London was drinking coffee as early as 1652, a good 30 years before Vienna’s first coffee house opened. Since the 2000s it has been one of Europe’s key specialty scenes.London’s coffee house history, six cafés and five roasteries with opening hours, and a route for one day.
We chose cafés and roasteries recommended in at least two independent guides or trade reports. According to their own websites, all are open in October 2026. There are no paid placements. We converted prices in pounds into euros at the ECB reference rate of 22 October 2026.
London’s first coffee house was opened in 1652 by Pasqua Rosée, the Greek servant of a Levant merchant. It stood by the churchyard wall of St Michael in Cornhill, in today’s St Michael’s Alley. According to contemporary accounts, within a few years he was serving more than 600 cups a day. By 1663 there were already 82 coffee houses inside the old city walls. Around 1700 there were several hundred, and by some estimates of the time even thousands. A cup cost a penny, and people argued there about politics, science and trade, so they were called ‘penny universities’.
Two coffee houses grew into institutions. Shipowners, merchants and insurers met at Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House. In 1688 the London Gazette named it as an address for shipping news, and Lloyd’s of London grew out of it. At Jonathan’s Coffee House in Exchange Alley, the owner published lists of prices from 1698, the beginning of the London Stock Exchange. King Charles II tried to close the coffee houses with a proclamation of 29 December 1675. After fierce protest, he quickly withdrew it. In the 18th century tea then pushed coffee aside, and many houses became gentlemen’s clubs.
Today’s scene begins in 1978, when Monmouth Coffee started roasting in Covent Garden, in the basement of an 18th-century house. In 2005 the café Flat White opened in Soho and brought the Australian and New Zealand café style to London. In 2008 James Hoffmann, later world champion, and Anette Moldvaer founded the Square Mile roastery. A count by the market researcher Allegra shows how much the scene has grown. In 2010 London had around 50 independent quality cafés, and in 2020 more than 400. You’ll find how to recognise a good one in how to spot a good specialty café.
West End and the City: pioneers and barista champions
Since 2009
Kaffeine
Kaffeine opened in late summer 2009, founded by the Australian Peter Dore-Smith. It is one of the cafés that brought the Australian style to London. The beans come from Square Mile, the kitchen is in the basement, and at lunchtime it fills with people from the surrounding offices. Former World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies called the cortado here the best outside Spain. There are two cafés, both just a few minutes from Oxford Street.
- Address
- 66 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7QJ
- Open
- Mon to Fri 7.30am to 5pmSat 8.30am to 5pmSun 9am to 5pm
Second café: 15 Eastcastle Street, W1T 3AY, same opening hours.
Since 2010
Store Street Espresso
Store Street Espresso fills a long room with skylights, a concrete floor and wooden benches, just a few steps from the British Museum. It was founded in 2010. The house coffee comes from Square Mile, alongside rotating guest roasteries. The café is also known for its peanut and chocolate cookie. There are now four locations, including Tavistock Place and Bishopsgate.
- Address
- 40 Store Street, London WC1E 7DB
- Open
- Mon to Fri 7.30am to 6pmSat 9am to 5.30pmSun 9.30am to 5pm
Since 2011
Prufrock Coffee
Prufrock was founded by the 2009 World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davies, and Jeremy Challender. In 2011 Davies’ coffee cart became the café on Leather Lane. The shop used to be a bookshop, the old shelves now form the bar, and there is a training room in the basement. The water is treated by reverse osmosis, and the milk comes from a single herd. Alongside Square Mile, Prufrock serves guest roasteries such as Tim Wendelboe from Oslo or Koppi from Sweden. At lunchtime, the street market outside is worth a look.
- Address
- 23-25 Leather Lane, London EC1N 7TE
- Open
- Mon to Fri 7.30am to 4.30pmSat 8am to 5pmSun 9am to 5pm
Since 2018
Rosslyn Coffee
Rosslyn was founded by the Australian Mat Russell and the Irishman James Hennebry, who had met at Caravan. The flagship is on Queen Victoria Street in the heart of the financial district. The coffee comes from Origin, and the chocolate for the hot chocolate from Mörk in Melbourne. According to Time Out, Rosslyn came 12th in Europe in the 2026 ‘100 Best Coffee Shops’ ranking, as England’s best café. In July 2026 the tenth café opened on Cheapside. Note that all locations are closed on Sundays, and only four open on Saturdays.
- Address
- 78 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4SJ
- Open
- Mon to Fri 6.30am to 5pmSat 8am to 4pmSun closed
Shoreditch and Borough: roasters from Cornwall and the classic by the market
Since 2015
Origin Coffee
The Origin roastery comes from Cornwall and opened its London flagship on Charlotte Road in summer 2015. The bar has a custom-built La Marzocco machine with wooden inlays. At the brew bar the scales are set into the concrete, and there is a training room in the basement. Here you’ll find the full range, including the coffees of the month. In London, Origin also runs cafés in the British Library and in Southwark.
- Address
- 65 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3PE
- Open
- Mon to Fri 8am to 5pmSat and Sun 8am to 4pm
Since 1978
Monmouth Coffee
Nicholas Saunders and Anita Le Roy founded Monmouth on Monmouth Street in 1978, with the roaster then in the basement of an 18th-century house. In 2001 the shop at Borough Market followed, in a former fruit and vegetable warehouse. A queue often forms outside in the morning. Monmouth serves only its own roasts, and there are no paper cups. Since 2012 it has bought directly from farmers in Huila, Colombia. Payment is by card only, and all shops are closed on Sundays.
- Address 1
- 27 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9EU
- Open
- Mon to Sat 8am to 7pmSun closed
- Address 2
- 2 Park Street, London SE1 9AB
- Open
- Mon to Sat 7.30am to 6pmSun closed
Roasteries with a café: watch, taste, buy beans
Five roasteries where you can watch the roaster at work and drink coffee or buy beans right on site. Square Mile has no café, but on the first Friday of the month it offers tours with a tasting at its Walthamstow roastery. They cost £35, around €42 (our conversion).
Roastery since 2010
Allpress Roastery & Café
Allpress comes from New Zealand and has roasted in London since 2010, since 2015 in a former joinery in Dalston. It roasts on a New Zealand-built hot-air roaster that runs on solar power, and you can watch through a glass pane from the café. Sandwiches come with the coffee, and the ‘Green Goddess’ is popular. At weekends Allpress offers courses with a roastery tour and lunch.
- Address
- 55 Dalston Lane, London E8 2NG
- Open
- Mon to Fri 8am to 4pmSat and Sun 9am to 4pm
Roastery since 2017
Catalyst
Catalyst opened as a café on Gray’s Inn Road in 2016. Since 2017 it has roasted in the basement on a 12 kg Diedrich roaster, which you can see through a glass floor. It serves single origins only, including coffees bought through direct trade with Finca La Lomita in Colombia. On some evenings the café turns into a wine bar. Prufrock is only three minutes away.
- Address
- 48 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT
- Open
- Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm according to a business directorySat and Sun usually closed, please check in advance
Roastery since 2020
WatchHouse Roastery
WatchHouse began in 2014 in an old watch house on Bermondsey Street. Since August 2020 it has roasted in a railway arch on Maltby Street. A restored 1959 Probat roaster stands behind a glass wall, and pour-overs are made by hand at the curved counter. Opening hours are longest at weekends, and on Saturdays the Maltby Street food market is worth a visit. WatchHouse also offers courses on brewing coffee at home.
- Address
- 36 Maltby Street, London SE1 3PA
- Open
- Mon to Fri 7.30am to 4.30pmSat and Sun 8am to 6pm
Roastery since 2018
Monmouth Spa Terminus
Since 2018 Monmouth has roasted on two Loring roasters in five railway arches in Bermondsey. At the shop on Dockley Road you can drink coffee and buy beans. It sits right next to the Spa Terminus site, where food producers open up on Saturday mornings. The WatchHouse Roastery is around ten minutes’ walk away. Here too, it is card payment only and closed on Sundays.
- Address
- 3 & 4 Dockley Road, London SE16 3AF
- Open
- Mon to Fri 8am to 3pmSat 8am to 4pmSun closed
Roastery since 2014
Dark Arts Coffee
Bradley Morrison and Colin Mitchell founded Dark Arts in 2014. The roastery is in a former steelworks in Homerton, in the east of the city, and you can watch the roasting from the small espresso bar. It buys through direct trade, with a focus on origins that otherwise get little attention, such as Guerrero in Mexico since 2021. A second outlet is in Shoreditch, in The Great Frog shop on Holywell Lane.
- Address
- 1-5 Rosina Street, London E9 6JH
- Open
- Mon to Fri 8am to 3.30pmSat and Sun 9am to 12.30pm and 1pm to 3.30pm
The map: all eleven addresses at a glance
The map with all addresses is loading.
How to link the addresses into a coffee day:
- Plan the round on a weekday: Rosslyn and Monmouth are closed everywhere on Sundays, and Catalyst usually does not open at weekends.
- Start at 7.30am with breakfast at Kaffeine, walk on to Store Street Espresso, then to Catalyst and Prufrock, just three minutes apart.
- Via Rosslyn on Queen Victoria Street and Southwark Bridge, you reach the Monmouth shop at Borough Market.
- End the day at the WatchHouse Roastery, which is open until 4.30pm on weekdays.
- On Saturdays Bermondsey is worth it: WatchHouse, Monmouth Spa Terminus and the Maltby Street markets are ten minutes apart.
- Bring a card: Monmouth and many other cafés do not accept cash.
Our recommendations
Travel guide
Lonely Planet Reiseführer London (9. Auflage)
Pros: With a pull-out city map, itineraries and detailed maps; it helps you combine the café round with sightseeing.
Cons: At 460 g and 420 pages, it suits the hotel room more than a jacket pocket; the publisher’s description does not mention specialty cafés.
Travel hand grinder
1Zpresso Q Air
Pros: Light at 365 g, and according to retailers it fits inside the AeroPress plunger; 25 microns per click. So you can take beans from London roasteries with you and grind them fresh.
Cons: Holds at most 20 g of beans per fill, plastic body; retailers mention pour-over but not espresso.
Nothing remains of London’s 17th-century coffee houses except the names. Lloyd’s and the Stock Exchange are reminders of how much was negotiated over a cup of coffee. The new cafés are smaller and quieter, but at many of them you can watch the roaster through a glass pane. You’ll find more cities in our City Guides, and next we’re heading to New York.
All product details are based on manufacturer and retailer information; we have not tested the products ourselves.
Last updated: 24 October 2026. Opening hours are taken from the websites of the cafés and roasteries, and for Catalyst from a business directory. They may change, and different hours often apply on public holidays; please check with the café before you visit.
Sources
- Public Domain Review (M. Green): The Lost World of the London Coffeehouse, 7 August 2013.
- Historic UK (B. Johnson): English Coffeehouses, Penny Universities, 2 May 2015.
- Royal Museums Greenwich (V. Syrett): How coffee has shaped Britain’s maritime history, 10 October 2023.
- History.co.uk: London’s coffee houses, accessed October 2026.
- Grub Street Project: A Proclamation for the Suppression of Coffee-Houses (1675), accessed October 2026.
- Wikipedia: Monmouth Coffee Company, accessed October 2026.
- Time Out: Flat White, 25 September 2013.
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters: About, accessed October 2026.
- Time Out: The number of indie coffee shops in London has risen by 700 percent, 5 February 2020.
- Time Out: The best coffee shops in London, 14 September 2026.
- European Coffee Trip: London Coffee Guide, updated 21 October 2026.
- Time Out: 11 London coffee shops named the best in the UK for 2026, 20 January 2026.
- The Caterer: Better business: Kaffeine, 24 February 2011.
- Fresh Cup: Prufrock Coffee, 23 October 2014.
- Londonist: London Blend: Store Street Espresso, 16 February 2011.
- The Infatuation: Store Street Espresso, 8 October 2024.
- Restaurant Online: Rosslyn hits double figures with Cheapside launch, 10 July 2026.
- Sprudge: Build-Outs of Summer: Origin Coffee Roasters Charlotte Road, 1 July 2015.
- Time Out: Allpress Dalston, 6 February 2025.
- Brian’s Coffee Spot: Meet the Roaster: Catalyst, 12 November 2020.
- Brian’s Coffee Spot: WatchHouse Roastery & Café, 24 June 2021.
- Time Out: Dark Arts Coffee, 15 January 2025.
- Kaffeine: Visit website, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Store Street Espresso: Visit website, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Prufrock Coffee: Visit website, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Rosslyn Coffee: Our locations, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Origin Coffee: Origin Coffee Shoreditch, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Monmouth Coffee: Shops, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Allpress Espresso: London Roastery, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- thatsup: Catalyst, 6 June 2026.
- WatchHouse: Roastery, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- Dark Arts Coffee: Locations, accessed October 2026 (operator information).
- European Central Bank: Euro foreign exchange reference rates, 22 October 2026.
- Lonely Planet Deutschland (MairDumont): Lonely Planet Reiseführer London (in German), accessed 24 October 2026.
- Thalia: LONELY PLANET Reiseführer London (in German), accessed 24 October 2026.
- Barista Delight: 1Zpresso Q Air Manual Grinder, accessed 24 October 2026.
- 4barista: 1Zpresso Q Air black – Kaffeemühle (in German), accessed 24 October 2026.
Image credits
- Entrance to Borough Market in London, with The Shard skyscraper in the… – Photo: Dan Stephens / Unsplash
Our selection is editorial, there are no paid placements. Links marked * are affiliate links to Amazon Germany (amazon.de): if you buy through them, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We have not tested the products ourselves; pros and cons are based on manufacturer information and retailer descriptions. Prices are guide prices from German shops as of October 2026, and price and availability on Amazon may differ.
