Cafeography
London · The City

Cafés in The City

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

Photo: Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie, Pexels License

The City of London covers 1.12 square miles, hence its nickname, the Square Mile, and had only 8,583 residents at the 2021 census, while more than 500,000 people worked there in 2019.1 The coffee follows the commuters: about half the cafés open by 07:00, and nearly two in three close for the whole weekend.

This is also where London's coffee houses began. The first opened in 1652 at the sign of Pasqua Rosée's Head, and a plaque on the Jamaica Wine House in St Michael's Alley, off Cornhill, marks the spot; the present pub, a Grade II listed Victorian building, dates from 1885.2

Local tip: On a Saturday or Sunday, head for Bishopsgate: Store Street Espresso at No. 222 opens both days, and Polo Bar at No. 176 never closes.

At a glance

126Cafés listed
32With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
05:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Cafe Verona, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–16:00).
  • Closes latest: London Night Cafe, until 05:00 (Mon 18:00–03:00 · Tue 22:00–03:00 · Wed–Thu 18:00–03:00 · Fri 18:00–05:00 · Sun 18:00–03:00).
  • Most listed streets: Ludgate Hill (5), Bishopsgate (4), Aldgate High Street (4).
  • Most common features: wheelchair access (13%), indoor seating (13%), outdoor seating (10%).

BloomsYard

  • 100 Liverpool Street
  • Mon–Tue 08:00–18:00 · Wed–Thu 08:00–20:00 · Fri 08:00–16:00 · Sat–Sun Closed
  • Takeaway
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Vegetarian options
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Coffee chains in The City

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From Pasqua Rosée to Lloyd's

Rosée came from Smyrna, and a handbill of 1652 advertised coffee "first publiquely made and sold in England" by him.3 Entry to a coffee house cost a penny, and a verse of 1672 called them a university you could attend "for spending of a Penny".3 Stockbrokers met in Jonathan's and Garraway's in Exchange Alley.3

Insurance came out of a coffee house too. Lloyd's of London began at Edward Lloyd's on Tower Street, moved to 16 Lombard Street just after Christmas 1691, and since 1986 has occupied Richard Rogers's building at 1 Lime Street.4 Lloyd's coffee house published a list of shipping movements from 1692.3

Early openers and weekday hours

City cafés open early. Cafe Verona at 80 Moorgate and Piccolo Bar at 148A Queen Victoria Street start at 06:00, as does Peter's Cafe on Aldgate High Street on weekdays. Rosslyn's branches on London Wall and Queen Victoria Street open at 06:30, and Saint Espresso at 1a New Street, by Liverpool Street, at 06:45.

Polo Bar, at 176 Bishopsgate, is open 24 hours. Most others close by late afternoon and stay shut at weekends; among the exceptions are Store Street Espresso at 222 Bishopsgate, open Saturday from 09:00 and Sunday from 10:00, and Fazenda on Leyden Street, open daily 08:00–18:00.

Around St Paul's, Ozone has a café at 56 Ludgate Hill, open 07:30–17:00 on weekdays, and Tattle Coffe House, also on Ludgate Hill, opens daily 08:00–21:00. Near Leadenhall, Curators Coffee is at 9A Cullum Street and Association Coffee at 10–12 Creechurch Lane, open from 07:30 on weekdays. Copper Coffee, at 45 Aldgate High Street, stays open until 22:00 on Friday and Saturday.

Coffee in a crypt, a tower and the Barbican

St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside was founded in 1080, and its 11th-century undercroft, which survived a tornado in 1091, is now the crypt used by Café Below.5 Christopher Wren rebuilt the church after the Great Fire of 1666, finishing the tower in 1680; by tradition anyone born within earshot of its bells is a Cockney.5 Café Below opens on weekdays for breakfast, 07:00–10:00, and again for lunch, 11:30–14:30.

Sky Garden, at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, gives free tickets for its gardens and opens from 08:00 every day.6 The Barbican Estate, the City's main residential quarter, was built between 1965 and 1976, and the Barbican Kitchen on Silk Street opens daily 08:00–20:00.1

Sources

  1. City of London, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Jamaica Wine House, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Lloyd's of London, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. St Mary-le-Bow, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Sky Garden, Sky Garden, accessed October 2026
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In The City, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Brunch Open late

FAQ

The City cafés: questions

Where was the first coffee house in the City of London?

London's first coffee house opened in 1652 at the sign of Pasqua Rosée's Head, run by Pasqua Rosée from Smyrna. A plaque on the Jamaica Wine House in St Michael's Alley, off Cornhill, marks the site. The present pub is a Grade II listed Victorian building from 1885.

Are cafés in the City of London open at weekends?

Many are not: nearly two in three of the City's cafés close on both Saturday and Sunday. Store Street Espresso at 222 Bishopsgate opens Saturday from 09:00 and Sunday from 10:00, Fazenda on Leyden Street and the Barbican Kitchen on Silk Street open daily, and Polo Bar at 176 Bishopsgate is open 24 hours.

Which café in the City of London is in a church crypt?

Café Below is in the crypt of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside, an 11th-century undercroft that survived the tornado of 1091 and the Great Fire of 1666, after which Christopher Wren rebuilt the church. Café Below opens on weekdays for breakfast, 07:00–10:00, and for lunch, 11:30–14:30.

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