Best Coffee in London

What a fantastic year! I’m going to wrap up 2014 with a series of “best of” posts highlighting some of my favourite sights, bites and more from the past 12 months. As with so many important endeavours, I’d like to start off with one of the most fundamental resources known to humanity: coffee!

Listed below in alphabetical order are five London establishments where I’ve had the most noteworthy cups of coffee this year.

Keep an eye out for more posts over the coming days for more best of 2014 lists. And please note, these ‘best of’ lists merely reflect how I chose to spend my time during the year and are comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are local to me or somehow related to where work and play took me.

Commune at GoodHood
Lower ground floor of Goodhood, 151 Curtain Road, EC2A 3QE
A partnership between Chef Brett Redman (Elliot’s Café Borough Market) and Goodhood co-founders Jo Sindle and Kyle Stewart with an aim to serve “clean, healthy and really tasty food, juice and coffee with a focus on good quality and good value” results in one of the best espressos (with beans supplied by Square Mile Coffee Roasters) you’re apt to come across in Shoreditch.

illy Caffe Regent Street
295 Regent Street, W1B 2HJ
A fan of illy coffee for quite awhile, I’m pleased to report this Regent Street cafe is as tasty as it is tastefully designed. From a no nonsense espresso to a somewhat froufrou neve fondente, you can rest assured that your coffee expectations will be met. Food’s good too (I recommend the tiramisu!).

Old Shoreditch Station 
1 Kingsland Road, E2 8DA
This is my Shoreditch go-to when I’ve got time to kill or need an East End location to settle in to a stretch of out-of-office work. The music (lots of folk and hard livin’ country music) during the morning and afternoon is smartly curated and the coffee comes from Allpress Espresso Coffee Roasters. The “station” does an assortment of baked goods, beer, booze and more and there’s usually some interesting art on the walls.

Souli
17 George Street, W1U 3QL
This pretty little gourmet takeaway in Marylebone sources its coffee beans from Rome’s age old self-roasting cafe and coffee supplier, Il Caffé Sant’Eustacchio – toasty and full-on with the flavour!

Taylor Street Baristas
Locations throughout London but I’m particularly fond of the Mayfair TSB at 22 Brooks Mews, W1K 4DY.
Simply put, the Taylor Street Baristas have never let me down, and their Mayfair café is a delightful place to nestle in (if you can score a seat!). Coffees regularly featured are from Square Mile, Has Bean, James Gourmet, and Union Hand Roasted. Sandwiches, cakes, ect are a cut above typical café fare.

More in my Best of 2014 series to follow!