Latest reviews for Cafes & Coffee Shops in Clerkenwell, London, United Kingdom

Brill - Gorgeous independent music shop and cafe by Niamheen

Niamheen — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Review by Niamheen

Rating: 4.00

Phone: 020 7833 9757

Brill is a real gem. A gorgeous little independent music shop that also serves good coffee and has a small but very well chosen selection of music. It's the perfect antidote to our chain culture. It's almost like visiting a friends to raid their collection, only you get to buy and keep them ;) There's often good music deals too.

Not content with offering great music and coffee, you can also get brick lane bagels, pastries, brownies and there's free wifi. We need more of these places and we need to support the ones that are around. I would highly recommend you pop in and fall in love with Brill, as I have.Brill is a real gem. A gorgeous little independent music shop that also serves good coffee and has a small but very well chosen selection of music. It's the perfect antidote to our chain culture. It's almost like visiting a friends to raid their collection, only you get to buy and keep them ;) There's often good music deals too.

Not content with offering great music and coffee, you can also get brick lane bagels, pastries, brownies and there's free wifi. We need more of these places and we need to support the ones that are around. I would highly recommend you pop in and fall in love with Brill, as I have.

Nusa - fabulous soups and salads by patheticshark

patheticshark — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:40:43 +0000

Review by patheticshark

Rating: 5.00

Tags: lively, top food

This place is really, really popular with people who work in the area for lunches - there's always a long queue (though the staff are very efficient, so you don't have to wait too long). The soups are really good, all served with a hefty chunk of bread. They publish all the soups they have on the website every morning, so you can decide what you want from the office and nip down to pick it up (and orders from the rest of the office if you're not careful). (Menu is at http://www.nusakitchen.co.uk/index.php?go=menu). They always have a good range of meat and non-meat soups, usually with a good balance of Asian and Western styles - so you'll usually find ramen or pho amongst cream of courgette (which is really good, by the way) or minestrone. It's a bit addictive, though, so be careful! They have a loyalty card thing going on, I think you get a free soup after 5 soups or something. They also do some tasty salads (like falafel, crayfish, tuna nicoise, greek etc) plus fruit salad and granola and stuff.This place is really, really popular with people who work in the area for lunches - there's always a long queue (though the staff are very efficient, so you don't have to wait too long). The soups are really good, all served with a hefty chunk of bread. They publish all the soups they have on the website every morning, so you can decide what you want from the office and nip down to pick it up (and orders from the rest of the office if you're not careful). (Menu is at http://www.nusakitchen.co.uk/index.php?go=menu). They always have a good range of meat and non-meat soups, usually with a good balance of Asian and Western styles - so you'll usually find ramen or pho amongst cream of courgette (which is really good, by the way) or minestrone. It's a bit addictive, though, so be careful! They have a loyalty card thing going on, I think you get a free soup after 5 soups or something. They also do some tasty salads (like falafel, crayfish, tuna nicoise, greek etc) plus fruit salad and granola and stuff.

Le Cafe - Psssst! by Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:20:18 +0000

Review by Lacrimosa

Rating: 5.00

Phone: 020 7831 8139

Tags: takeaway, friendly, busy

Okay, it's time to 'fess up. I've known about Le CafÃ© for ages, but have been reluctant to mention it here on Trusted Places because I'm mean and selfish and thinking only of myself. In London there's an awful lot of stomachs to fill every lunchtime, and I have absolutely no shame in prioritising my own. So shoot me!

Le CafÃ© is an absolute gem of a lunchtime takeaway cafe. The owner used to run a restaurant but gave it up in favour of shorter hours. Situated just off Gray's Inn Road, it's the sort of place that you probably wouldn't notice if you passed it, if only because there's so many small, independently run cafes around Clerkenwell. The only reason I know about it is through word of mouth, having often worked nearby. It's a tiny place half taken up with the usual counter filled with a selection of sandwich fillings and tasty things to put in salad boxes, all of which are freshly prepared and very reasonably priced. However the star of the show is most definitely the hot food. Every day there's a couple of special dishes, usually a meat or fish dish and something vegetarian like pasta, but it's blindingly obvious that the owner's passion is for meat and fish - indeed he gets up early every weekday to fetch it from the market himself, choosing from the likes of salmon, salt beef, chicken, sea bream, lambs kidneys, cod fillet, pork fillet, or lamb shank. These might end up in dishes such as Pork Fillet with Apple and Cider - one of my personal favourites - or maybe Cod Fillet with Lime and Shallots. Another day it might be a casserole or kebabs. The lamb shank seems to be a particular crowd pleaser, selling out in a matter of minutes, and he'll happily take it off the bone for you if you prefer. Everything comes with mashed potatoes, rice or vegetables, or a combination of all three if that's what you fancy.

But that's not all. There's soup too (you'll be given a bit to try if you look the least bit indecisive about it) and what he modestly calls "bangers and mash". Many people don't realise that the "bangers" vary too from day to day - perhaps pork and apple one day, followed by venison the next - so it's worth asking what they are. He'll serve them with gravy for you. In fact if you manage to get a seat at one of the few tiny tables inside or outside, and say "just bring me whatever you recommend today, please" he'll do just that, although you might want to check the menu first if you loathe kidney. Clearly a man with strong opinions about food! I once overheard him politely refuse to sell a girl a microwaved smoked salmon bagel, on the grounds that microwaving the smoked salmon might give her food poisoning. (She unwisely flounced off in a huff, presumably to order it somewhere less scrupulous.)

And the price of all these savoury meaty fishy delights? Â£3.95. That's the 2008 price - unbelievably, it was just Â£3.50 back in 2007. My tip is to get there early, preferably between midday and 12.30pm, as they do tend to sell out of the hot food quite quickly. Not only is it great value, but you'll likely be served with a smile and a joke. Regulars are remembered, pleasantries exchanged, and I was hugely touched to be quietly handed a box of Portuguese yoghurt coated nuts on the last day of 2007 before the city shut down for Christmas. Unbeknown to him, it was one of the very few presents I received that year. Priceless.Okay, it's time to 'fess up. I've known about Le CafÃ© for ages, but have been reluctant to mention it here on Trusted Places because I'm mean and selfish and thinking only of myself. In London there's an awful lot of stomachs to fill every lunchtime, and I have absolutely no shame in prioritising my own. So shoot me!

Le CafÃ© is an absolute gem of a lunchtime takeaway cafe. The owner used to run a restaurant but gave it up in favour of shorter hours. Situated just off Gray's Inn Road, it's the sort of place that you probably wouldn't notice if you passed it, if only because there's so many small, independently run cafes around Clerkenwell. The only reason I know about it is through word of mouth, having often worked nearby. It's a tiny place half taken up with the usual counter filled with a selection of sandwich fillings and tasty things to put in salad boxes, all of which are freshly prepared and very reasonably priced. However the star of the show is most definitely the hot food. Every day there's a couple of special dishes, usually a meat or fish dish and something vegetarian like pasta, but it's blindingly obvious that the owner's passion is for meat and fish - indeed he gets up early every weekday to fetch it from the market himself, choosing from the likes of salmon, salt beef, chicken, sea bream, lambs kidneys, cod fillet, pork fillet, or lamb shank. These might end up in dishes such as Pork Fillet with Apple and Cider - one of my personal favourites - or maybe Cod Fillet with Lime and Shallots. Another day it might be a casserole or kebabs. The lamb shank seems to be a particular crowd pleaser, selling out in a matter of minutes, and he'll happily take it off the bone for you if you prefer. Everything comes with mashed potatoes, rice or vegetables, or a combination of all three if that's what you fancy.

But that's not all. There's soup too (you'll be given a bit to try if you look the least bit indecisive about it) and what he modestly calls "bangers and mash". Many people don't realise that the "bangers" vary too from day to day - perhaps pork and apple one day, followed by venison the next - so it's worth asking what they are. He'll serve them with gravy for you. In fact if you manage to get a seat at one of the few tiny tables inside or outside, and say "just bring me whatever you recommend today, please" he'll do just that, although you might want to check the menu first if you loathe kidney. Clearly a man with strong opinions about food! I once overheard him politely refuse to sell a girl a microwaved smoked salmon bagel, on the grounds that microwaving the smoked salmon might give her food poisoning. (She unwisely flounced off in a huff, presumably to order it somewhere less scrupulous.)

And the price of all these savoury meaty fishy delights? Â£3.95. That's the 2008 price - unbelievably, it was just Â£3.50 back in 2007. My tip is to get there early, preferably between midday and 12.30pm, as they do tend to sell out of the hot food quite quickly. Not only is it great value, but you'll likely be served with a smile and a joke. Regulars are remembered, pleasantries exchanged, and I was hugely touched to be quietly handed a box of Portuguese yoghurt coated nuts on the last day of 2007 before the city shut down for Christmas. Unbeknown to him, it was one of the very few presents I received that year. Priceless.

Piccolo Deli - Delicious Italian sandwichery by Rhydster

Rhydster — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:00:53 +0000

Review by Rhydster

Rating: 4.00

Phone: 020 7336 0055

Tags: quick bite

The good: you can chose from a range of brown, white, whole grain or plain baps, ciabatta and other breads to go with a range of delicious fillings, including chicken and sweet corn, spicy chicken, tuna and sweet corn or various more elaborate fillings that you can have hot or cold. Sandwiches range from Â£2 - Â£4 and you can add extra individual fillings.

They serve meals of the day in generous portions to take away including Lasagne, creamy Chicken and Pasta (my favourite), pasta with vegetable and pesto sauce for around Â£3.50.

The bad: often do not have Lasagne meal of the day
The good: you can chose from a range of brown, white, whole grain or plain baps, ciabatta and other breads to go with a range of delicious fillings, including chicken and sweet corn, spicy chicken, tuna and sweet corn or various more elaborate fillings that you can have hot or cold. Sandwiches range from Â£2 - Â£4 and you can add extra individual fillings.

They serve meals of the day in generous portions to take away including Lasagne, creamy Chicken and Pasta (my favourite), pasta with vegetable and pesto sauce for around Â£3.50.

The bad: often do not have Lasagne meal of the day

Benugo - Pret with Love by littlevegemite

littlevegemite — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:57:12 +0000

Review by littlevegemite

Rating: 5.00

Phone: 020 7253 3499

Website: http://www.benugo.com

Tags: cosy, clean, cute

I uncovered my nearest outlet of this small chain when I started walking to work, and it has quickly become a daily ritual. London has lots of cafes and sandwich chains, but this one is perfect in every way. It's like a very posh, very zen, very perky, very natural, very sweet Pret - the staff are calm and warm, the coffee is perfect, the food is inspiring and often like art. Clearly I'm unable to be too impartial as I'm smitten, but this a lovely pocket of love first thing in the morning.I uncovered my nearest outlet of this small chain when I started walking to work, and it has quickly become a daily ritual. London has lots of cafes and sandwich chains, but this one is perfect in every way. It's like a very posh, very zen, very perky, very natural, very sweet Pret - the staff are calm and warm, the coffee is perfect, the food is inspiring and often like art. Clearly I'm unable to be too impartial as I'm smitten, but this a lovely pocket of love first thing in the morning.