Category Archives: South East London

Coffee Spots within the South East London Postcode Region (those with postcodes starting with SE)

Brown & Green, Crystal Palace Station

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Brown & Green at Crystal Palace StationDespite the explosion of great places around the country, good Coffee Spots at railway stations are something of a rarity, so while on my way to visit (the now defunct) Bambino Coffee in Crystal Palace, I was delighted to chance upon Brown & Green. It’s a lovely little place, tucked into the corner of the equally lovely ticket hall, built back in the days when railway stations were architectural statements in themselves.

Brown & Green plays a couple of important roles. First of all, it’s a place to grab coffee on your way to catch the train. While the coffee won’t have third-wave purists purring with delight, it’s a distinct notch up from the average station fare. Secondly, it’s a (self-styled) coffee-and-brunch neighbourhood café which just happens to be located in a railway station. It’s in this capacity that I visited Brown & Green.

The brunch menu isn’t extensive, but it’s pretty decent and I was impressed. A word of warning though: just be aware that if you are coming for lunch/brunch, the kitchen closes at 14.30 (a perfectly respectable time if you ask me) after which there is only a limited food menu available.

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Four Corners Cafe

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An espresso from Four Corners Cafe in a white cup with Four Corners Cafe Limited written on the inside of the rimLondon’s Lower Marsh is not the most appealing part of the capital. Even the name doesn’t conjure up particularly positive images. Lying behind Waterloo and not particularly on the way to anywhere, I’ve only recently become aware of it, despite Waterloo being my gateway to London for the past 15+ years. However, there it is and, in recent years, it has started to shed its poor image, becoming home to the likes of the Scooter Cafe and now, just across the road, to Four Corners Cafe.

Four Corners is, if you’ll excuse the pun, going places. Taking inspiration from the phrase “four corners of the world”, it’s a travel-themed Cafe, decorated with maps of the world and dotted with globes. Continuing the travel theme, its neat loyalty card is in the form of a miniature passport.

Not that this counts for much if the coffee is poor, but thankfully it’s not. As well as a decent coffee menu, powered by London Roasters, Ozone, Four Corners offers loose-leaf tea from Yumchaa and a small range of toasted sandwiches and pastries to die for (according to fellow coffee-blogger, Kate, aka A Southern Belle in London) from a bakers just around the corner.

April 2014: Four Corners won “Best Use of Social Media” the inaugural London Coffee Stops Awards!

August 2020: Four Corners has reopened, offering takeaway service only, although there is limited outside seating. You can see what I made of it when I visited later that month.

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Look Mum No Hands South Bank Pop-up

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An espresso in one of the lovely Look Mum No Hands mugs. Sadly if you want one of these for real, you'll need to go to the Old Street store, not the pop-up on the South Bank.In another new venture for the Saturday Supplement, I present the first ever Saturday Short. Saturday Shorts are Coffee Spots in their own right, but for which I can’t justify a full write-up.

This first Saturday Short comes courtesy of Look Mum No Hands!, something of a legend on the London coffee scene, if only for its interesting name (it’s up there with Bristol’s Didn’t You Do Well in those stakes). I’ve long wanted to try it out, but have never had the time/reason/excuse.

So, imagine my surprise and delight when, on a whim, I decided to walk across the Hungerford Bridge (which connects Waterloo and Charing Cross Stations) on the Parliament rather than the St Paul’s side.  Cutting across to the other side of the bridge I spotted an interesting-looking coffee stall nestling under the bridge itself… And the rest, as they say, is history…

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Bean About Town, South Bank

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Originally, this was going to be a post about the Real Food Market at the South Bank Centre, London. It was going to feature, among others, the Bean About Town coffee cart, but then I got to talking with Claire, the wonderful French lady who runs the cart, and slowly the focus changed… When she produced an exquisite single espresso, poured into a proper, china cup, I was sold.

Standing by a Citroën H van in all weathers might not be everybody’s idea of the perfect coffee spot. It certainly doesn’t tick the laptop friendly box. But when it comes to sheer coffee passion, then you’re going to have to go a long way to beat Claire and her Bean About Town coffee cart. And she makes damn good coffee too. Being outside and exposed to the elements might provide some with reason to compromise, but not Claire. If you are around the South Bank on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, then pay her a visit and you won’t be disappointed.

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