Best Cafes of 2018

Here’s a top up of the Best of 2018 with a list of my favourite cafes in London and beyond.

Excellent coffee is crucial, particularly when I’m travelling. Having comfortable places to drink it is a big deal too. So are competent and affable baristas. If, in addition to that, you can throw in reliable WiFi and an outlet to keep my laptop and phone charged while I drink coffee (or exceed my expectations in some other remarkable ways), you’re golden. This list of three London espresso bars and six more in Chattanooga (Tennessee), Greenville (North Carolina), Köln, Liverpool, Pittsburgh, and Zurich met all my requirements and shined the brightest for me in 2018.

For more suggestions regarding morning meals take a look at my 2018 list of best breakfasts and brunches.

Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.

Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.

Best Cafes in London

Appestat
102 Islington High Street, N1 8EG

Relaxed atmosphere, Climpson & Sons coffee, well curated music in the background, friendly service, proximity to the Tube without feeling the crush – this Islington café is the sort of oasis I’m after when on the hoof. Food looks good but I’ve only had the excellent coffee.

Boki
20 Earlham Street,WC2H 9LG

This bar/café/all day eatery in Seven Dials is an ideal destination for short pit stops or long laidback lunches. Near a number of theatres and Tube stations, keep this one in mind for convening pre or post performance. If looking for an expressly tasty perk, order Boki’s signature coffee negroni. It’s delicious.

Coffee Station
Platform 1, Walthamstow Central Station, Station Approach, Hoe Street, E17 9QF

I really can’t rave about the quality of beans used by Coffee Station (they’re okay, not amazing) but fast friendly service and low price make this little kiosk inside Walthamstow Central Station (Platform 1, for trains en route to Liverpool Street) is my favourite place to grab a cup when commuting.

Perky Blenders – The Magistrates
1 Farnan Avenue, E17 4NX

People make a big deal about post industrial this and that. Post administrative wins my heart. I love how Waltham Forest roasters, Perky Blenders, are fanning out across this corner of East London. I especially love the Perky Blenders café at the ex Magistrate Office next to the lovely Waltham Forest Town Hall. Beans are tasty too. I’m a fan of the Forest Blend of Brazilian and Rwandan beans and its notes of cocoa, hazelnut and orange.

Sacred Cafe
13 Ganton Street, W1F 9BL

My office away from office, this Kiwi coffee spot just off Carnaby Street is a Soho oasis. The upstairs is good for pert socialising. The downstairs is ideal for longer lasting meetups or settling into some offsite work. Service is swift and friendly. And of course the coffee is fantastic.

Best Cafes Beyond London

Blackbeard Coffee Roasters
203 East 5th Street, Greenville, North Carolina 27858, USA

Blackbeard Coffee Roasters in Uptown Greenville, North Carolina is a top notch café for coffee geeks and espresso fiends. Beans are roasted to a nice balance. Setting is pleasant and contemporary. Cool piratical branding too!

Black Forge Coffee House
1206 Arlington Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15210, USA

This death metal themed café in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighbourhood offers a sinister edge to caffeinating. Minus the music and the macabre mood, it’s a fine place for a cup of joe whether you’re into head banging or not. I’d sacrifice a virgin for such a third space in my neighbourhood. Hail Satan.

Le Café enSoie by ViCAFE
Strehlgasse 26, Lindentreppe, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Fantastic little nook in one of Zurich loveliest (and steepest) little lanes near Lindenhof, locally owned ViCAFE’s team up with Zurich fashion label enSoie is as pretty as it is teensy. Espressos are pulled perfectly and pastries are delicious.

Cafe Kogi
Auf dem Berlich 7, 50667 Köln, Germany

This café in Köln is the retail end of a company ethically sourcing exceptionally tasty coffee from Colombia. The seating area and small back garden are lovely. I felt as though I’d happened up a secret refuge when I poked my head in for a coffee. I went back for more every day I was in Köln.

Niedlov’s Breadworks
215 East Main Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37408, USA

Niedlov’s Breadworks was my office away from home when I visited Chattanooga earlier this year. It’s a lowkey setting with an amazing bakery and espresso bar, good for a quick breakfast or snack on the go or a few hours of concentrated remote work.

Root Liverpool
52 Hanover Street, Liverpool L1 4AF, UK

Specialty coffee served efficiently and with zero attitude – is that too much to ask? Apparently not in Liverpool. I was so chuffed when I stumbled upon Root down the street from the hotel where I was staying.

Honourable Mentions