Coffee Circus. 136 Crouch Hill, Crouch End, London, N8 9DX (Tube: Highgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
18 July 2017
The Caffeine Chronicles: Velasquez and Van Wezel
Today's Caffeine Chronicles review features a London coffee shop whose name has a prodigious Scrabble score: Velasquez and Van Wezel in lovely, leafy Crouch End. As regular readers will be aware, I venture north of King's Cross much more rarely than I ought, but a good friend moved up to N8 a few months ago and I was long overdue a visit. I decided to arrive early on Saturday to check out a couple of speciality coffee spots first and Velasquez and Van Wezel was first on my list.
The Colombian Velasquez and the Dutch Van Wezel opened their titular coffee bar in September 2016. It occupies a light and bright space on Park Road, the northwestern 'arm' of the X that forms the centre of Crouch End. The coffee bar fits in very well on Park Road, which has numerous independent shops, bars and restaurants. It's a very pleasant place for a stroll, in other words.
Inside Velasquez and Van Wezel, there are a handful of small tables and a raised bar with perching stools in the window. The colour scheme is light and natural, with pops of mint green — most notably on the gorgeous custom Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine that sits on the tiled counter. There are a few further tables on the pavement, which afford some excellent Crouch End people-watching opportunities.
The espresso is from Square Mile, while various guest coffees make appearances as batch-brew and hand-brewed filter coffees. I couldn't resist the opportunity to try coffee from a new-to-me Amsterdam roaster, Lot Sixty One, and ordered the Finca Toño Costa Rican coffee brewed through the V60 (they also serve Aeropress-brewed coffee), which was £3.50. The coffee was fruity and juicy, and I tasted some nice berry notes. It was very well brewed and I finished it all too quickly.
For round two, I opted for a cortado (£2.30), which was made with Square Mile's Redbrick blend. My cortado was very well prepared, with a smooth, well-balanced flavour and latte art that lasted all the way down to the bottom of the glass.
Although I arrived slightly after the end of brunch hours (3 pm), Martin and Oscar were happy to prepare me an avocado on toast (£7.50). Served with a side of watercress, the avocado toast tasted great and filled me up just enough for a very late lunch. If you do miss brunch, they also have some delicious-looking cakes and sandwiches available.
I had hoped to return on Sunday morning with my friends for breakfast but we had other plans, so I'll just have to make my way back up north London again soon. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming, the coffee impeccable and the café a beautiful and calming place to hang out. I think the autocorrect function on my phone has even finally managed to learn how to spell both Velasquez and Van Wezel!
Velasquez and Van Wezel. 78 Park Road, Crouch End, London, N8 8JQ (Tube: Highgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
The Colombian Velasquez and the Dutch Van Wezel opened their titular coffee bar in September 2016. It occupies a light and bright space on Park Road, the northwestern 'arm' of the X that forms the centre of Crouch End. The coffee bar fits in very well on Park Road, which has numerous independent shops, bars and restaurants. It's a very pleasant place for a stroll, in other words.
Inside Velasquez and Van Wezel, there are a handful of small tables and a raised bar with perching stools in the window. The colour scheme is light and natural, with pops of mint green — most notably on the gorgeous custom Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine that sits on the tiled counter. There are a few further tables on the pavement, which afford some excellent Crouch End people-watching opportunities.
The espresso is from Square Mile, while various guest coffees make appearances as batch-brew and hand-brewed filter coffees. I couldn't resist the opportunity to try coffee from a new-to-me Amsterdam roaster, Lot Sixty One, and ordered the Finca Toño Costa Rican coffee brewed through the V60 (they also serve Aeropress-brewed coffee), which was £3.50. The coffee was fruity and juicy, and I tasted some nice berry notes. It was very well brewed and I finished it all too quickly.
For round two, I opted for a cortado (£2.30), which was made with Square Mile's Redbrick blend. My cortado was very well prepared, with a smooth, well-balanced flavour and latte art that lasted all the way down to the bottom of the glass.
Although I arrived slightly after the end of brunch hours (3 pm), Martin and Oscar were happy to prepare me an avocado on toast (£7.50). Served with a side of watercress, the avocado toast tasted great and filled me up just enough for a very late lunch. If you do miss brunch, they also have some delicious-looking cakes and sandwiches available.
I had hoped to return on Sunday morning with my friends for breakfast but we had other plans, so I'll just have to make my way back up north London again soon. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming, the coffee impeccable and the café a beautiful and calming place to hang out. I think the autocorrect function on my phone has even finally managed to learn how to spell both Velasquez and Van Wezel!
Velasquez and Van Wezel. 78 Park Road, Crouch End, London, N8 8JQ (Tube: Highgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
14 July 2017
Five Books for Your 2017 Summer Reading List
After my successful attempt to read 200 books last year, I've been trying to take things a little easier this year. For me, this meant that at the halfway point of the year, I had read 80 books. After years of reading e-books on my iPad Mini, I finally invested in a Kindle PaperWhite during Amazon's Father's Day Sale, and have been enjoying the experience: it's smaller and lighter than my iPad Mini and I like that I can use it even in direct sunlight.
As the summer holiday season rapidly encroaches, I wanted to recommend some books that I've read recently and that I think would make good summer reads; ICYMI, my 2016 list is here. And as a brief but important disclaimer: I sometimes receive pre-release review copies of upcoming novels via NetGalley, but this doesn't affect my decision to review a book or my opinions of it in any reviews I do write. I've added an asterisk to the titles below for which I received a review copy from NetGalley.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
Lucy and Gabe meet as Columbia University students on the day the Twin Towers fell. After a couple of false starts, they become a couple, until Gabe's all-encompassing desire to become a photographer seems to outweigh both Lucy's love for him and her pursuit of her own career and threatens to drive them apart. Jill Santopolo's novel spans 13 years in the lives of Lucy and Gabe, and is an intense, warm and often heartbreaking story of love and loss, success and regret. If you are familiar with my taste in books, you'll recognise these themes in many of my other favourite books — particularly those that feature young lovers coming of age in New York City. Yes, I have a type, but Santopolo writes well and the story never feels hackneyed or overwrought.
The Burning Girl by Claire Messud*
Speaking of coming-of-age stories set in New York, Claire Messud's début novel, The Emperor's Children, is one of my all-time favourite novels — both in and outside this niche. Eleven years later comes The Burning Girl, where the characters are younger and the setting more suburban but the themes remain the same. Set in a fictional town in Essex County, MA (coincidentally, close to where I will spending two weeks on a family holiday later this month), The Burning Girl follows childhood best friends Julia and Cassie as they enter their teenage years and find that the bonds of friendship may not be quite so ironclad as they had once thought. The book comes out at the end of August and I'll be writing a more detailed review then. Suffice to say, though, that I was won over by Messud's lilting, understated and tightly edited prose.
Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito
I am always on the look-out for well-written legal and crime thrillers and Malin Persson Giolito's courtroom thriller about a teenage girl awaiting trial for her involvement in a mass shooting at her exclusive prep school is one of the smartest and most gripping I've read this year. Maja makes a compelling and intelligent narrator, but should we believe her story or is she a sociopath taking us all for a ride? Persson Giolito's novel is a fast read but offers a perceptive, thought-provoking and satisfyingly twisty narrative.
Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
I read a lot of scientific research papers in my day job and don't seek out non-fiction books as often as I used to. It's hard, though, not to be intrigued by the title of Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's new book, Everybody Lies. The subtitle — Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are — provides a little more context. I heard the author discussing the book and his research on the Freakonomics podcast and although books on big data are two a penny these days, the insights into human psyche and behaviour in Everybody Lies really set it apart. Stephens-Davidowitz answers questions on everything from sex to sport, and race to parental favouritism in an engaging, accessible and fun way. You may never Google in the same way again!
Sunday Morning Coming Down by Nicci French*
I picked up Blue Monday, the first in husband-and-wife writing team Nicci French's series about psychotherapist Frieda Klein, by chance in my library back in 2011 and have powered through each new release since then. Now, the final novel in the series, Sunday Morning Coming Down, is finally here and reading it was a bittersweet experience for me. I craved closure and an ending worthy of the sometimes frustrating but always strong and very believable heroine Nicci French has created in Frieda, but equally, I wanted to continue enjoying Frieda's world. I thought the ending worked well, though, and this latest psychological crime thriller was as thrilling and enjoyable as the others in the series. The novels do, to some extent, stand alone, but you will probably get more out of them if you read them in sequence. This is particularly true of this final novel, where the character — or is it his ghost? — whose presence has been felt to a greater or lesser degree throughout the series draws ever closer.
As the summer holiday season rapidly encroaches, I wanted to recommend some books that I've read recently and that I think would make good summer reads; ICYMI, my 2016 list is here. And as a brief but important disclaimer: I sometimes receive pre-release review copies of upcoming novels via NetGalley, but this doesn't affect my decision to review a book or my opinions of it in any reviews I do write. I've added an asterisk to the titles below for which I received a review copy from NetGalley.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
Lucy and Gabe meet as Columbia University students on the day the Twin Towers fell. After a couple of false starts, they become a couple, until Gabe's all-encompassing desire to become a photographer seems to outweigh both Lucy's love for him and her pursuit of her own career and threatens to drive them apart. Jill Santopolo's novel spans 13 years in the lives of Lucy and Gabe, and is an intense, warm and often heartbreaking story of love and loss, success and regret. If you are familiar with my taste in books, you'll recognise these themes in many of my other favourite books — particularly those that feature young lovers coming of age in New York City. Yes, I have a type, but Santopolo writes well and the story never feels hackneyed or overwrought.
The Burning Girl by Claire Messud*
Speaking of coming-of-age stories set in New York, Claire Messud's début novel, The Emperor's Children, is one of my all-time favourite novels — both in and outside this niche. Eleven years later comes The Burning Girl, where the characters are younger and the setting more suburban but the themes remain the same. Set in a fictional town in Essex County, MA (coincidentally, close to where I will spending two weeks on a family holiday later this month), The Burning Girl follows childhood best friends Julia and Cassie as they enter their teenage years and find that the bonds of friendship may not be quite so ironclad as they had once thought. The book comes out at the end of August and I'll be writing a more detailed review then. Suffice to say, though, that I was won over by Messud's lilting, understated and tightly edited prose.
Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito
I am always on the look-out for well-written legal and crime thrillers and Malin Persson Giolito's courtroom thriller about a teenage girl awaiting trial for her involvement in a mass shooting at her exclusive prep school is one of the smartest and most gripping I've read this year. Maja makes a compelling and intelligent narrator, but should we believe her story or is she a sociopath taking us all for a ride? Persson Giolito's novel is a fast read but offers a perceptive, thought-provoking and satisfyingly twisty narrative.
Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
I read a lot of scientific research papers in my day job and don't seek out non-fiction books as often as I used to. It's hard, though, not to be intrigued by the title of Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's new book, Everybody Lies. The subtitle — Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are — provides a little more context. I heard the author discussing the book and his research on the Freakonomics podcast and although books on big data are two a penny these days, the insights into human psyche and behaviour in Everybody Lies really set it apart. Stephens-Davidowitz answers questions on everything from sex to sport, and race to parental favouritism in an engaging, accessible and fun way. You may never Google in the same way again!
Sunday Morning Coming Down by Nicci French*
I picked up Blue Monday, the first in husband-and-wife writing team Nicci French's series about psychotherapist Frieda Klein, by chance in my library back in 2011 and have powered through each new release since then. Now, the final novel in the series, Sunday Morning Coming Down, is finally here and reading it was a bittersweet experience for me. I craved closure and an ending worthy of the sometimes frustrating but always strong and very believable heroine Nicci French has created in Frieda, but equally, I wanted to continue enjoying Frieda's world. I thought the ending worked well, though, and this latest psychological crime thriller was as thrilling and enjoyable as the others in the series. The novels do, to some extent, stand alone, but you will probably get more out of them if you read them in sequence. This is particularly true of this final novel, where the character — or is it his ghost? — whose presence has been felt to a greater or lesser degree throughout the series draws ever closer.
12 July 2017
The Caffeine Chronicles: Coleman Coffee Roasters, Waterloo (CLOSED)
UPDATE: Coleman Coffee is now permanently closed but you can order online from their Herefordshire-based roastery.
It's taken me longer to visit Coleman Coffee's café in Lower Marsh, even though relatively speaking, it's still just down the road in Waterloo. The eponymous Coleman is the friendly Jack, who launched the roastery in 2010 and the newer café last year. Lower Marsh is one of the most vibrant and characterful streets in Waterloo with plenty of independent shops and eateries. It was bustling when I walked over on a sunny Saturday, with a lovely little market selling a mix of crafts, homewares and second-hand goods.
Coleman itself was busy too. The seats inside the small café soon filled up while I was there and the lovely garden in the back was also packed. Although I had heard great things about the Staffordshire oatcakes (savoury pancakes made from oatmeal flour), the only filling that caught my fancy was the smoked bacon and eggs and I wasn't quite sure I could manage a full serving. Instead, I ordered a piccolo (£2.40), made with Coleman's house espresso blend, which combines a Guatemalan and a Brazilian variety. There was filter coffee available too (£2.50) but as it was so busy, I thought that an espresso-based drink might be a more considerate order than a hand-brewed filter.
Meanwhile, I took my seat and enjoyed the Lower Marsh people-watching. The coffee itself was very nice — I've tried this Coleman blend before and it works very well as a piccolo or macchiato. Several people sitting at my table had ordered oatcakes and eventually, I gave in to temptation and ordered the bacon and egg variety (£7.50). I was lucky I ordered when I did because they then had to take a brief ordering hiatus to give them a chance to catch up on the lunchtime rush.
The oatcakes were really good. I am not, in general, a huge fan of big, fluffy American-style pancakes, whereas these were a lighter, more savoury affair — well, the pancakes themselves; the portions of the delicious, crispy smoked bacon and fried eggs were generous enough not to count as a light lunch in anyone's book. If you have a sweeter tooth than me, you might enjoy them with raspberry jam or marmalade instead, or you could try the Iranian nougat available on the counter.
At the café, they also sell bags of freshly roasted Coleman beans and some lovely Anna Hodgson pottery cups and bowls. If you're close to Waterloo station, Coleman is a great bet for a great coffee and refuel. I suspect that it isn't always quite so hectic as on Saturday lunchtimes, which may make finding a seat a little easier. Note, though, that they are only open until 3 pm throughout the week.
Coleman Coffee. 20 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RJ (Tube: Waterloo). Website. Twitter.
10 July 2017
The Caffeine Chronicles: 80 Stone Coffee Roasters (CLOSED)
UPDATE (AUG 2022): 80 Stone's Elephant & Castle location has now closed permanently.
07 July 2017
The Caffeine Chronicles: Redemption Roasters
Redemption Roasters, whose roastery and barista training centre is based in Aylesbury Prison, was one of the stands I spotted at this year's London Coffee Festival on the way to a meeting and never quite found my way back. This was unfortunate, given the great things I had heard about their coffee, roasted in small batches at the prison, and about their social enterprise: they train up young offenders in roasting and barista skills, and help ex-offenders find work within the coffee industry on their release. Oh, and I love the colourful, eye-catching packaging of their retail coffee bags.
I found redemption for my oversight when I heard that the roastery would be opening a coffee shop in central London and I've been following their progress eagerly on Instagram. The Redemption Roasters café opened in Bloombsury earlier this week and I was so impressed on my first visit that I went back yesterday to try the filter coffee.
The café is located on Lamb's Conduit Street, one of my favourite central London streets with its diverse independent shops and eateries. I often used to head down there at lunchtimes, back when the original Espresso Room — just around the corner on Great Ormond Street — was the closest good coffee to my King's Cross office. Redemption Roasters is less than a mile from my office, though, and it's a very pleasant stroll through Bloomsbury so it's definitely time for me to discover this neighbourhood.
Inside, the café's décor is minimalist but beautifully designed, from the simple wooden furniture, to the London-themed artwork behind the bar and especially the stunning Slayer Steam espresso machine. There are a handful of small tables, a few spots to perch and a bench out on the pavement — perfect for those hot days we occasionally get in London.
As for the coffee, there were two espressos on offer (the medium-roast Aylesbury and the lighter 1847, which are £2.20 without milk and £2.80 with) and two single-origin filter coffees (an Ethiopian Werka and a Rwandan Nyarusiza), available as an Aeropress/V60 (£3.30 and £3.90, respectively), with one also on as a batch brew (£2.50). On my first visit, I had a piccolo with the 1847 espresso, which combines coffees from Brazil and Tanzania.
My coffee was very well prepared and tasted great: well-balanced and smooth but with just enough of a kick to keep it interesting. For breakfast, I also tried a slice of the banana and walnut bread (£3.40), which made for a great breakfast. They also do toast, toasties and various cakes if you are in the market for a light bite.
I went back yesterday lunchtime and, despite the relative heat outside, I decided to order the Nyarusiza coffee as a V60 (it was also on the batch brew, but the friendly barista was more than happy to brew me up a cup with the V60). I loved the Nyarusiza, whose intense blackcurrant notes came through beautifully; it was a very well brewed cup of coffee and somehow helped to cool me down a little.
It's great to see Redemption Roasters joining Old Spike and Second Shot in their efforts to do something more than just make lovely coffee (although the coffee is excellent too). You can read much more about Redemption's aims and achievements so far on their website. In the meantime, if you're in Bloomsbury or Holborn, you can visit the café from 7:30–5:30 on weekdays and 9–5 at the weekend. A warm welcome will certainly await you.
Redemption Roasters. 84b Lamb's Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LR (Tube: Russell Square). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
I found redemption for my oversight when I heard that the roastery would be opening a coffee shop in central London and I've been following their progress eagerly on Instagram. The Redemption Roasters café opened in Bloombsury earlier this week and I was so impressed on my first visit that I went back yesterday to try the filter coffee.
The café is located on Lamb's Conduit Street, one of my favourite central London streets with its diverse independent shops and eateries. I often used to head down there at lunchtimes, back when the original Espresso Room — just around the corner on Great Ormond Street — was the closest good coffee to my King's Cross office. Redemption Roasters is less than a mile from my office, though, and it's a very pleasant stroll through Bloomsbury so it's definitely time for me to discover this neighbourhood.
Inside, the café's décor is minimalist but beautifully designed, from the simple wooden furniture, to the London-themed artwork behind the bar and especially the stunning Slayer Steam espresso machine. There are a handful of small tables, a few spots to perch and a bench out on the pavement — perfect for those hot days we occasionally get in London.
As for the coffee, there were two espressos on offer (the medium-roast Aylesbury and the lighter 1847, which are £2.20 without milk and £2.80 with) and two single-origin filter coffees (an Ethiopian Werka and a Rwandan Nyarusiza), available as an Aeropress/V60 (£3.30 and £3.90, respectively), with one also on as a batch brew (£2.50). On my first visit, I had a piccolo with the 1847 espresso, which combines coffees from Brazil and Tanzania.
My coffee was very well prepared and tasted great: well-balanced and smooth but with just enough of a kick to keep it interesting. For breakfast, I also tried a slice of the banana and walnut bread (£3.40), which made for a great breakfast. They also do toast, toasties and various cakes if you are in the market for a light bite.
I went back yesterday lunchtime and, despite the relative heat outside, I decided to order the Nyarusiza coffee as a V60 (it was also on the batch brew, but the friendly barista was more than happy to brew me up a cup with the V60). I loved the Nyarusiza, whose intense blackcurrant notes came through beautifully; it was a very well brewed cup of coffee and somehow helped to cool me down a little.
It's great to see Redemption Roasters joining Old Spike and Second Shot in their efforts to do something more than just make lovely coffee (although the coffee is excellent too). You can read much more about Redemption's aims and achievements so far on their website. In the meantime, if you're in Bloomsbury or Holborn, you can visit the café from 7:30–5:30 on weekdays and 9–5 at the weekend. A warm welcome will certainly await you.
Redemption Roasters. 84b Lamb's Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LR (Tube: Russell Square). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
05 July 2017
Sky Garden at Sunset
Soon after the Sky Garden opened on the 35th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street (AKA the Walkie Talkie) in the City of London in 2015, I stopped by for a post-sunset visit. Although the free tickets have become a little easier to obtain since the original limited batch since then, it's taken me over two years to return. I thought I'd write up another post, though, including some of my pictures of the Sky Garden by daylight.
You can book up to three weeks in advance on the Sky Garden website, and they also announce new ticket releases on Twitter. Of course, the popular weekend and evening sessions are the fastest to go, particularly at this time of year when sunset is rather late. I only found out recently that although the visiting hours are advertised as 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 11 am to 9 pm at weekends, if there is space, they take walk-ins throughout the day and after these times. This is particularly handy if you fancy a post-work sunset visit on a weekday in the summer months. I stalked the Sky Garden website for a few weeks until I found a 6.30 pm slot on Sunday, which I was eventually able to swap for a 7.30 pm ticket when that became available instead. It wasn't that busy when I went — even on a sunny Sunday evening — so you might well have been able to walk in without a ticket.
As before, I showed my ID (the named ticket-holder for each group must bring ID), went through the airport-style security scanners (this time, I left my selfie stick at home) and ascended to the 35th floor. My primary complaint about my first visit to the Sky Garden was that the emphasis was much more on the sky than on the garden — it felt like a very nice airport terminal with a great view — but it has become a little leafier over the past two years.
The Sky Pod bar on the 35th floor was also very beautifully decorated with pink and purple flowers including my favourite lavender. I thought about indulging a cocktail (£12.50) with a view, but ahead of my various upcoming travels over the next few months, I restrained. There were some nice-sounding drinks on the menu, though, and drinks there — or dinner at one of the two restaurants, which you can book and which give you access to the Sky Garden even without a ticket — would make a nice treat.
Instead, I circled the large space several times — climbing the stairs on the east-hand side, enjoying the views over Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and Bermondsey and searching for my flat, before I eventually remembered that I needed to climb the stairs on the west side and then look down to the south-east to find my home. It was such a clear, sunny day that the distant verdant hills were clearly visible.
There's another public bar on level 36, on the north side, which allows you to get up close and personal with my favourite City of London building, the Gherkin. Unfortunately, ongoing construction works are already encroaching upon the Gherkin, as reported by Londonist last year, and it is already less visible than on my 2015 visit.
Walking down the west-side stairs, you can look out on the Thames, from Southwark Bridge to Waterloo, and enjoy views over St Paul's, the BT Tower and Wembley Stadium. There's also a small leafy terrace here, which is the best place to have your photo taken with the Sky Garden and the South London cityscape in the background. This is also where I can (sort of) see my home!
Unfortunately, the open-air Francis Golding Terrace on the 35th floor was closed; I read later that it shuts at 6 pm and so isn't compatible with a summer sunset visit. This is a shame as everywhere else in the Sky Garden requires you to take photos through the highly reflective and fingerprint-smudged glass. I did take the lift to the 37th floor where the Fenchurch Restaurant is located, though, which gave a slightly different perspective.
As the sun began to set, the crowds flocked to the western windows. I was glad I got there early to stake out my place. The sunset was nice that night, if not a blockbuster, but it was fun to watch the city slowly light up as the sun went down.
The Sky Garden too decided to welcome me by turning on its neon pink lights —my favourite colour — or perhaps they do that every night? I must really try to book a table at one of the Sky Garden restaurants — I've heard breakfast and brunch at the Darwin Brasserie is particularly good — for another experience. Let me know in the comments if you've dined at the Sky Garden and would like to report back.
The Sky Garden. 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BA (Tube: Aldgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.
You can book up to three weeks in advance on the Sky Garden website, and they also announce new ticket releases on Twitter. Of course, the popular weekend and evening sessions are the fastest to go, particularly at this time of year when sunset is rather late. I only found out recently that although the visiting hours are advertised as 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 11 am to 9 pm at weekends, if there is space, they take walk-ins throughout the day and after these times. This is particularly handy if you fancy a post-work sunset visit on a weekday in the summer months. I stalked the Sky Garden website for a few weeks until I found a 6.30 pm slot on Sunday, which I was eventually able to swap for a 7.30 pm ticket when that became available instead. It wasn't that busy when I went — even on a sunny Sunday evening — so you might well have been able to walk in without a ticket.
As before, I showed my ID (the named ticket-holder for each group must bring ID), went through the airport-style security scanners (this time, I left my selfie stick at home) and ascended to the 35th floor. My primary complaint about my first visit to the Sky Garden was that the emphasis was much more on the sky than on the garden — it felt like a very nice airport terminal with a great view — but it has become a little leafier over the past two years.
The Sky Pod bar on the 35th floor was also very beautifully decorated with pink and purple flowers including my favourite lavender. I thought about indulging a cocktail (£12.50) with a view, but ahead of my various upcoming travels over the next few months, I restrained. There were some nice-sounding drinks on the menu, though, and drinks there — or dinner at one of the two restaurants, which you can book and which give you access to the Sky Garden even without a ticket — would make a nice treat.
Instead, I circled the large space several times — climbing the stairs on the east-hand side, enjoying the views over Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and Bermondsey and searching for my flat, before I eventually remembered that I needed to climb the stairs on the west side and then look down to the south-east to find my home. It was such a clear, sunny day that the distant verdant hills were clearly visible.
There's another public bar on level 36, on the north side, which allows you to get up close and personal with my favourite City of London building, the Gherkin. Unfortunately, ongoing construction works are already encroaching upon the Gherkin, as reported by Londonist last year, and it is already less visible than on my 2015 visit.
Walking down the west-side stairs, you can look out on the Thames, from Southwark Bridge to Waterloo, and enjoy views over St Paul's, the BT Tower and Wembley Stadium. There's also a small leafy terrace here, which is the best place to have your photo taken with the Sky Garden and the South London cityscape in the background. This is also where I can (sort of) see my home!
Unfortunately, the open-air Francis Golding Terrace on the 35th floor was closed; I read later that it shuts at 6 pm and so isn't compatible with a summer sunset visit. This is a shame as everywhere else in the Sky Garden requires you to take photos through the highly reflective and fingerprint-smudged glass. I did take the lift to the 37th floor where the Fenchurch Restaurant is located, though, which gave a slightly different perspective.
As the sun began to set, the crowds flocked to the western windows. I was glad I got there early to stake out my place. The sunset was nice that night, if not a blockbuster, but it was fun to watch the city slowly light up as the sun went down.
The Sky Garden too decided to welcome me by turning on its neon pink lights —my favourite colour — or perhaps they do that every night? I must really try to book a table at one of the Sky Garden restaurants — I've heard breakfast and brunch at the Darwin Brasserie is particularly good — for another experience. Let me know in the comments if you've dined at the Sky Garden and would like to report back.
The Sky Garden. 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BA (Tube: Aldgate). Website. Twitter. Instagram.