Peter Dore-Smith brought the Australian coffee ethos — flat whites, precise extraction, excellent food, a refusal to treat coffee as secondary to anything — to Fitzrovia, and the result is a cafe that has been consistently ranked among London's best since it opened in 2009. The space is warm and inviting, the food menu (brunch especially) goes well beyond the token muffin, and the coffee is made with a seriousness that reflects Dore-Smith's antipodean training. Two locations now (Great Titchfield Street and Eastcastle Street), but the original on Great Titchfield remains the one where the standard was set. Fitzrovia provides the context: the BBC, the galleries, and the particular calm of streets that lie between Oxford Circus and Regent's Park.
Location
Fitzrovia, London
Map
Insider Intel
A flat white — Kaffeine helped bring the flat white to London and it remains the benchmark order. The brunch menu is serious: properly cooked eggs, good toast, the kind of food that makes you resent hotel breakfasts. Pastries if you are in a hurry. The coffee is from Square Mile and other UK roasters.
Weekday morning for coffee and brunch when Fitzrovia is calm. Saturday brunch is busy but worthwhile. The Great Titchfield Street location is a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus but feels like a different city.
Two locations: 66 Great Titchfield Street (the original) and 15 Eastcastle Street. Oxford Circus and Goodge Street tubes. Flat white £3.50-4, brunch dishes £8-14. Wifi available. Seating inside and out. Cash and cards.