United Kingdom

Cafés in London flat whites and fry-ups

Espresso on Frith Street, flat whites in Fitzrovia, Art Deco caffs in the East End and Saturday coffee on Broadway Market.

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Photo: Chengxin Zhao, Pexels License

2358Cafés listed
21Open by 6am
69Open past 10pm
29Specialty & roasters

London took to coffee early. Pasqua Rosée, a servant of the Levant Company merchant Daniel Edwards, opened the city's first coffee house in 1652, and by the early 18th century London had more coffee houses than any city in the western world except Constantinople.1 The historian Matthew Green traces the stock exchange, insurance and auctioneering to three of them: Jonathan's, Lloyd's and Garraway's.1

Espresso reached Soho after the war. Bar Italia has served at 22 Frith Street since 1949, in the building where John Logie Baird first showed television to the public in 1926, and in 1953 the Moka bar at 29 Frith Street put stainless-steel espresso machines on a London counter.23 Monmouth Coffee began roasting in a Covent Garden basement in 1978, and in 2005 Flat White opened beside Berwick Street Market as Antipodean coffee took hold in London.45

The drink in that café's name is now London's everyday order. An Economist report in 2024 found that one in three UK coffee drinkers chose a flat white, and Pret a Manger sold eight million of them in a year, close to its nine million cappuccinos.6 The economist Douglas McWilliams even named the capital's tech and media boom after it, in his 2015 book The Flat White Economy.6

Start with a part of town

London by area

The 32 London boroughs all date from 1 April 1965, and the City of London counts as a 33rd area of local government.17 Coffee changes by neighborhood more than by borough, from Soho's espresso bars and the City's weekday cafés to the market streets of Borough, Hackney and Notting Hill.

Soho & Fitzrovia

Frith Street's espresso bars, Berwick Street's flat whites, Greek Street pâtisserie and Fitzrovia's Australian cafés.

148 cafés

Covent Garden & Holborn

Monmouth Street's first roaster, Neal's Yard, a crypt café on Trafalgar Square and the cabbies' hut at Temple.

146 cafés

Clerkenwell & Farringdon

Little Italy's church and delis, Exmouth Market's terraces, Leather Lane's specialty bars and Smithfield's all-night cafés.

77 cafés

Shoreditch & Hoxton

A New Zealand roaster on Leonard Street, Redchurch Street cafés, Curtain Road coffee bars and Hoxton Street locals.

111 cafés

The City

Where London's coffee houses began: weekday espresso bars between Bank, St Paul's and Liverpool Street.

126 cafés

Spitalfields & Whitechapel

Hanbury Street's roasters, Brick Lane's late coffee bars, Hawksmoor's crypt café and the Whitechapel Gallery.

112 cafés

Islington & Angel

Upper Street and its side lanes: Camden Passage, Chapel Market, Essex Road and the canal tunnel under Angel.

102 cafés

Bethnal Green & Mile End

E. Pellicci's Art Deco caff, Sunday flowers on Columbia Road, Roman Road Market and the park cafés of Victoria Park.

84 cafés

Hackney & London Fields

Broadway Market's Saturday stalls, London Fields, Dalston Lane's roastery and canal-side cafés in De Beauvoir.

119 cafés

Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town

Camden Lock's market cafés, Regent's Park Road in Primrose Hill and Kentish Town's caffs and pie shop.

103 cafés

South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey

Monmouth at Borough Market, riverside cafés by the Royal Festival Hall, and Bermondsey Street's leather-trade lanes.

142 cafés

Notting Hill

Portobello Road's Saturday market, Portuguese pâtisseries on Golborne Road and early cafés on Ladbroke Grove.

81 cafés

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Soho & Fitzrovia 148 cafés

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Covent Garden & Holborn 146 cafés

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Bloomsbury 73 cafés

King's Cross 55 cafés

Clerkenwell & Farringdon 77 cafés

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Shoreditch & Hoxton 111 cafés

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Alchemy Coffee

  • Paul Street
  • Mon–Thu 08:00–16:00 · Fri 08:30–15:00 · Sat–Sun Closed
  • 020 7329 9904
  • Takeaway
  • Card payment
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The City 126 cafés

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Spitalfields & Whitechapel 112 cafés

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Islington & Angel 102 cafés

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Bethnal Green & Mile End 84 cafés

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Hackney & London Fields 119 cafés

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Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town 103 cafés

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Mayfair & St James's 66 cafés

Marylebone 88 cafés

South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey 142 cafés

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Westminster, Victoria & Pimlico 98 cafés

Notting Hill 81 cafés

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Paddington & Bayswater 72 cafés

Chelsea, South Kensington & Knightsbridge 101 cafés

Kensington, Earl's Court & Fulham 93 cafés

Battersea & Nine Elms 57 cafés

Kennington, Vauxhall & Stockwell 55 cafés

Elephant & Castle & Walworth 37 cafés

New Cross & Deptford 31 cafés

Peckham & Camberwell 49 cafés

Wapping, Shadwell & Limehouse 18 cafés

Rotherhithe & South Bermondsey 26 cafés

Leaf & Bean

  • Railway Avenue
  • Mon–Fri 06:00–17:00 · Sat 08:00–17:00 · Sun 08:00–15:00
  • +447769352988
  • Takeaway
  • Card payment
  • Vegetarian options
  • Open by 6am

St John's Wood, Maida Vale & Kilburn 88 cafés

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Coffee chains in London

Branches by area

Chain

Starbucks

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Costa Coffee

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Caffè Nero

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Soho Coffee Co.

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Urban Baristas

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Caffè Concerto

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Grind

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Notes Coffee

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Kiss the Hippo

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L'ETO Caffè

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Redemption Roasters

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Before you sit down

How to order coffee and tea in London

Tea still runs the older cafés. A builder's tea is strong black tea made with a bag in a mug, milk added after steeping and often one or two teaspoons of white sugar; the name comes from the cheap tea laborers drank on their breaks.7 It is the standard pour in a caff, Britain's name for the greasy spoon: a small, privately owned café serving fry-ups, with a full cooked breakfast usually available all day.8

The other working-class institution is the pie and mash shop: a minced beef pie with mashed potato and liquor, a parsley sauce, with malt or chilli vinegar on the table and jellied eels on the side.9 Greater London had about 110 eel and pie shops at the end of the 1800s; 34 pie shops were left in 2024.9

Sitting down can change the price. Hot takeaway drinks are standard-rated for VAT, cold takeaway food is zero-rated, and anything eaten or drunk on the premises carries the standard rate.10 Cafés may also charge more for a seat: in July 2025 Lavazza's flagship café off Regent Street sold a flat white for £4 to take away and £5.50 to drink in.11

Tipping at the counter is optional; at a café where the staff know you, a little change in the jar now and then is the usual gesture.12 Under the tipping law in force since 1 October 2024, employers must pass all tips to their workers, service charges included, and may deduct only tax and National Insurance.1314 Hours are short: about two-thirds of London cafés close by 18:00, while Polo Bar on Bishopsgate and Smithfield Cafe on Long Lane are open 24 hours and Bar Italia until 04:00.

What coffee costs in London

DrinkTypical price
Coffee
Average price, any style
£4.52
London average, March 2026
Cappuccino
Regular size, in a café
£3.25–5.20
London range, October 2026
Flat white
To take away
£4.00
Lavazza flagship off Regent Street, July 2025
Flat white
To drink in
£5.50
Same café, July 2025

Prices as of the dates shown. The London average is Finder's, built from Expatistan and Numbeo data for March 2026, and the cappuccino range is Numbeo's as updated in October 2026.1516 The Regent Street prices come from a Press Association report of July 2025, written after arabica beans hit a record US$4.20 a pound that February.11

Sources

  1. English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Bar Italia, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Soho, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Monmouth Coffee Company, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Flat White, Time Out London, accessed October 2026
  6. Flat white, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Builder's tea, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Greasy spoon, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  9. Pie and mash, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  10. Catering, takeaway food and VAT (VAT Notice 709/1), HM Revenue & Customs, GOV.UK, accessed October 2026
  11. Soaring coffee bean prices may have peaked, says Lavazza, Press Association, via The Irish News (Josie Clarke, July 9, 2025), accessed October 2026
  12. A guide to modern tipping etiquette, SheerLuxe (January 22, 2020), accessed October 2026
  13. Check what tips and service charges you're entitled to, Citizens Advice, accessed October 2026
  14. New tips legislation comes into force, pro-manchester (September 30, 2024), accessed October 2026
  15. What is the average price of a coffee?, Finder UK (updated August 6, 2026), accessed October 2026
  16. Cost of living in London, Numbeo (updated October 2026), accessed October 2026
  17. London boroughs, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ

Cafés in London: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in London?

In March 2026 Finder put the average London coffee at £4.52. Numbeo's October 2026 range for a regular cappuccino in a London café was £3.25–5.20. In July 2025 Lavazza's flagship café off Regent Street charged £4 for a flat white to take away and £5.50 to drink in.

Which neighborhood of London has the most cafés?

Soho & Fitzrovia and Covent Garden & Holborn have the most cafés, followed by South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey. South of the river the cafés crowd around Borough Market, Bermondsey Street and Lower Marsh; in Soho, Berwick Street has the most.

What is a builder's tea in London cafés?

A builder's tea is strong black tea made with a teabag in a mug, with milk added after steeping and often one or two teaspoons of white sugar. The name comes from the cheap tea laborers drank on breaks. It is the default order in a London caff, the British greasy spoon serving fry-ups and all-day cooked breakfasts.

Is coffee cheaper to take away than to drink in at London cafés?

It can be. Hot takeaway drinks carry VAT at the standard rate, the same as anything consumed on the premises, but cafés may set a higher price for a seat. In July 2025 Lavazza's flagship café off Regent Street charged £4 for a takeaway flat white and £5.50 to drink in. Cold takeaway food, unlike food eaten in, is zero-rated.

Do you tip in London cafés?

Tipping at a London café counter is optional, and a little change in the jar now and then is the usual gesture at a café where the staff know you. Since 1 October 2024, employers must pass all tips to their workers, including service charges added to the bill, with deductions allowed only for tax and National Insurance.

Where was the first coffee house in London?

London's first coffee house was opened in 1652 by Pasqua Rosée, a servant of the Levant Company merchant Daniel Edwards. By the early 18th century London had more coffee houses than any western city except Constantinople, and the stock exchange, insurance and auctioneering all grew out of coffee houses such as Jonathan's, Lloyd's and Garraway's.

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