Cafeography
London · Soho & Fitzrovia

Cafés in Soho & Fitzrovia

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

Photo: Huy Phan, Pexels License

Soho is about a square mile between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, though it has no official boundary.1 Huguenot refugees settled here after 1688 and made it London's French quarter.1 Fitzrovia, north of Oxford Street toward Euston Road, takes its name from Fitzroy Square or the Fitzroy Tavern on Charlotte Street; it first appeared in print in 1940, in Tom Driberg's column in the Daily Express.2

Few parts of London have sold coffee for as long. Algerian Coffee Stores has traded at 52 Old Compton Street since 1887, Maison Bertaux has baked on Greek Street since 1871, and Soho's first coffee bar, the Moka, opened on Frith Street.341 North of Oxford Street are two of London's early Australian-run cafés, Lantana on Charlotte Place and Kaffeine, which opened on Great Titchfield Street in 2009.65

Local tip: For a late espresso, Bar Italia on Frith Street stays open until 04:00. On a Sunday morning, Flat White on Berwick Street opens at 09:30 and both Kaffeine branches at 09:00.

At a glance

148Cafés listed
32With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
04:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Bar Italia, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–04:00).
  • Most listed streets: Dean Street (6), Berwick Street (5), Great Portland Street (5).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (28%), outdoor seating (26%), card payment (11%).

Java Whiskers Cat Café Marylebone

  • 105 Great Portland Street
  • Mon–Wed 10:00–20:00 · Thu–Sat 10:00–21:00 · Sun 10:00–20:00
  • +442034439867
  • Air-con
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The Café at Foyles

  • 107 Charing Cross Road
  • Mon–Sat 09:00–20:00 · Sun 12:00–18:00
  • 020 7440 3207
  • Vegetarian options
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carpo Piccadilly

  • 10 Glasshouse Street
  • Mon–Thu 08:00–21:00 · Fri 08:00–21:30 · Sat–Sun 10:00–21:30
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Cocomelt

  • 132 Wardour Street
  • Mon–Sat 10:00–23:00 · Sun 10:00–22:00
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Partial wheelchair access
  • Open late
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Coffee chains in Soho & Fitzrovia

Bar Italia, Moka and the Frith Street espresso bars

Gina Lollobrigida formally opened the Moka bar at 29 Frith Street in 1953, and its stainless-steel espresso machines were a novelty in Britain.1 The 2i's Coffee Bar followed in 1956, moving to 59 Old Compton Street, where it became one of Europe's first rock clubs.1

Bar Italia, at 22 Frith Street, opened in its present form in 1949 and is run by Veronica and Anthony Polledri of the founding family.7 John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in the same building on 26 January 1926, and a plaque over the door records it; Pulp named a 1995 song after the café.7 Bar Italia opens 07:00–04:00 every day. At No. 26, Prosecco Café serves until 23:00 on weekdays and midnight at weekends.

Berwick Street and the flat white

Berwick Street was built between 1687 and 1703 and has held a street market since the early 18th century, formally organized since 1892.1 Flat White opened at No. 17, beside the vegetable stalls, in 2005; Time Out counts it among the cafés that marked the growing influence of Antipodean coffee in London.8 It opens 08:30–17:00 on weekdays, 09:00–18:00 on Saturday and 09:30–17:30 on Sunday, a short walk from Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square stations.8

The streets around it hold a cluster of small coffee bars: Nagare Coffee at 2 Newburgh Street (08:00–18:00 on weekdays), Toi & Moi Café at 38 Berwick Street, Sacred Grounds at 54 Dean Street and Tintico at 57 Greek Street.

Maison Bertaux and Algerian Coffee Stores

A Paris communard named Bertaux founded Maison Bertaux in 1871 at 28 Greek Street, next to the Coach and Horses pub, in what was then the center of London's French community.4 It claims to be the city's oldest pâtisserie. Sisters Michele and Tania Wade have run it since 1988; they found one kind of tea on the menu and now offer twenty.4 It opens daily 09:30–18:00.

Algerian Coffee Stores was started at 52 Old Compton Street in 1887 by M. Siari, an Algerian, and is often described as the oldest coffee shop in London.3 Arthur Ransome's Bohemia in London, published in 1907, already wrote of Soho coffee houses called The Moorish Café and The Algerian.1

Fitzrovia's Australian-style cafés

Peter Dore-Smith worked front-of-house in hotels, restaurants and bars in his home town of Melbourne before moving to London in 2005. He found a site on Great Titchfield Street in early 2009, and Kaffeine opened that late summer after a five-week refit.5 Both branches, at 66 Great Titchfield Street and 15 Eastcastle Street, open at 07:30 on weekdays, 08:30 on Saturday and 09:00 on Sunday, closing at 17:00.

Time Out's review of the Charlotte Place original calls Lantana a pioneer of the Australian-run modern café scene.6 Its DL78 branch at 78 Charlotte Street opens weekdays 08:00–18:00. Omotesando Koffee at 8 Newman Street and KIN at 22 Foley Street are a few streets away, and Kafi Coffee at 86a Cleveland Street opens daily at 07:30.

Sources

  1. Soho, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Fitzrovia, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Algerian Coffee Stores, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Maison Bertaux, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Better business: Kaffeine, The Caterer (Neil Gerrard, February 24, 2011), accessed October 2026
  6. Lantana, Time Out London (September 25, 2013), accessed October 2026
  7. Bar Italia, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Flat White, Time Out London, accessed October 2026
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In Soho & Fitzrovia, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Brunch Open late

FAQ

Soho & Fitzrovia cafés: questions

When did Bar Italia open in Soho, London?

Bar Italia opened in its present form at 22 Frith Street, Soho, in 1949, and Veronica and Anthony Polledri of the founding family still run it. John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television in the same building on 26 January 1926, and a plaque over the door marks it. The café is open from 07:00 to 04:00 every day.

Where is the original Flat White café in Soho, London?

Flat White is at 17 Berwick Street, beside the vegetable stalls of Berwick Street Market. It opened in 2005, and Time Out counts it among the cafés that marked the growing influence of Antipodean coffee in London. It opens 08:30–17:00 on weekdays, 09:00–18:00 on Saturday and 09:30–17:30 on Sunday.

What is the oldest pâtisserie in Soho, London?

Maison Bertaux at 28 Greek Street, founded in 1871 by a Paris communard named Bertaux, claims to be London's oldest pâtisserie. Sisters Michele and Tania Wade have run it since 1988 and widened the tea list from one kind to twenty. It sits next to the Coach and Horses pub and opens daily 09:30–18:00.

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