There’s a couple of things that a cafe-cum-office needs. Namely fast wifi, good coffee and a waiter that won’t make you feel too uncomfortable for outstaying your welcome (in that awkward 1-coffee-every-4-hours-kind-of-way). Nowadays 1 in 7 people work freelance, 1 in 5 people perform better in non-silent spaces and 1 in 2 people are simply just trying to get a break from their bosses. Whatever your excuse is (and regardless of how many stats we just made up), here are some of the best places to get sh*t done in a non-stifling setting.
1. Timberyard, Seven Dials.
[Coffee Hunter]With Has Bean coffee to keep you fuelled throughout the day and enough plug sockets to juice up your laptops, Timberyard is the perfect place to painlessly plough through that to-do list. They’ve also got a meeting room in the basement which can be booked out in advance. Quite honestly? We could stay here working for hours. And it’s got nothing to do with the peanut butter brownies. Promise.
2. Dishoom, multiple locations.
[Time Out]It’s not just the free refills of Chai, the never ending bowls of banana and Medjool date porridge and the wittily named ‘Chai-Fi’ that makes Dishoom one of the most inviting places to set up base with your laptop in London. Well actually, it kind of is all that. It’s also the bacon naan, which we’ve blabbered about before. Come for breakfast and stay til ‘after work’ drinks. Their cocktails are also top-notch.
3. Foxcroft & Ginger, multiple locations.
[Poppy Loves]Not just home to the best baking hybrid ever (the cruffin – it’s one of those bucket list types), Foxcroft & Ginger is also a great place to bring your laptop and set up camp for a few hours. With branches in Soho, Whitechapel and a very eggy affair in Dalston (more on that later), you’re never too far from some seasonal beans, purified water and a bit of exposed brickwork. Just the way it should be.
4. Look Mum No Hands, Old Street.
[The Guardian]What came first, the coffee or the bicycle? Nowadays it’s pretty hard to untangle the two: it seems you can’t go anywhere without spotting a hipster with a bike sipping a flat white, or a barista trying to sell you a cycling cap. ‘Look Mum No Hands’ are at the top of their game, not just because they’re the best-named cafe in East London but also because they serve craft beer. Bring your bike, park your laptop and get a bit tipsy at the same time. Just don’t forget your crash helmet.
