24 January 2022

The Caffeine Chronicles: Store St Espresso, Bishopsgate

While I was running some errands ahead of a work trip I'm taking later this week, I passed the new Store St Espresso coffee bar on Bishopsgate, just opposite Liverpool Street station. The cafe only opened a week ago today so of course I had to check it out.

I first visited the original Store St Espresso — located, funnily enough, in Bloomsbury's Store Street — over a decade ago and it featured in one of my earlier London speciality coffee guides. When I was still living in Marylebone and working in King's Cross, I often frequented the coffee shop and its second location on Tavistock Place, which was originally called Continental Stores. The threequel is in Hammersmith, making the new Bishopsgate spot the fourth in the Store St family.

Other than the A-board outside, the shopfront is currently in incognito mode. There's a wooden bench, with a small, integrated table out front, and you can spot the espresso machine and grinders on the counter through the large front windows.

Inside, the space is small, sleek and with a minimalist aesthetic. There are a couple more of the same benches next to the front window, while at the back, there's a speckled grey granite counter holding the espresso machine and grinders. You order and pay at the other counter, along one wall, which also holds the batch-brew filter coffee and the cakes. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a friendly staff member, who asked if I was there to get a coffee, which I most definitely was.


The coffee menu focuses on espresso-based drinks and batch-brew filter coffee, with cold brew available in the summer. During my visit, they were serving coffee from two UK roasters, Square Mile and Origin Coffee. I started with a piccolo, brewed with a washed Kenyan coffee from Origin. Served in a small glass, it was very well brewed and tasted delicious: sweet and smooth. 


I drank my piccolo at one of the benches, which happened to be next to the batch-brew filter coffee that was sitting on the counter. The filter coffee was also brewed with a coffee roasted by Origin, a washed coffee from San Fermin, Colombia. I've had and enjoyed the San Fermin before, and the orange and caramel notes came through nicely in the same the baristas gave me, so I had a full serving to take away with me.


There was a small selection of delicious-looking cakes on offer, including brownies, cookies and Nutella raw bars. They also had a few pieces of coffee-making kit for sale, and some retail bags of Square Mile beans; I particularly liked the sound of the M2 Mazateca from Oaxaca, Mexico.


Although there is seating available at the benches, the space seems well-suited to the commuters and shoppers hoping to pick up a takeaway coffee while passing through Liverpool Street or visiting the Spitalfields area. It was fairly quiet when I visited, which meant I got to chat to the friendly staff, who gave me a very warm welcome on a very cold afternoon.

Store Street Espresso. 222 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QD (Tube: Liverpool Street). Website. Twitter. Instagram.

For 150+ more of my favourite coffee shops in London, you can also check out my London speciality coffee guide.


1 comment:

  1. It looks like a great addition to the area. I was surprised to learn this was the fourth Store St, though, having missed the one in Hammersmith! Both are now on my list.

    Thanks,
    Brian.

    ReplyDelete