Notes - Wellington St WC2

So the Twitter buzz was true and the wonderful Notes Music & Coffee has cloned itself - hooray!  Diving deeper into theatre-land from their original St Martins Lane location they have opened a lovely dual level shop on Wellington St, just near the Strand.  As well as the mighty fine coffee they are known for, this is a great place to have an evening glass of wine and plate of charcuterie (you can see some delicious meat being sliced in the snap).   The DVDs and CDs are downstairs and the whole place has a really chilled out vibe (does that make me sound like a hippy?).  Anyway - love these guys, love the fact they have opened a new gaff - all power to the mighty Notes.

NEWSFLASH! New Notes Music & Coffee - Wellington St WC2

Exciting news - Notes Music & Coffee announced on Twitter today that they are opening a new venue in late September in Wellington St.  Hurrah!

Flat Cap Fleet St - EC4

The wonderfully located caffeine experts Coffee by the Clock have had a name change - they are now called Flat Cap Fleet St to link them more closely with their progenitor (who knew I would ever use the word "progenitor" in my blog...) Flat Cap Coffee in Strutton Ground SW1.  These guys know what they're about when it comes to coffee and whether it's at one of these cool coffee carts or the lovely lovely Notes Music & Coffee you will get great service along with your primo flat white.  Keep breeding Flat Cap, we need more of your coffee carts.

Notes Music & Coffee - WC2

My friend Gen alerted me to the opening of Notes in St Martins Lane - a new cafe from the Flat Cap coffee team.  So when my stupid Northern Line train was held at Charing Cross this morning I decided to abandon ship and wander up St Martins Lane and see what this Notes Music & Coffee place was all about.  It turned out to be Day Two so they were still working out the till and how much things cost etc but it was all kind of endearing and you could tell there was a real passion for what they were doing.  The place looks amazing - a huge room with a vaulted glass ceiling up the back through which you catch a glimpse of the cool spinning globe on top of the neighbouring Coliseum Theatre.  As well as coffee and food (and more on that later) these guys have a really cool selection of CDs and DVDs for sale - classical, jazz and world music as well as the more art-house end of the DVD spectrum, plus some DVDs of opera, ballet etc.  Obviously as this place is new there was lots of space so it felt incredibly peaceful - there's no doubt that's going to change but as well as small tables along the side there is a massive communal table up the back so I'm sure this place will handle the inevitable crowds.  I actually went back to Notes for lunch and that probably tells you something.  The two flat whites I had were really great - they use Square Mile beans for their milky coffees and combined with impeccably steamed milk the results were spot on.  This morning I had a super tasty warm pesto scroll thing and for lunch the other half and I shared a delicious salami sandwich.  The staff are really lovely and the whole vibe here is really great - so if you are wandering in theatre land or want to escape the crowds of Trafalgar Square then head to Notes, it is a brilliant new addition to the coffee scene in central London.