Wow, what a find. Seriously, if you think it is hard to find a coffee in London, try to find one at Portobello Markets in Notting Hill and good luck. Well you won’t need luck any more because I am telling you where to go! The Kitchen and Pantry. This place is just great. Lots of little pokey holes and corners, tables, benches, couches, and little tiny stools that fit just your coffee on them! They serve it all here, stunning crepes, and fresh juices evident from the massive baskets of fruit that decorate the counter. Treats and cakes in all descriptions and right there for you to really see. Great grab and go options, wraps, ice cream, milkshakes, oh and did I mention the coffee?

I ordered and espresso and although it came a little blonde, for London standards it was really very good. I feel that they over extract the shots a little too much here and if I had ordered a ristretto I think it would have been bang on. However, my espresso was surprisingly smooth and not at all bitter. I had to order a take away latte as well just to make sure they didn’t break my heart with terrible milk like I have found in so many places in London. But again, almost bang on. Great temperature and if they weren’t so busy at the time I think the barista could have taken the time to shine my milk a little more and push the limit. The one thing I find that is missing from the café culture is the enthusiasm from the staff. The love is lost. The experience is just a little more awkward if you order your lunch at the counter and the host doesn’t make you smile, you know? It’s very important.

The Kitchen and Pantry has everything going for it. Great products across the board, you can buy the Café Torelli Arabica and Robusta blend and have it in beans or ground to take home. They have numerous other retail items that are also great too. And all the way from Australia, Byron Bay cookies! A while since I had seen them on a shelf. This café also boasts a lot of seats and plenty of room outside for lunch and also a bench seat for sippers and smokers. I was really stoked to find this place, London does not have enough cafes with character and this place was definitely somewhere to sit all day and watch the human salad that is in Notting Hill. One of the best I have seen in London.

Greetings from London!!
It has been a difficult quest to find drinkable espresso in this city… but alas I have found one!! A wonderful little cafe near Liverpool Station serving up delicious espresso as well as yummy pastries and light lunches. I was recommended by a barista friend of mine (an aussie mind you) and was delighted to find this place. With a bright red exterior it is not hard to find. It was fantastic to order myself a flat white, words I haven’t spoken since I left Australia some 10 months ago!! I also treated myself to a single espresso just so I could taste the liquid gold more intimately. The crema was a satisfactory looking honey brown that still impressed my judgemental tastebuds. It was a wonderful suprise! The espresso pulled through the milk nicely of my flat white and the temperature was not far from perfect! This cafe was a definate joy to find in the heart of London and the various excuses for coffee that are being served up. I will return again!
Thankyou to my very hip barista.

Good news has spread to east London – Monmouth coffee is here! Nude Espresso opened just a few weeks ago around the corner from Brick Lane. Owned and operated by Melbournians, I clicked my heels with joy when I discovered this place as East-enders can now enjoy the same fine coffee as in Soho and The Borough!

Hanbury Street has cleaned up since its past (Jack the Ripper took one of his victims here in the late 19th century), with some fabulous vintage clothing and vinyl record stores and… London’s own specialist ukulele shop. It’s all here. And now there’s great coffee to be had on this quirky little strip between Spitalfields and Brick Lane.

Following my little grumble about the (lack of) friendliness of Coffee @ Brick Lane (around the corner), I was pleased to see a little healthy competition and my first visit was greeted with big smiles and a friendly welcome from Richard and Raelene. This was already a great start. They use Monmouth Coffee espresso blend, currently consisting of a blend of Brasilian beans for the base, Colombia for complexity and Guatemala for sweetness and milk-chocolate notes. They use your choice of milk (handy for any soy drinkers out there) and the latte art was delightful.

The lovely rustic sandwiches, pastries and cakes are baked on the premises daily and they also provide jugs of water with lemon to help yourself to. There’s plenty of seating for a relaxed lunch and table service following an order placed at the counter. This is a little gem worth two beans, in the heart of east London – clean, rustic and friendly.

BIG KUDOS Kylie and thanks for keeping us up to date with all the best and the worst over in London, and for all the best that Melbourne has on show check out HOTSHOTS @:

http://hotshots.melbournecoffeereview.com/

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Coffee: Monmouth