Cafes, London

Sex, Coffee And Rock n Roll At Shoreditch Grind

June 25, 2011 by

To get a great coffee in Shoreditch, the usual haunts are in and around Redchurch Street.  You can always rely on Leila’s Shop, Allpress and Present for a proper coffee, but venture past Hoxton Square towards Old Street and the options dwindle down to Starbucks.

Now, the big roundabout at Old Street just got a bit more interesting with the arrival of Shoreditch Grind, bringing sex, coffee and rock n roll to an otherwise drab part of the East.

I first spotted Shoreditch Grind on the bus back from Beirut and pretty much waited all week to get a nose in.  Today, Steven and I popped down for coffee and cake.

The cafe is small yet airy and bright and can fit a decent amount of customers.  I loved the exposed brick design, the communal table with old wooden school chairs and the bar seating overlooking the street – very east London!

London is in the middle of an Antipodean coffee renaissance and as you might have guessed, Shoreditch Grind continues the trends, with its roots in Melbourne coffee culture.  They even roast their own Shoreditch Grind house blend – now that’s dedication to the bean!

The counter is laden with wooden boards of rustic filled ciabatta and baguettes, coffee and walnut cake, Moroccan honey cake and Valrhona chocolate brownies.

All of the food is organic and freshly made on the day and one barista told me that the cakes are so popular that they go through at least three of each per day.

We went for Flat Whites (£2) and a slice of Pomegranate and Rose Water Cake (£2) to share.

Coffee is made on a La Marzocco espresso machine and our flat white were excellent – rich roasted, creamy and full-bodied.  They could have been a bit hotter, as I like my coffee to the perfect degree – the result of working in coffee on and off for five years at uni.

The homemade cake was thick, dense and moist with crunchy pomegranate seeds and a light rosewater syrup drizzled through.  It was a generous size, good for sharing and decent value at £2 a pop.

So where does the sex and rock n roll come in?  Well, the next phase of development will include a recording studio and a 400-capacity roof garden (the sex bit potentially coming from hot, caffeine-addicted band folk propping up the bar).  Oh, and there’s free wifi – what more could you want?

For more info, visit: www.shoreditchgrind.com

Shoreditch Grind on Urbanspoon

6 comments

6 Comments

  • Reply Firdaus June 25, 2011 at 11:20 pm

    Love this review! I drove past it the other week when I was flat hunting..and turns out I’m moving to Shoreditch very very soon, will definitely check it out..
    Awesome blog 🙂
    Firdaus XX

    • Reply cheriecity June 26, 2011 at 12:52 am

      Thanks, I’m glad you like it! Now you have a good local coffee bar 🙂 Good luck with the move.

      Neily x

  • Reply David June 28, 2011 at 3:29 pm

    Hi,

    I’m one of the co-founders of Shoreditch Grind and i just came across your review. Thank you so much for the kind words, and the photos you’ve taken are lovely!

    We’re only just getting started, we have a lot of ways in which we want to add to and improve Shoreditch Grind, so please keep coming back to check in our progress!

    If anything else comes to mind, or you have any suggestions, please get in touch at wecare@shoreditchgrind.com

    Thanks again,

    David

    • Reply cheriecity June 28, 2011 at 3:35 pm

      Hi David,

      Thanks for getting in touch, I’m so glad you like the review! I’ll definitely be back soon – I have to work my way through the homemade cakes!

  • Reply Dorothee Archambault June 29, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    I work literally just opposite, and since they opened I try to go there as often as I can. Lovely, lovely, lovely place for my lunch break!!! So happy this place, which used to be an mobile phone shop, has opened!

  • Reply Sex, Coffee And Rock n Roll At Shoreditch Grind « Techmeetups.com July 6, 2011 at 3:32 pm

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