Kaffeine London
Kaffeine London via Yukino Miyazawa
After my previous post on the failings of Timpson dry cleaning I needed to post something positive to remind myself London isn’t such a bad place and there are some truly fabulous places here.
One such place is Kaffeine (or on twitter), a few blocks back from the hustle and bustle of Oxford St. Now full-disclosure warrants that I mention that Pete who runs Kaffeine worked very briefly with my fiancé in Emma. I thank him for teaching her to make such a good coffee, but blame him by turning me into a bit of a coffee snob as a result.
Coffee in London
Coffee art via Yukino Miyazawa
Maybe I never realised just how blessed I’d been by Australia’s open immigration policies in the first half of the 20th century. Maybe in a city of 6 million with a coffeeshop rarely more than 100 metres away it’s unreasonable to expect such a high concentration of quality outlets. Maybe it’s because the English are traditionally a nation of tea drinkers, and so those with a serious passion for quality coffee have not been duly recognised. Whatever the reason, finding consistently good coffee in London is something you rarely just stumble upon. It needs to be sought out, and these days many do and most the good cafés are heaving with people all day.
The Antipodean Influx
It only stings my Australian pride a little to admit that some of the nicest lattés I’ve had were in New Zealand. What makes them memorable isn’t the fact that there was an isolated coffeeshop that turned them out well, they were consistently good, almost everywhere. A similar thing can be said of espressos in any number of the Italian cafés in Melbourne. And so it’s not suprising then that with the number of Aussie and Kiwi ex-pats living in London some have jumped on the aparent gap in the market. If you see a coffeeshop with a queue out the door somewhere around Soho or Fitzrovia there’s a good chance the staff inside will have that familiar twang in their accent.
Standing Apart from the Competition
Just look at this spread! via Yukino Miyazawa
Separating yourself from the other quality shops must be difficult, it feels like in the past few years we’ve suddenly become spoilt for choice (that’s if you’re in the centre of town). I’ll save for another post a dissection of the ginger and stout cake from Flat White or how their advocado and hummus on toast was a breakfast revelation. This is about Kaffeine, and how Pete and crew have managed to create one of the rare spaces that pulls it all together in the one place.
Lamingtons: chocolate or raspberry sponges of goodness.
Most of my other coffee destinations do well with the coffee, offer a few pastries and/or cakes, and maybe a fairly mininmalist food menu if one at all. That meant they were always a pitstop on my way to or from lunch, they could never be a destination in their own right. Kaffeine changes all that though. The coffee is among the best you’ll find (don’t just take my word for it; many others agree), the cakes and pastries are top shelf, but most exciting of all is they serve real food too! A place that you can actually make a lunchtime destination with a friend.
Nom nom, a smorgasboard of tasty ciabattas via Yukino Miyazawa
The food is made on site, the bread fresh, the combinations tasty, and it all looks fantastic. A few months ago I called past and got sucked into ordering a lamb salad. I’m not much of a salad person, and I usually regret the decision immediately. Knowing what I’m like, I ordered a backup ciabatta just in case that I could have as an early dinner should I actually enjoy the salad. Well the salad was great, and somehow despite how full I was the ciabatta disappeared in no time too.
And the service always comes with a smile. Even at the peak of lunch when the queues can reach out the door, the staff are always friendly and bubbly and nothing ever seems to fase them. I’ve been recommending people go there for years now, from friends to randoms I’ve never met via Twitter. All have got back to tell me how great it was. You should do the same.
