My Favorite Coffee Shops
I have done my fair share of international travelling: I’ve drunk coffee in San Francisco, Bangladesh, Vancouver, and Tahiti. But at the end of the day, I always long for the coffee shops here in my homeland.
It was a bit difficult, but I whittled down my list of favorite UK coffee shops to just four. Any one of these cafes is sure to bring a smile to your face, especially if you’re a coffee nut like me.
Using only fair-trade organically-grown coffees, Munson’s in London is probably my all-time favorite place for a cuppa. The traffic through this café is nearly-constant, so the coffee is always fresh. Their selection of single-varietal beans from all over the world is more than impressive, it’s nearly a miracle.
For my money, Flat White is the best café in SoHo, though their food menu leaves a bit to be desired. Since I’m rarely in the mood for a bite when I’m after a good cup of coffee, I couldn’t care less about a poor listing of edibles. Flat White is a tiny little bohemian shop, the kind of place you’d expect to find Jack Kerouac reading his poems to the tune of a bongo drum.
Any time I’m in Wanstead, I have to stop into The Larder (as its fans call it) for a snack and a taste of whatever bean they happen to have on tap at the moment. The coffee menu seems to change daily. Looking for variety on a day-to-day basis? Please check out the Larder, and don’t neglect to taste the fresh French bread brought in seemingly every thirty minutes from a French bakery next door.
Eschew the location in SoHo and stick with the Hampstead spot, which is about as un-Starbucks as you can find in the UK. Don’t expect fancy coffee drinks or pampered service – this is simple coffee served simply with a smile by some of the best baristas outside of Italy.
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