Invented in New Zealand and brought to our shores circa 2004 this drink is to the Noughties what Babycham was to the 80’s. Go stick your head out the window. Hear that? That’s the sound of London loving the flat white right now and since cafes are the new bars and even Starbucks have introduced the Antipodean drink du jour to its chains it’s about time someone listed five excellent places to go get one. Yee haw!
Flat White claims to be among the first to have served up the drink to London and it has the name so that’s research enough for me. Transforming what was in our cups from Matey Bubble bath to the liquid gypsy tart it’s still giving now it’s a total coffee party. Loud music with caffeine brunches, there’s probably nothing better in this crazy world, except maybe rain on the window, when you’re all wrapped up inside... Just maybe.
The Covent Gardeners’ coffee is legendary and they roast and grind their own. There’s something of the conservative British approach to it that distances them from the hipster newbies but their house grind causes a stir with this individual as their flat white comes strong with Anglo might. Surely the richest flavour in London and to be enjoyed in the fun of the skewiff wooden cabin appeal it has going on or sat in the middle of Seven Dials for prime people watching.
Get ready. This one’s a doozy. Feel the high with their flat white in a far out arty atmosphere that says never fear, there really are people ditching ‘the man’s’ nine to five and putting us squares to shame. The walls are covered with creative creations and there’s the in-house London Fields Radio so you can hear muso’s playing their favourite psych rock, Sixties girl groups and general interestingness while you tip back that micro foam. Their technique can be a little topsy-turvy but in addition to the richness in the cup there’s a sweetness in the Climpson beans that marks a noticeable shift from the big guns of Square Mile and Monmouth.
And so to Prufrock. My crew and I usually come here after sweaty poetry slams because of the literary wink in the name but it’s not just for the bookish, in fact I crown this hippest new coffee shop in London and it’s Leather Lane that has the pleasure of the aqua marine flecked, floor-boarded laboratory and all round hotness. The flat white comes poured purposefully by connoisseurs decorated with beards and twizzled moustaches on their faces so you know they’re serious and in their ranks is the 2009 World Barista Champion. The taste compares to that of their vintage machine at the Shoreditch pop-up but on pure atmosphere alone not to mention the gadgetry behind the brewing, this may be the Wembley of London coffee experimentation.
Beer selling, Tour de France showing, bike fixing café and all round perfect stop off for that tired old Clerkenwell Road ride. There’s only one thing here better than the millionaire shortbread and that’s the flat white. So, don’t bother getting greasy in your own bike shed, just come here and waste your money on someone else doing the hard work so you can enjoy those delicious Square Mile beans while you watch. Keep on rockin' in the free world...
