11 Of The Most Enchanting Book Shop Cafes Working in london – Londonist

Books? Good. Espresso? Good. Wedding cake? Gooood. Therefore it is no wonder that there are even more opportunities compared to ever to mix this holy trinity working in london, at among the capital’s numerous coffee stores, tea areas or coffee shops, bookstores within a book store. Treat yourself to a new tome or even two, plus curl upward within an armchair with a towering slice associated with cake plus a large mug of tea or coffee in order to while away an afternoon. Bliss.

1. London Evaluation Bookshop and Cake Shop, Bloomsbury

They take their own cake seriously at The Cake Shop. So seriously, in fact , that will you may order bespoke cakes meant for activities. To get your more run-of-the-mill weekend though, head inside the excellent Greater london Review Bookshop — close to the corner through the British Museum — and make for The particular Cake Shop at the particular front of the store.

The resplendent selection of goodies embraces you, perched both within and atop the glass counter, with chalkboards over head detailing sauces, salads, quiches, drinks, and so forth The menu changes seasonally — nay, daily — thanks in order to manager Terry Glover, who all trained on Leith’s College of Meals and Wine, and is always experimenting with brand new recipes.

One self in good cakes? Walnut Blackberry Frangipani Tart, Rye Flour Saying Brownie, plus Pumpkin, Coconut and Gingerbread syrup are usually among these we’ve drooled over just before now, and there’s normally an impressive vegan selection. Seating can be found in the cafe, inside the secluded back yard , and out the front of the shop as well.

The particular Cake Store at Greater london Review Bookshop, 14 Hide Place, WC1A 2JL.

2. Stanfords Coffee House, Covent Backyard

We’ve waxed lyrical several periods before about the premium hot dark chocolate at Stanfords Coffee House (though additional drinks are available), so when the entire store moved in 2019, we breathed a sigh of comfort when the espresso shop included it. As the old location was maybe cosier, that one is located in one part from the surface floor, and offers people-watching opportunities in the store, and the pedestrianised shopping area outside. It just has a few tables plus chairs, this the good fortune of the particular draw — though upon decent times, installed a few furniture outside too.

As well as that hot chocolates, Stanfords Coffee House serves coffee, teas, smoothies, milkshakes, sodas, pastries, cakes and sandwiches. Sufficient to find out you via a great few chapters.

Stanfords , 7 Mercer Walk, Covent Garden, WC2H 9FA.

3. Dillons Cafe at Waterstones Gower Road

Waterstones Gower Street is usually a fascinating place: an everlasting sale table outside, the reading nook in the turret, plus skeletons spread liberally around the location (it stocks textbooks for medical college students at nearby UCL… ) are just a few of the illustrates.

And after that undoubtedly Dillon’s, the coffeeshop situated on the ground, and named following the earlier bookshop on this place. Positioned to look out over the busy Gower Street/Torrington Location road junction, a window seat the following is ideal meant for people viewing. Because of its location inside a studenty element of town, we’ve discovered laptop workers to be widespread when we have visited, therefore it could be one to swerve in case the click-clack of keyboard tapping can distract a person from your novel. The tables plus chairs too, are more wood stools and upright seats than sink-into-me armchairs. As for the particular menu? This features Association Coffee, freshly-made cakes, and light foods for example soups.

You probably would not are aware of it through the outdoors, but there’s also a ‘coffee shop yard’ in the street around the particular back associated with the creating with more tables.

Dillons Cafe , Waterstones, 82 Gower Street, WC1E 6EQ.

four. The Coffee shop at Foyles, Charing Combination Street

While many eateries on this particular list can be referred to as ‘cosy’, The Bistro at Foyles falls more at the ‘sleek’ finish of the spectrum. Head upward to the particular fifth floor of the Charing Cross flagship — you might know if you’re within the correct place with the typewriter key-style sign welcoming you to The Coffee shop.

The top open-plan eatery has a combination of table and bar-style seating, and is a lot more suited to catching upward with a buddy over lunch time than cosying up along with a brand new book. The menu ranges through coffee plus a treat to full meals, every served throughout store starting hours.

The Cafe with Foyles , 107 Charing Cross Street, WC2H 0DT.

5. Lucky Jim’s at Waterstones Tottenham Court docket Road

Heading down in order to the downstairs room at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road always feels like stuttering upon the little key — never ever mind they hold normal events here, so 1 / 2 of London offers traipsed via at some point. Whenever there tend to be any activities on, Fortunate Jim’s club is open up.

It’s a coffee-by-day, cocktails-by-night type of place, serving upward Union Espresso and fresh new pastries, together with sandwiches. The vibe is industrial chic — think exposed concrete plus metal light rigs — and cell phone signal will be hit plus miss (ideal if you want to shut the world out for a few hours). The particular Gower Street Waterstones with Dillons Restaurant (above) is a 10-minute walk away, if you complicated some type of book-centric coffee-shop get… wait, the reason why have we never idea of that before?

Fortunate Jim’s , Waterstones, 19-20 Tottenham Courtroom Road, W1T 1BJ.

6. Teas and Tattle at Arthur Probsthain

One of our favorite second hand bookshops in London , Arthur Probsthain and Herbal tea & Tattle can be thought of as a tearoom within a bookshop, or a bookshop within a tearoom, depending upon where your priorities are situated — the swinging indication outside gives them result in weighting. Textbooks really are a blend of previous and brand new, specialising in the centre East, Africa and Asian countries.

Green tea & Tattle is a traditional-style teas room straight down in the basements. Tea, espresso, sandwiches, bread and scones are readily available, because is a full afternoon teas if your are particularly peckish.

Tea & Tattle at Arthur Probsthain, 41 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3PE.

7. Vanilla Black Coffee & Publications, Kennington

‘Coffee & books’ will be the simple tagline on Vanilla Dark, a modern shop amongst an extremely brilliantly colored parade associated with buildings on the Kennington Road. Books, gifts and greeting credit cards line the particular floor-to-ceiling shelves throughout the perimeter of this light and well-ventilated shop, along with a number of dining tables within the main space. The coffee maker plus glass dessert cabinet get up nearly all space at the wooden counter top, though brunch is also served here (think porridge, banana bread, avo in toast). Textbooks for sale are likely towards non-fiction, coffee desk style — cookbooks primarily, using the periodic travel instruction or lifestyle tome thrown in.

Vanilla Black Espresso & Publications , 306-308 Kennington Street, SE11 4LD.

eight. Swans Bar at Maison Assouline, Piccadilly

If have got walked together the south side associated with Piccadilly, could almost certainly seen Maison Assouline — it’s the redbrick creating around the corner, slapbang among St James’s Church plus BAFTA. Truth be informed, we’d never ever really exercised what this was, seeing that a possibility that will clear through the outside — could be a gallery, can be a shop. Transforms out that is a book shop, albeit a high-end a single, and worldwide flagship for that Assouline brand name, created while “a sanctuary for these seeking design, culture, and art de vivre”. Share is predominantly coffee table style textbooks — you’re here not prone to find the particular latest Dan Brown or Marian Keyes here.

But it’s the meals and consume we’re right here for, which comes at the Swans Bar, which is equally as want — think that double-height ceilings, mezzanine-level balconies, and also a carpet printed along with the letters of the particular alphabet. It may more beverage or wine bar than coffee shop, even though they do function coffee too. Feels more like drinking in a hotel reception than the usual bookshop. Cosy? Possibly not. Yet for drinking coffee and feeling complicated, surrounded by books, it may bang for the money.

Swans Bar at Maison Assouline, 196A Piccadilly, W1J 9EY.

nine. Phlox Books, Leyton

Publications, booze plus coffee is the mantra on Phlox Publications, and might be certainly one we can obtain on board with. Eat outside bench-style furniture on the pavement outdoors tell you your are within the correct place — step inside of to search fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, or head to the cafe-bar in order to treat you to ultimately an espresso, craft beverage or wine beverages — best enjoyed in one of the bar-style windows seats because the sun avenues through the glass.

Phlox Books , 159 Francis Street, E10 6NT.

10. Glass House, Bethnal Eco-friendly

Bookshop fits cafe fulfills events space meets club at Cup House , an LGBTQIA+venue in Bethnal Green. The Common Press is the bookshop/cafe, championing books which usually represent queer and marginalised communities, and offering someplace to socialize over sizzling and frosty drinks plus pastries. Designed for something a little more powerful, The Common Counter is the venue’s bar, specialising in drinks and mocktails, and open from lunch until long after the bookshop closes.

Glass House London , 118 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6DG.

11. Coffee shops, bookstores at Waterstones Piccadilly

Because you’d anticipate from Europe’s largest bookshop , Waterstones Piccadilly has multiple coffee shops, bookstores. Head straight down onto the low ground floor to squirrel away on Embertons Coffee shop — called after Joseph Emberton, which designed home. Here there are plenty of hot plus cold drinks, sandwiches, bread and the particular like, even though the food’s all nicely and good, we choose the natural daytime on give above terrain.

Several storeys up, upon the sixth and best floor, will be 5th Look at . More of a restaurant/bar than a cafe, even though arrive early on a weekday morning and most likely pretty a lot guaranteed a table for the purpose of your morning coffee plus croissant. It will not have those people typical bookshop vibes, becoming on the separate ground from the publications, but exactly what it has is views more than St James’s towards Westminster.

For us though, it includes in order to be the Jermyn Road Mezzanine Bistro, situated on the Mezzanine level, plus overlooking the quieter Jermyn Street entrance towards the shop, as well as seeking down onto shoppers within the store’s ground floor atrium. Is actually one associated with our favourite spots to spend a morning functioning, decent with regard to people-watching, although not so much happening that you’re permanently distracted. The menu is certainly typical coffeeshop; hot and cold drinks, cakes, pastries and the particular like.

Waterstones , 203-206 Piccadilly, St James’s, W1J 9HD.

Other wonderful book + drink/food combinations:

• BookBar , Highbury: Literally, the bar with books. Really does serve coffee, but is absolutely more upon an after-hours wine club. Excellent events programme too.
• Books with regard to Cooks , Notting Hill: Bookshop along with a cooking slant, along with a cafe saved at the back exactly where the formulas in the particular books are put to the test.
• Paper & Cup , Spitalfields : Social organization coffee shop, which teaches people inside recovery through dependence on turn out to be baristas. Collection in a small shop which usually sells an array of second-hand and vintage items including clothing, homewares and… yes, books.