London, Sandwiches, Cakes, Etc Restaurant Guide

This “eccentric but marvellous treasure” is a Soho landmark and “one of the few remaining original London pâtisseries”. “Gateaux to die for” and “wonderful tea and scones” provide a “trip down memory lane” in premises opened by a Parisian exile in 1871 and graced by Karl Marx and Virginia Woolf as well as generations of Soho bohos.

This “stylish and serious”, coffee-shop operation with two sites in Fitzrovia is “still one of the best independents in London”, 10 years after pioneering modern Antipodean-style coffee culture in the UK. They serve “brilliant coffee” (naturally), “a nice range of pastries” and “excellent sandwiches”, and have a “good vibe at both locations”. “Only the slightly monastic seating lets things down” – and there’s “not enough” of it!

“There really is only one winner here when it comes to coffee!” – these caffeine-havens remain the survey’s No. 1 coffee company thanks to its “perfect” brews – from a “fabulous, rotating and extensive selection of beans” – delivered by “patient and helpful staff”, who are “invariably lovely despite the crazy-massive queues”. By Borough Market, the “rustic, no-frills SE1 branch with its communal heavy wood table” offers a “quintessential London breakfast experience, with a cult following” (foodwise, there’s bread and jam, plus “beautifully-sourced pastries”). The original WC2 branch is also “lovely… if you can get a seat”; and a recent addition is a Saturday-only branch at Spa Terminus in Bermondsey SE16.

“There really is only one winner here when it comes to coffee!” – these caffeine-havens remain the survey’s No. 1 coffee company thanks to its “perfect” brews – from a “fabulous, rotating and extensive selection of beans” – delivered by “patient and helpful staff”, who are “invariably lovely despite the crazy-massive queues”. By Borough Market, the “rustic, no-frills SE1 branch with its communal heavy wood table” offers a “quintessential London breakfast experience, with a cult following” (foodwise, there’s bread and jam, plus “beautifully-sourced pastries”). The original WC2 branch is also “lovely… if you can get a seat”; and a recent addition is a Saturday-only branch at Spa Terminus in Bermondsey SE16.

Max Halley’s cult Stroud Green café has won renown as an “outstanding, cheap ’n’ cheerful” gourmet option, thanks to its wild, wacky and wickedly enjoyable selection of sarnies, each of which amounts to what’s effectively a meal between slices of bread (be prepared to get your hands dirty).

This “stylish and serious”, coffee-shop operation with two sites in Fitzrovia is “still one of the best independents in London”, 10 years after pioneering modern Antipodean-style coffee culture in the UK. They serve “brilliant coffee” (naturally), “a nice range of pastries” and “excellent sandwiches”, and have a “good vibe at both locations”. “Only the slightly monastic seating lets things down” – and there’s “not enough” of it!

“A lovely, local independent coffee shop” on the distant borders of Chiswick and Gunnersbury combining “laid-back music on vinyl (some of which you can buy)” and a “cosy” vibe with “great pastries” and other simple fare, plus some fine brews (using Union coffee).

London’s original Flat White was served at this early-wave, Kiwi coffee stop, which first hit Soho’s Berwick Street Market in 2005; and its legendary brews and “great staff” have maintained a fair following over the last 15 years. Its brunch-friendly options include pastries, smashed avos on toast and homemade banana bread.