London is filled with some of the best speciality coffee shops in the world, but with so many, it’s hard to find the best of the best. So that’s what I’m here to share with you today – the best of the best speciality coffee shops in London.
I’m going to focus on the best independent shops, where to find them, what makes them unique, what they offer, and my experience with the brews I’ve had. I will be starting with the ‘Top 3’ and will add to this list when I’ve explored more of London’s speciality coffee scene. Keep an eye out for more of my recommendations!
Now, let’s dive into the top 3 speciality coffee shops in London!
1. NOSTOS Coffee – St James’ Park – Westminster
Nostos Coffee, St James’ Park is my personal favourite speciality coffee shop on this list, and I believe it’s one of the best finds in Central London. The coffee experience, the menu, the aesthetic, the customer service is all one of a kind and really shows in their dedication to crafting the perfect cup of coffee.
Nostos – meaning ‘Homecoming’ in Greek – was founded by Edison Shehu, a visionary from Greece with a goal to redefine the coffee experience. And this is exactly what he has done. With two coffee bars, one for your high-standard coffee, drinks and pastries, and the other for ‘the true coffee experience’ – a bar where you get to experience what speciality coffee truly is.
From the process to the farming, to the water recipes, and the brew. Everything is done with consistent quality and dedication to the beautiful craft of speciality coffee. This ‘experience’ bar is a way for everyone to understand the effort and dedication that goes into the coffee from farm to cup. It is crafted by Nostos’ experienced team and even Edison himself, where everything is explained in front of you. The water is crafted from distilled water, then added with specific minerals depending on the type of coffee brewed. It truly is a wonderful and one-of-a-kind experience and really gets you involved with the process, also featuring Nostos’ iconic frozen menu, from origami filter coffees to AeroPress, espresso and freeze-distilled flat whites. What Nostos offers is truly some of the best.
I had a 200h Anaerobic Natural origami filter at the experience bar, a coffee from Luis Marcelino and roasted by Nostos. A very funky, boozy coffee with notes of cherry and blackberry. One of my favourite coffees I’ve had in a long time. I also tried their Brazilian espresso, which was rich, smooth and balanced. Overall, an amazing experience and I can’t wait for you all to try this one-of-a-kind coffee experience Nostos Coffee has to offer.
2. Special Guests Coffee – Westminster
Next up we’ve got the one and only Special Guests Coffee – based in Westminster, an area in central London known for the wax work museum, Madame Tussauds. Founded in 2022 by Paul Ross, a coffee industry legend and 2 time UK barista champion, Paul and his team have created a stand out coffee experience with a vision of showcasing world class coffees and baristas to the world. Focusing on small, unusual and high quality coffee lots, Special Guests roast and brew exceptional coffee pushing the industry boundaries and providing some of the best hospitality coffee experience in London.
The Westminster shop is a beautiful, aesthetically designed shop presenting minimalism with a focus of the vision for outstanding coffee. I had an Ethiopian espresso, which was creamy, punchy and smooth in the finish; a delicious brew. I also took home a bag of their 022 lot Los Nogales, Bourbon Pimienta, which I brewed when I got home. Truly fruity and delicate but punchy, a washed coffee with notes of passionfruit, raspberry and lemonade.
Overall, an amazing experience with tremendous customer service and a true highlight to London’s coffee scene. I can’t wait to be back and for you all to check Special Guests out too.
3. Scenery Coffee – Southwark
Only recently opened and still under construction, Scenery Coffee has made a true minimalistic masterpiece of a coffee shop. Based in Southwark, near the tower bridge, Scenery Coffee have flown onto the specialty coffee scene. With three decades of coffee experience, Scenery are thriving on refreshingly straightforward coffee. They focus on honesty, humbleness and openness with a mission to source, roast, sell and brew some of the best coffees with love, dedication and passion for their craft.
Their vision is straightforward: to offer a humble coffee experience, rooted in fairness, authenticity, and a genuine love for what they do.
I really admire their ethics to the coffee industry. Not focusing on profit, competition or being the biggest and the best. They focus on the love of what they do, which is coffee and sharing their coffee experiences with the world.
When in the new store I grabbed myself one of their feature batch brews which was light, fragrant and juicy. For great coffee, it only cost me £3.00, and for London this is an epic price!
I was served by their lovely staff, who were full of smiles and positivity which is great to see. They have a full offering of their latest roasts in store and my favourite so far is the yeast fermented Colombian El Jaragual Rosado, which literally tastes like strawberry and custard. An absolute fruit bomb!
Next time you’re in Southwark, I highly recommend you check Scenery out. They’re going on to big things, and I cannot wait to see their journey in this beautiful and positive industry that we are so lucky to work in.
That’s it (for now) my top 3 best speciality coffee shops in London. I will be adding to this list very soon. So, when you can, I highly recommend you visit these great speciality coffee shops. For now, sit back, grab a brew, have a read, and I’ll catch you on the next post: Best Christmas Coffee Gifts 2024
See you on the next one.
