I have always like Store Street in Bloomsbury (and as readers of this blog will know I love
Bloomsbury in general) - when I first arrived in London in 1999 a good friend Beth worked at this groovy place called Imagination (which is still there I think) who had offices on the semi-circular part of Store St near TCR. I used to visit her there and hang out in their cool staff caf/bar and it all felt very millennium/dot com/cool Britannia, or at least I thought it did. Anyway...I was excited to hear about a new coffee place that had opened on Store St, at the Gower St end. I have been trying to stick to this crazy diet plan - where for 3 days you eat nothing but protein. 3 days I thought - how hard can it be? Well, friggin' hard actually - by 11am today (less than 36 hours in) I was going loopy, had a splitting headache and felt like I was on speed - so I decided I needed to ditch the diet and have something completely unhealthy and cake-ish. So off I trundled to
Store St Espresso - which I am happy to report is lovely. I had 2 immaculate flat whites (in fact the best I've had in a while) and carbo-loaded on a flapjack AND a muffin (so screw you protein-only diet) which were both great. There are lots of places to sit, nicely spread out and so the vibe is not as frenetic as some central London coffee places (yes Flat White I mean you). The staff were lovely and kind of Arts-studenty (in a good way) so all in all I walked out a much happier and carb-rich person.
Another excellent option for a delicious Flat White? Ooooh, yummy!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on the diet, but please keep the recommendations coming!
Appreciatively,
Robert (Denver, Colorado, USA)
I gave up on the diet! You will love this place - and it's in a great area.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I had the most awful soy latte ever. I tried the place out again and had a macchiato which tasted burnt. My two Aussie friends also did not think highly of their (regular) lattes... hmm wonder if they were just inconsistent with their coffee making?? This place is less than a minute away from me but instead I track over to Tapped and Packed.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Jess - you are the second negative comment I have had on Store St (the first also called me a moron so I deleted it!) I have only been once and had 2 really great flat whites, but sounds like I need to go back and do a consistency check.
ReplyDeleteI have had a great coffee here recently, and find the folks who own it to be warm, friendly and well organised. Delighted to find them... I am working in a bookshop that's going to opening a few doors down at Number 33. Christina
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to checking out the new shop Christina!
ReplyDeleteHello! Thought I'd report back to say that I have tried out Store St 3 more times and I think they have improved much! I had 2 good ones and an average one (made by different barristers). Tapped and Packed lattes are definitely superior though, but as Store St is much closer to me, I think I'll visit them a bit more often (unless I get a bad one again!). They also play good music, which is a big plus in my books.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Jess - I really liked these guys.
ReplyDeleteRecently discovered Store St Espresso on a procrastination/coffee-break venture out of Senate House Library, and it has since become a firm favourite! We would recommend the corn bread sandwiches, either goats cheese or ham and piccalilli, with a flat white or a cappuccino. And brioche to round it all off nicely.
ReplyDeleteTip: if you're after a similar style place but for tea, try Yumchaa, Camden Parkway.
Thanks for the tip Eli - despite what this blog indicates, I do like drinking tea as well!
ReplyDeleteHeyy, I know this is an old post now but just wanted to jump in about Store Street Espresso. We have been doing a lot of work on the consistency of coffee with extensive training both for staff and for the guys doing the training. We've also spent a lot of money on upgrading equipment to keep the quality high.
ReplyDeleteIf any of you guys who were dissatisfied want to pop in again, speak to me (Chris, I look like Buddy Holly) and I'll hook you up with some free drinks to see what you think.
Chris
Thanks Chris - will visit again very soon.
ReplyDelete