Cafeography
London · Bloomsbury

Cafés in Bloomsbury

The Espresso Room facing the children's hospital, sourdough at Fortitude, a lever machine in a van on Byng Place and the Russell Square cab shelter.

Photo: Chengxin Zhao, Pexels License

Bloomsbury's development began under the Earls of Southampton in the 1600s, and most of it was laid out in the 1700s; much of the land still belongs to the Bedford Estate in trust for the Russell family.1 The British Museum opened here in 1759, UCL occupies buildings around Gordon, Woburn and Torrington squares, and the children's hospital stands on Great Ormond Street, just off Queen Square.1

That mix of wards, lecture halls and galleries gives the area weekday coffee with short hours. Caffé Presto starts at 06:30 on weekdays and closes at 16:30. The Print Room Café runs later than most, until 20:00 from Monday to Friday.

Local tip: The Espresso Room had no indoor seating at its last review, in 2022, so on a wet day walk over to Fortitude's indoor bar on the Colonnade.45

At a glance

74Cafés listed
22With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
22:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Hot Pepper Cafe, from 06:00 (Mon–Sat 06:00–16:30).
  • Closes latest: Panopolis, until 22:30 (Mon–Sat 06:30–22:30 · Sun 07:00–22:30).
  • Most listed streets: Russell Square (5), Gower Street (4), Marchmont Street (3).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (32%), outdoor seating (28%), vegetarian options (18%).

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Coffee chains in Bloomsbury

The Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street

Ben Townsend trained as a barista in Melbourne after leaving a job in educational multimedia, worked as a trainer and consultant, then took a 9.3 sq m 1920s shop on Great Ormond Street that had been a secondhand bookstore.2 Time Out called The Espresso Room "a little shrine to espresso" in 2025, with a short menu of soup, a sandwich or two and a few baked goods.3

The business changed hands in 2016 and grew, and this is still the original branch.4 The room is long, thin and very tall, with the counter along nearly all of one wall, so a 2022 review found no indoor seats and three benches outside.4 The Roasting Party supplied a bespoke espresso blend and a single-origin filter at that visit, and NHS staff from across the road got a discount.4

Sourdough on the Colonnade

Fortitude opened in the summer of 2018 at 35 Colonnade, behind Russell Square station.5 Its bakers work in sourdough across the counter: sweet loaves, sticky buns, morning buns and muffins, then goat's cheese and red pepper pastries, a sausage roll and a Berber omelette at the savory end.5 Espresso used single-origin Has Bean coffee in the 2019 review.5 A six-person bar along the front wall and six two-person street tables take the overflow.5 Weekday doors close at 15:00, so go early.

A lever machine on Byng Place

The university blocks have their coffee in an unusual format. Lever & Bloom Coffee began as a small red four-wheeled box van on a council-owned pitch at the corner of Byng Place, between UCL to the north and Birkbeck and SOAS to the south.6 A 2017 review found its owner, Mounir, pulling Climpson & Sons espresso on a two-group Izzo Pompei lever machine, and selling cakes baked by his wife.6 Service came through a hatch under a parasol, and old coffee sacks dressed the tables.6

The cabmen's shelter on Russell Square

Russell Square Cabmen's Shelter, on the square's western corner, is a survivor of a Victorian charity: the Cabmen's Shelter Fund, set up in 1875 by the newspaper editor George Armstrong and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, put up 61 shelters by 1914 and 13 remain.7 This one came from Leicester Square and is Grade II listed.7 It keeps cabbies' hours, 07:00–14:00 on weekdays.

Sources

  1. Bloomsbury, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  2. Monocle Travel Guide: London, Zurich, Jerusalem, Milan, Monocle, accessed November 2026
  3. The Espresso Room (January 22, 2025), Time Out London, accessed November 2026
  4. The Espresso Room, Great Ormond Street (March 23, 2022), Brian's Coffee Spot, accessed November 2026
  5. Fortitude Bakehouse (December 21, 2019), Brian's Coffee Spot, accessed November 2026
  6. Lever & Bloom (May 24, 2017), Brian's Coffee Spot, accessed November 2026
  7. Cabmen's Shelter Fund, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
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In Bloomsbury, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Open late

FAQ

Bloomsbury cafés: questions

Is there seating at The Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street in Bloomsbury, London?

A 2022 review found no indoor seating at The Espresso Room, only three benches outside and disposable cups. The shop is long, thin and very tall, with a counter along nearly all of one wall. It stands opposite Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and is the original branch of the business.

What does Fortitude bake on the Colonnade in Bloomsbury, London?

Fortitude works in sourdough: sweet loaves, sticky buns, morning buns and muffins, plus goat's cheese and red pepper pastries, a sausage roll and a Berber omelette. It opened in the summer of 2018 behind Russell Square station. Weekday doors close at 15:00, and there are street tables outside.

Can you visit the green cabmen's shelter in Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London?

Russell Square Cabmen's Shelter is on the square's western corner and opens 07:00–14:00 on weekdays. It is one of 13 shelters left of the 61 put up by the Cabmen's Shelter Fund between 1875 and 1914. This one came from Leicester Square and is Grade II listed.

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