The recipe for the perfect specialty coffee shop sounds simple: great coffee served by friendly baristas in a beautiful, relaxed setting. In practice, though, it's all too easy to miss the mark on one or more of these ingredients. Commons at Old Street Works nails all three and scores plenty of bonus points for their Oreo canelés. Yes, you read that right!
With two speciality coffee shops in London, Commons has been on my radar for some time. I've now visited their flagship café on Old Street in Shoreditch a couple of times and as soon as I walked in, I wondered why it had taken me so long.
Commons is based on the ground floor of Old Street Works, a large red-brick building offering office space near Old Street roundabout. As you enter the spacious café, your eye is instantly drawn to the long, grey counter that holds an array of delights, including coffee (obvs), the aforementioned canelés and other sweet treats and colourful posies of flowers by Jemima in the Woods.
The décor is lovely, with muted peach and terracotta tones and colourful art on the walls. There's plenty of seating at a series of small tables towards the back, as well as a few stools for perching near the front. It's a great space for lingering over coffee, a cake and/or a house-made focaccia sandwich.
As for the coffee, I went for a piccolo on my first visit, which was made with the For the People blend roasted by Campbell and Syme. The coffee was beautifully brewed, the praline flavours coming through nicely with a little milk. It paired perfectly with the Oreo canelé, which was as good as it sounds!
When I returned, I was in the mood for filter coffee. They had two different batch brew options and after chatting to the knowledgeable barista, I decided to go for the washed Colombian coffee roasted by Dark Arts. I loved the floral Earl Grey and juicy peach flavours, which combined perfectly, especially as the coffee cooled.
Commons also sells a variety of retail bags of coffee. I was all stocked up at home, but the bold neon packaging of We Are Here, an LGBTQIA+/everyone friendly roaster based in Margate, caught my eye. Their The Other One coffee in particular sounded right up my street.
Coffee shops like Commons are a great reminder of why London's diverse specialty coffee scene is such a joy to explore. Now I just need to make time for a visit to their 'express' location on Cannon Street in the City of London.
Commons at Old Street Works. 207 City Road, London EC1V 1JT (Tube: Old Street). Website. Instagram.
For 150+ more of my favourite coffee shops in London, check out my London specialty coffee guide.
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