Rachel's Nails & Coffee

Elegant Nails and Exquisite Coffee Experience

Rolling up to Rachel's Nails & Coffee in a quiet corner of London, I was prepared to have my usual sceptical armour pricked at by inquisitive cuticles and indignant French tips. You know the drill: you're shown stiffly to your station by someone eyeing your hangnails like tax inspectors assessing unfiled returns. But instead, Rachel’s presents a parade of wonderfully chirpy nail technicians who would appear to have invested their emotional intelligence scores higher than most off-market stock options. The place does carry a soft-focused serenity, punctuated only by hushed chats about holiday plans and gentle clinks from Prosecco bottles being cracked open to celebrate yet another transcendent mani or pedi masterpiece.

True, you might be haunted by the odd complaint of overbooked appointments or unsalvaged post-manicure snags masquerading as gel polish — alas, no one can charm every follicle. Even if you're lumbered with an out-of-date voucher imbroglio, there's little denying the draw of lovely staff who could make even grumpy old King Lear feel well-groomed. And while the ever-efficient Rachel herself may oversee the wielding of blueprints unmatched in salon chicness, it is indeed their piquant coffee offerings delivered with a genuine smile that ensures this establishment is more than just a drop in the tub of London's nail scene. If happy wife means happy life, then consider this a one-stop shop; mark my words, those enduring cherry red lacquers will light up your other half like a pallet full of Ingmar Bergman box sets. — Penelope Savory