Speakeasy - Lowndes Court W1

Alerted by Twitter (the word "free coffee" always get my attention) and by a friend on Facebook (I am so new media) I trundled along at lunch time to check out Speakeasy, a very cool new "Espresso and Brew Bar" just off Carnaby St.  A sister cafe to the wonderful Department of Coffee & Social Affairs  (with the same friendly Kiwi in attendance), this place not only has a cool name but makes great coffee and serves a damn fine plum cake (amongst other delicious looking food).  The coffee, for some reason, was free today, maybe because it was Day 3.  Whatever the reason I was happy to drink a top notch flattie that also happened to be free - I did feel slightly guilty though so I forced myself to buy the aforementioned plum cake.  There were several other people snapping photos when I went in - making me wonder if  they were fellow coffee bloggers (I felt like the poor relation taking photos on my crappy Blackberry).  Anyway, this place is really great and is in close proximity to the cool enclave of Newburgh and Marshall Streets so check it out (even if you have to pay for your coffee).

Staple Inn - WC1

Anyone who has been to the Chancery Lane/Holborn area will have seen these amazing Tudor relics - stuck in the middle of busy High Holborn, Staple Inn dates from 1585 and escaped the great fire of 1666, but got badly damaged in a WWII air raid.  Over the centuries there have been various additions and repairs but what you see is still a largely intact Tudor building, which is so cool.  Behind it, as behind so many of the busy streets in this area, are some of the wonderful Inns of Court (more blogging on that to come). So take a moment in your busy day to stand on the traffic island in the middle of the road and admire this truly amazing structure.

Bea's - One New Change EC4

I was in the vicinity of St Paul's today so decided to check out the new(ish) One New Change shopping centre and my main reaction...meh.  I am not a fan of these mall-type shopping centres and particularly next to the magnificence of St Paul's Cathedral.  Anyway - I'm sure it's lovely for the people who work there to have some concentrated retail therapy to occupy their lunch breaks.  Anyway, the best thing by far about this development is that there is a Bea's there (is it still Bea's of Bloomsbury if it's not in Bloomsbury?)  I am a HUGE fan of the original Bea's in Theobolds Road WC1 and so as far as I'm concerned the more Bea's (and also bees) there are in the world the better.  In fact Bea - how about SW18?  Hmmm?  As much as all the food at Bea's looks delicious I can never go past their version of the red velvet cupcake - not as sickly sweet as Hummingbird and the like, these babies are cup cake perfection and the Square Mile flat white I had with it was spot on.  I sat staring out at a corner of St Paul's and decided that whilst One New Change was pretty naff, the fact it's provided a new home for Bea's makes it a winner in my book.

If you miss Brewed Boy...

..then head to Battersea
 http://benscanteen.com/2011/09/12/something-is-brewing/

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!

Maltby St SE1 - Part 2

I have written about the foodie enclave that is Maltby St and its surrounds in Bermondsey before but that was almost 9 months ago, just before Christmas and things have got even better.  Due to the growing visitor numbers and some weird goings on at Borough Market the number of producers selling their wares has increased.

This Saturday, on what felt like the last day of Summer, we had a very chilled and delicious wander around Maltby St, Druid St, Stanworth St and a little further afield to Voyager Railway Arches to visit the wonderful Kappacasein.  Any of you who have been to Borough in the past will have seen their amazing cheese sandwiches being made and for now this new location is the only place where you can find them, as well as their ever popular raclettes (although they tell me they should be back at Borough very soon - while still keeping the Voyager Arches location).  The plan is to also use this new space to make cheese and there was some construction going on out the back to do just that.  It was so nice to eat one of their toasted cheese sandwiches (which are totally up there in my sandwich hall of fame) in such chilled surroundings - it was always a little hectic around their Borough stall.  Of course once you've done savoury you need sweet (we alternated several times during the day...) so we headed a couple of arches up to chat to the friendly fella at the Ice Cream Union  - who was super generous with samples (gotta love that) and up for a chat.  The ice cream is fantastic too.  Back on Stanworth St at

 No.55 there are several great producers in one space - Fern Verrow's organic veg looked amazing (I was eyeing up some golden beets that were particularly beautiful) and the Borough Cheese Company was very tempting (there is certainly no shortage of cheese in the Maltby St area - Neal's Yard Dairy is also there plus Mons and others.  At No.55 it was Coleman Coffee Roasters that caught my attention though - these guys are a small batch coffee roastery in south-east London and as well as selling beans (which we used this morning at home and were delicious) they were serving top notch piccolos.  So all in all it was a lovely day - if you haven't checked out the Maltby St area make sure you do and soon - we started the day with a flat white at Monmouth, got a sugar rush from one of St John's custard donuts and then powered around the arches.  The day finished in the wonderful Tower Bridge Antiques, which is right there also.  I love this area - with Borough Market itself and the wonderful Bermondsey St a short walk away, this is fast becoming one of my favourite parts of London.

Capel Bedyddwyr Cymreig - Eastcastle St W1

I really hope I got the Welsh name of this building correct in the post title - I have a sneaking suspicion I may have slipped an extra "d" or "y" in there somewhere.  Anyway I wanted to give this really unusual and cool building in Fitzrovia its proper name.  Otherwise I would have called it the Welsh Chapel, which is what it is.  Built in 1889 this ornate fronted building has always intrigued me although I have never managed to see inside.  Stuck in the middle of media and fashion land it seems a little out of place, like an architectural wedding cake.  I think that's part of the reason I love it and of course it's in Fitzrovia which is also a bonus.  Check it out - a little gem just behind Oxford Street.

CaPhe VN - Clerkenwell Rd EC1

I have written before about how much I love CaPhe VN's Saigon street cafe in Broadway Market in Hackney and I was super excited to hear about their latest opening in Clerkenwell.  I am still holding out hope that these guys will open an outlet in Soho or Fitzrovia but at least Clerkenwell is closer to my workplace then E8.  This area of Clerkenwell is so cool - the Zetter, the Zetter Townhouse, The Modern Pantry, St Ali, St John St around the corner - foodies are spoilt for choice and CaPhe VN is a welcome addition.  I love the fact that CaPhe VN have kept the street cafe vibe by having beach chairs out the front of their Clerkenwell store - there is such a friendly vibe with these guys and that combined with delicious bahn-mi is a winning combination.  Predictable as I am , I once again opted for the classic pork bahn-mi and it was as excellent as always.  Given the slight Autumn chill in the air I did opt to have my Vietnamese coffee hot rather than cold today - I prefer it chilled but the hot, strong, sweet coffee and condensed milk combo was a winner also.  If you haven't yet sampled the delights of bahn-mi then there is no better place to start than Caphe VN - although I warn you, one visit and you'll be hooked like me!

Everyman Cinema - Hampstead NW3

I do love me an art-house cinema - whether it's The Electric, The Ritzy, the Curzon Soho or Mayfair, the Renoir or the Barbican, I am always happy with a sub-titled film, some organic chocolate coated raisins and a glass of wine in an in-house bar afterwards.  One I had not been to and had been wanting to for ages was the Everyman in Hampstead.  I finally got there on the weekend - to see a rather charming Italian film about an older guy who feels like he has lost his mojo (I also like to see films I can relate to).  As well as loving the film I loved the Everyman - the location is tops of course (I get such suburb envy in Hampstead) but everything from the friendly staff, the cool little bar, to the velvet sofas in the cinema were just spot on.  I plan to visit again soon and if you haven't so should you - this place is a total gem.

Mayfair Ramblings - W1

I had a really annoying meeting at work last week and I needed to get out of the office and walk off my frustration - I didn't have any particular destination in mind but soon I found myself crossing Regent Street and heading for Berkeley Square.  As soon as I walked into this most graceful of West End squares I felt immediately better and decided to work out where I was actually heading.  As it was lunch time and food is important to me (as you may have gathered) I decided to venture deeper into Mayfair and check out the Mount St Deli, which I had read about on Beanhunter as somewhere that did good coffee.  I got slightly lost but ended up on Mount Street near The Audley pub (know to the post Ivor Novello Award revellers as the "DisAudley" - if you've been on that particular day you'll know what I'm talking about).  Mount Street is Mayfair at it's most pristine and perfect - as well as the aforementioned pub there are some very high end antique shops, the wonderful Scott's restaurant and up a little on the right, the Mount St Deli.  I do love a cafe with a grocery section and the Mount Street deli had all manner of deliciousness on display.  I ordered a flat white and a quesadilla with taleggio and grilled peppers - the coffee was good (not outstanding but pretty decent) but the quesadilla was amazing.  I admit I was ravenous but seriously this thing was all melted-cheesy deliciousness.  I will be back just for that (and maybe save the coffee fix for Taylor St nearby).  After lunch I strolled into the lovely and serene Mount Street Gardens - if you have never visited

this little oasis you must.  Whenever I'm here I always feel like I should be meeting with someone from M15 and slipping them a brown folder with photos of the Russian embassy inside, but maybe that's just me.  I suppose it's because it feels quite old fashioned and "old London" (which lots of Mayfair still does - at least those bits not over-run with silly banker/oligarch money).  To cap off my stress-busting sojourn I went and had a look inside the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Farm Street - which is just lovely.  I had first come across a reference to this church in one of my favourite books, "Brideshead Revisited".  The

conflicted Julia Flyte, struggling with a Catholic upbringing and an American lover (divorced no less) "took her problem to Farm St" which I eventually worked out must be referring to a church, which it was and it's this one.  If all this church-going is too much for you you could instead visit the Punch Bowl also on Farm St - a cute little pub made famous by having Madonna's ex as one of its co-owners.  All in all I had a very pleasant hour or so and I got back to my desk refreshed and ready for the afternoon.  Mayfair therapy I call it.

T J Boulting Building - Riding House St W1W

I may have mentioned before how much I love Fitzrovia... but just in case you missed it, I LOVE Fitzrovia, in fact I love a whole swathe of London that stretches from Fitzrovia east through Bloomsbury and Holborn to Clerkenwell and Farringdon.  I have lots of love for lots of bits of London but it is these parts that have really captured my heart.  I long for a big Georgian house near Fitzroy Square, or perhaps within walking distance of Lambs Conduit Street.  I just love the tranquility you get walking around the streets of Fitzrovia, compared to what you would experience a few hundred metres away in Oxford Street or Tottenham Court Road.  As well as some great pubs, excellent cafes (think Kaffeine, Tapped & Packed, Lantana...) there are some lovely buildings and one of my favourites is the old T J Boulting building on the corner of Riding House Street and Nassau Street. Whilst the plaque dates the company (who were gas & electrical engineers and in later years made stoves and range cookers) to 1808 the building is actually from around 100 years later and has fantastic mosaic lettering on the corners and sides.  When I walked past the other day there was construction going on inside - I really hope whoever is moving in here and refurbishing it is sensitive to what a gem this is.

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.