Café restaurants in London
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Milk Bar
Sister to popular Flat White cafe, Milk Bar arguably has the friendliest staff, all of whom are very relaxed Kiwis (hence the emphasis is on Antipodean coffee types such as flat white). This place has some of the best breakfasts in central London, with great big omelettes, homemade beans on toast, porridge, pancakes with fruit and honey, and so on, none of which exceed the £5 mark – just what you need on a weekend morning. The coffee is superb, too, and tea is served in mismatching flea-market bone-china cups.
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Breakfast Club
This bright and quirky oasis in Islington’s Camden Passage follows in the footsteps of the Breakfast Club Soho and has just spawned its third location with the Breakfast Club Hoxton. But, despite the name, breakfast (£3 to £8.30) is not the only game here: it also does sandwiches, salads and decent pies (£6 to £13). All venues are remarkable for their super-friendly staff and craaaazy decor.
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Primrose Bakery
Finally Covent Garden has a decent tea house. True, it’s tiny and has only three tables, but people squeeze round, order in one of the many varieties of cupcakes and pots of tea, and chat away for hours while comforting wafts of baking float from the downstairs kitchen. The £1.70 breakfast of toast and jams or Marmite is the perfect bargain. The decor is of a sort of 1950s America, without being too cutesy or ersatz, and we simply love it.
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Rosie’s Deli Café
A much-loved Brixton cafe run by Rosie Lovell, a young cook hailed as ‘the new Nigella’. She’s certainly every bit as charming –and a real celebrity in Brixton Market and wider with her new recipe book, Spooning With Rosie – and she makes some fantastic cakes and biscuits, as well as quiches, wraps, sandwiches and salads that keep her loyal lunch customers coming back for more. It’s a Brixton must.
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Giraffe
There’s a kind of sunny Californian feel to family-friendly Giraffe, where the likes of coarse-cut chips (fries), burritos, vegetarian salad wraps and burgers are on the menu, and friendly service is a given. (In fact staff will just about serve you anything you ask for – within reason.) There are currently a dozen Central London outlets, including an Islington branch.
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Scoop
The queue outside Scoop can stretch down the street on summer weekends, and it’s no wonder: this is central London’s only true gelateria and, boy, does it set a precedent. Storms of ice cream swell in the fridge, all the ingredients are natural and the servings are huge. Try the pistachio, coconut, mango, pure chocolate or any of the incredible flavours.
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Royal Teas
Royal Teas is not exactly vegetarian – you can get smoked salmon as part of a cream tea (£6.95) at lunchtime – but dishes are mostly comforting meatless things such as baked beans with melted cheese and Spanish-style eggs, and lots of baguettes and soups. We come for the ginger cake (£2.60) served with cream or ice cream.
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Banners
This cafe is always buzzing - a bit too much so when the owner's kids start acting up - still, it's got an inexplicably magnetic power. The food can be hit and miss (veggie sausages and mash hit, cooked brekkies generally miss), the smoothies are invigorating, and the staff are friendly to locals and polite to strangers.
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Newens Maids of Honour
The name of this quirky Kew tearoom a short distance from the main entrance to Kew Gardens comes from its famed dessert (£3), supposedly created by Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife. It is made of puff pastry, lemon, almonds and curd cheese, and anyone visiting should try it at least once.
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Star Café
So Soho, this wonderfully atmospheric cafe has vintage advertising and Continental decor that makes it feel like not much has changed since it opened in 1933. It’s best known for its breakfast, particularly the curiously named Tim Mellor Special of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
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Fernandez & Wells Café
A wonderful Soho mini-chain, this is one of the three branches of Fernandez & Wells, each located within 200m of each other in small, friendly and elegant spaces. The Café and the Espresso Bar both do sandwiches and incredibly good coffee.
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Fernandez & Wells Espresso Bar
A wonderful Soho mini-chain, this is one of the three branches of Fernandez & Wells, each located within 200m of each other in small, friendly and elegant spaces. The Café and the Espresso Bar both do sandwiches and incredibly good coffee.
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Lounge Café
As much a bar as a place to eat, this self-styled ‘original urban retreat’ has breakfast, day and evening menus with everything from vegetarian fry-ups and burgers to meze platters. It’s an excellent place for a cocktail and a nosh, and there’s live music.
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Kew Greenhouse
This delightful botanically themed cafe will help set the mood for a visit to nearby Kew Gardens. Food is all about simple staples, such as jacket potatoes and sandwiches, as well as a daily surprise. Perfect for a cup of tea and cake.
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Lisboa Patisserie
On market day there isn’t room to flick a crumb in this phenomenally popular Portuguese patisserie on Golborne Rd. Regulars swear by the pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts), which are also available to takeaway.
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Le Pain Quotidien
Simple, stripped-down French-style cafes serve salads, soups, filled baguettes and excellent cakes from 12 outlets across London, including a South Bank branch.
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Maison Bertaux
Bertaux has exquisite confections, unhurried service, a French bohemian vibe and 130 years of history on this spot. Seating is limited to a half-dozen tables.
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Hummingbird Bakery
Dainty cupcakes in a rainbow of pastel colours attract a largely female crowd to this pocket-sized cake shop. There’s a branch in Notting Hill.
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Pavilion Café at Victoria Park
Superb cafe overlooking ornamental lake in Victoria Park and serving breakfasts and lunches made with locally sourced ingredients.
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Le Pain Quotidien Marylebone
Simple, stripped-down French-style cafe serves salads, soups and tartine s (open-face sandwiches; £7 to £10).
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Taste of Bitter Love
We visit this small but upbeat cafe as much for its name and award-winning coffee as for its soups, salads and cakes.
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Serpentine Bar & Kitchen
This glass-enclosed cafe and bar is an excellent place for a drink or light meal while frolicking in Hyde Park.
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Patisserie Valerie
Founded in Soho in 1926, serving delicious sweet pastries and gelato.
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