Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with coffee and london

High caffeine, low rent

Acheman — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:08:33 -0800

Where in London can I buy a filter coffee and read undisturbed for hours? Should be quiet, needn't be 'nice', Bow or London Bridge locations a bonus but all considered. When I lived in Cambridge, I used to go to the food court at The Grafton Centre, a slightly grotty shopping mall, to buy a cheap and nasty filter coffee from a takeaway pizza place which had used to be a Sbarro. The owners had painted over the Sbarro signage but retained many of the trimmings, presumably because it seemed like a waste of money to buy new ones. It wasn't heavily used - they had many, many more chairs than patrons - or heavily serviced, so I didn't feel bad about stretching my drink out while I read books on Lacan and Critical Theory, pencil in hand, headphones in. Sometimes when I got hungry I'd have a slice of pizza for about £1.50. I went there about three times a week after work, and always had the same thing, but they never acknowledged me as a regular or guessed my order before I gave it to them. It was heaven. I only stopped going when their coffee jug broke and they made it clear they had no immediate plans to replace it.

Now I'm living in London and haven't found anywhere comparable. I'd like to go somewhere where I can buy a cheap filter coffee - none of this latte bullshit - and make it last for hours without being made to feel bad. Somewhere with a lot of space and no atmosphere, where I can be invisible. Preferably somewhere within easy reach of home - Bow - or work - London Bridge - but I'd travel further afield if necessary. I travel to and from work via Canary Wharf, but all the coffee establishments there seem pricey, only serve latte bullshit, and have the kind of table service where they glare at you after half an hour. I'd prefer somewhere where you could die in your seat at 10 AM, have teenagers use you for chip target practice all day, and only be discovered late in the evening by a lady with a mop and a tragic backstory. That serves cheap filter coffee. Do I make myself plain?

Espresso and turning pages

Happy Dave — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:18:56 -0800

Books, sofas, coffee and the Sunday papers - good independent bookshops in London that are made for relaxing of a Sunday morning? Me and the dear wife recently visited some friends of mine in Aberdeen, where I went to university, and we had a lovely morning in Books and Beans, an independent second hand bookshop/cafe hybrid. Now we're back in London, and looking for similar things in London. So far, we seem to be stuck in between the extremes of corporate bookshops with built-in Starbucks and musty Charing Cross Road places that smell faintly of mildew.

South London would be awesome, but we're willing to travel a bit for that perfect books, newspapers and coffee feeling.

One thing - we know about both the Waterstone's Picaddilly bar (not comfy enough) and the Foyle's Jazz Bar (also not comfy enough). Sofas and such are a definite plus.

Best Coffee in the Square Mile?

vacapinta — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:06:40 -0800

Best Flat White in the City of London? Coffee-lovers, please advise! I'm a big fan of Monmouth and in fact I often get my morning coffee at their Covent Garden store before heading to work.

But I work in the City, not too far from Moorgate station and all there is here is the Starbucks/Costa chains! Are there any cafes around here worth checking out? Perhaps ones using Monmouth beans?

At the moment, I'm going to try out the Coffee guys on Whitecross but even if that works out, any other options?

coffee sellers at the tube

reklaw — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 07:34:23 -0800

Who licenses those coffee-sellers who stand outside London tube stations? Is it the council, Transport for London, or someone else entirely? And who in the organisation is responsible? I always thought it was the council, but recently heard of a complaint being made to the tube station about my local one, which made me wonder if they even have anything to do with it.

And yeah, as a last resort I could just go up and ask them, but I'm worried it might give them a bit of a fright.