Can’t kick off the day without a caffeine hit? These seven gems, winners of our Best Specialty Coffee award, are about to become the highlight of your morning routine. From adventurous brews to flawless espresso shots, here’s where London’s baristas truly shine.
Origin Coffee in Shoreditch has become my regular Monday morning salvation, and not just because their Brazilian single-origin espresso (£3.20) could wake the dead with its vibrant notes of dark chocolate and candied orange. I mean, just look at this place — all industrial-chic exposed brick and suspended Edison bulbs that somehow manage to feel both raw and refined. Their sourdough breakfast special, topped with house-cured gravlax, perfectly poached eggs, and dill-flecked crème fraîche, is the only thing that could possibly tear me away from signature buttery cortado (£3.50). But it's their experimental beverages, like intriguing cascara tea, made with the flesh from the coffee cherry, I sampled recently, that really set Origin apart. Dare I say it? They might just be a cut above the ubiquitous Aussie-style cafés that have taken over this neighbourhood.
I must confess, my love affair with Rosslyn Coffee began on one of those dreary London mornings when nothing seemed to go right. The terrazzo countertops and Scandinavian-inspired design immediately soothed my aesthetic soul, but it was their house espresso (£3.20) that truly turned my day around. That first sip of the Assembly-roasted blend hit me with such perfectly balanced notes of toasted nuts and caramel that I nearly forgot my umbrella (and my deadline). I've since become rather obsessed with their V60 brews (£4.00-£5.50) — liquid gold, I tell you. And don't even get me started on the staff's fanatical attention to detail when it comes to weighing and measuring each extraction. Precious? Maybe. But one taste and you'll understand why.
Stepping into Prufrock Coffee on Leather Lane feels like entering a coffee scientist's laboratory, albeit one with impeccable taste in mid-century modern furniture. The baristas, sporting tattoos and serious expressions, treat each brew with the reverence typically reserved for fine wine. Their filter coffee (starting at £3.60) comes with tasting cards that wouldn't look out of place at a Michelin-starred establishment. The macchiato (£3.10) and espresso (£2.90) are consistently excellent. Last week's Kenyan peaberry, prepared through a Chemex (£4.50), revealed layers of blackcurrant and brown sugar that had me scribbling tasting notes like a possessed food critic.
Monmouth Coffee Company at Borough Market (yes, the queue is worth it) remains a testament to London's coffee revolution. While tourists snap photos of their beautiful brass and copper vintage roasting equipment, I'm usually too busy inhaling the aroma of the legendary espresso blend (£2.60) — a sophisticated marriage of Brazilian, Colombian, and Ethiopian beans that produces a shot so perfectly balanced it makes other espressos taste like dishwater. Their cappuccino (£4.00) has achieved near-mythical status among coffee aficionados. The space, though perpetually packed, maintains its charm with wooden communal tables and shelves lined with single-origin beans.
Ozone Coffee Roasters has transformed a former industrial space in Shoreditch into what I can only describe as a coffee theatre in the round. The circular bar allows you to watch the baristas perform their craft with balletic precision, while the on-site roaster provides an aromatic soundtrack to your visit. Their house blend changes seasonally, but the current offering — a complex mix of Central American and African beans — delivers notes of cocoa, stone fruit, and a hint of jasmine that lingers meaningfully. Expect to pay £3.20 for an espresso and £3.70 for a flat white, with their special filter coffees ranging from £4.00 to £6.50.
The first time I walked into Kiss the Hippo in Chelsea, I actually laughed out loud — not at the somewhat precious name, but at how perfectly they'd managed to create my dream coffee space. Their gleaming Slayer espresso machine isn't just gorgeous — it's like watching a Ferrari being operated by a master driver. The house espresso (£3.30), roasted on-site in small batches, makes you close your eyes involuntarily with its notes of ripe cherries and honey, while ricotta hotcakes with caramelised bananas make the perfect excuse to linger over their exceptional drip coffee (from £3.90). Even their obsession with compostable takeaway cups feels just right — it's guilt-free coffee addiction at its finest.
Finally, there's the newly opened Caravan in Bankside, a light-filled oasis that's quickly become my go-to for riverside coffee dates. This airy, plant-filled space has a distinctly Scandi-cool vibe, with blond wood furnishings and plenty of natural light streaming in. Their house espresso blend delivers a beautifully balanced shot (£3.10) with hints of cocoa and citrus that pair impeccably with the handcrafted pastries — I'm particularly fond of the flaky almond croissants. In fact, I've been known to plan entire workdays around their free-flowing batch filter (Mon-Fri until 4 pm) — buy one and they'll keep you topped-up.