The Rose

If you want a coffee house that really stands out from the crowd, what do you do? You forgo the hip areas where everyone else has already set up shop and stick your premises on one of London’s busiest roundabouts.

Shoreditch Grind is the beacon of accessibility in an area otherwise covered by sprawling office buildings that beam your reflection back out at you. From the revolving slogans on its cinema style letter board outside, to the exposed, stained white brickwork within, this is a playful coffee house that takes its style as seriously as it takes its coffee. Raised benches and high stools run around the edges, which give a great view out onto the stream of traffic passing through Old Street roundabout. While this might not sound like a sight to brag about, on a bright day it’s something that becomes quite soothing. For a reasonably small venue the high ceiling at Shoreditch Grind lends it a sense of depth and you know this place is really hip because they’ve got the classic ‘private recording studio on the first floor’ thing going on.

Shoreditch Grind isn’t solely about coffee, despite the fact that they do it very well. Sure, fresh grinds are delivered every few days and talented baristas man the La Marzocco machines but in the evening there are whiskies, gins and cocktails too. A concise, seasonal menu turns the space into a bar by night as the lights are dimmed and it’s all about a different kind of grind, maybe, perhaps. And there’s even a large area of decking out back, which just has potential written all over it…