Kanella & Co.

Inviting Space, Exquisite Flatbreads & Coffee

Nestled comfortably on East-Dulwich's Lordship Lane, Kanella teeters strategically between a laid-back coffee haven and a curiosity shop of culinary delights. As I entered this subtler-than-city haunt, the heady aroma of robust coffee greeted me like an old friend returning from an unjustly long adventure. Immediate introductions to their meticulously turned out creations quickly tickled the senses—pair a Greek classic bougatsa with their superb coffee and you tumble headfirst into joy it seems no small café should have claim to. It continues apace: moreish flatbreads generously swaddled with tangy pastrami, mustard’s heat intersecting expertly with vinegary pickles; a cheerful collaboration on taste buds convicted of countless pedestrian brunches.

Kanella's enduring presence has gathered not just custom, but a much-unfiltered legend—worthy of both its fans’ ardor and detractors' dismissal. Navigating about sterile predictability—with ferociously clean loos to boot—at least one finds comic relief in spirited staff improvisations they offer as customer service banter (memo: zombies before the grey cloak of caffeine). An appealing workspace bristling with the hum of caffeinated endeavours during weekdays starkly turns off all digital interlopers come weekend, serving fair warning. Yet therein lies genuineness—the porky richness that realness in hospitality lovingly affirms. Here, nobody is expecting transcendent grandeur, merely a consistently tasty slice of normalcy in savor-versus-life dichotomy—and dearly Kanella maintains just that, with a fine swirl of grace and caffeinating laughter. — Penelope Savory