The closely interconnected nature of London's evolving speciality coffee scene has been something of a theme on this blog lately. And while earlier this month I was at the original Kiss the Hippo — whose second location near Oxford Circus is based in the former Curators Coffee Gallery coffee shop — this week, I found myself returning to Curators Coffee Studio in the City of London. What a pleasure it is to be so spoiled for choice these days.
One of the best things about the London specialty coffee scene is the relationships between the numerous coffee shops and roasters. My favourite way to find great coffee served by great people is through recommendations from coffee shops I already know and love. Today's Caffeine Chronicles post is about Nostos Coffee, a neighbourhood coffee shop in Battersea that I heard about through Laith at the excellent Saint Nine Coffee, which, in turn, I heard about through the lovely folks at Rosslyn Coffee.
After visiting north-east London last week, this week's Caffeine Chronicles post is about a speciality coffee shop and roastery on the opposite side of London: Kiss the Hippo, in Richmond, to be more exact.
As the temperature nudged close to 30C in London on Saturday, I headed west for a long-overdue return to the Kew Gardens. I'd booked my ticket online earlier in the week and then wondered if the heat was going to affect my visit but actually, spending a few hours walking the shaded paths around the verdant gardens and exploring some of the exhibitions was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
My visit to Walthamstow last weekend wouldn't have been complete without a visit to Wood St Coffee, a coffee roastery and café at Blackhorse Workshop, a short walk north of Blackhorse Road Tube.
If you look at my map of London speciality coffee shops, you'll notice that there's a bias towards central and south-east London. But I've been trying to expand my horizons and hop on my bike or the Tube to visit more coffee spots further north and west of my Bermondsey home. One such outing was to Bühler and Co in Walthamstow last weekend, where I was able to sample both the coffee and the brunch.
On Swallow Street, just off Regent Street's curving tail is a Danish-influenced haven of speciality coffee, Hagen Espresso Bar. The name calls back to Copenhagen, where the concept was born; both have roots in the Old Norse word hǫfn, which, appropriately enough, means 'haven'.
It's mean more than four years since I first visited Red Lion Coffee Co. in New Cross, and now Chris McKie and the team have opened a second coffee shop at the base of The Scalpel in the heart of the City of London. It's been open a little while and although it's a fairly recent discovery for me, I've already visited a couple of times.
One of my all-time favourite meals in London was the first time my friends and I visited the original Pedler on Peckham Rye. We were there for the neighbourhood eatery's soft launch in 2014, and with 50% off food and five of us present, we got to make that wonderful order: "We'll take one of everything." As predicted, we all returned regularly, celebrating birthdays, babies and boozy brunches, usually featuring a Little Bird gin cocktail (they're owned by the same people). But although the restaurant was beautifully designed, it could feel crowded even in the beforetimes, and unfortunately, after one lockdown too many, Pedler closed its doors for good.
Luckily, however, it has now reopened as Pedler Good Fortune in a new location on Queens Road, still in Peckham but a mile northeast. The delicious food, great décor and excellent service remain the same, but when I visited one evening last week, there were some exciting changes too.