A small and homely coffee shop looking out onto Forest Hill Overground, St. David is a pleasure to visit. One look around the charming, warm and slightly rickety interior and you can see that the place is a labour of love. Set up by three friends, the environment inside is all laid-back and relaxed in a ‘home away from home’ sort of way.
Filled with small tables and assorted bric-a-brac, St. David is part vintage trove of treasure, part coffee house. Unfortunately, the goods on display here aren’t for sale (unlike The Montage up the road), which is almost a shame since the design of the place offers more than a little interior inspiration. So you’ll have to make do with purchasing coffee, cakes and sandwiches. Square Mile supplies the beans all year round but with a focus on using local and seasonal ingredients, the sandwich menu is subject to change. We try a classic almond croissant - outsourced from local patisserie Boulongerie Jade - which is the perfect powdery, crisp, sweet accompaniment to our flat whites. With an Aeropress filter on the menu, St. David also caters to the new trend for the ‘thinner’ cup of coffee.
The staff are friendly and this is clearly a popular place with the locals. Being one of the few coffee shops in Forest Hill it is unsurprising to find most of the tables filled when we visit and there is even a healthy balance between those here for coffee and conversation and those buried in a laptop. Definitely a place to stop off if you’re ever passing through.