Cafe: Nude Espresso, Spitalfields

We live in a strange world where girls take photos of their coffee...

I sometimes need a break from my office (currently The Kitchen Table – oh the startup cliche) for a change of scenery and some inspiration.

Which means it is quite lucky that the coffee shop renowned as being the best in London is no more than about 75…93…well maybe 113 (it really depends on how long your legs/caffeine depleted you are) paces from my front door.

But of course, you’ve all been to Nude Espresso already, right?

Well, whether you have or whether you haven’t, I am here to tell you that it is worth a trip.  Yes, aaall the way on the Central Line, aaaaall the way to LIVERPOOL STREET (gasp!).  This is proper nitty gritty East End, folks.

Except that it’s quite glossy really.  No sign of Jack the Ripper in these here parts.  You’re more likely to come across a barista doing some serious damage to a coffee bean or two.

And boy is this is coffee that makes coffee worth drinking.  Throw away those styrofoam cups from all those revolting chains, and vow that you will henceforth ensure that every single (coffee) bean that passes your lips is only ever of the finest quality.

Before I get carried away I should probably ‘fess up that on this particular occasion I had to opt for the decaf.  But the staff were very nice about it, even though that request will be poison to any self-respecting barista’s ears.  I have, you’ll be glad to hear, drunk their ‘proper stuff’ in my non-non-caffeine days, and I can vouch for the fact that it is rich and powerful, and good quality – which means that this is coffee that doesn’t give you the jitters.

An espresso in (the) Nude - tee hee!

Even without caffeine, I did find that the change of scenery helped crank my little brain into gear – soon ideas were flowing forth and being scribbled up.

It helps that the place -relatively small, long thin and spacious, with a communal table at the the end, bedecked with super comfortable, super cool carved wood furniture from a shop up the road – is thrumming with creative energy and ideas, as bods congregate over their coffees to tweak graphic designs or plot an upcoming social mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't worry, I shared (a bit of) it...

There’s a range of lovely fresh and colourful looking sandwiches, which I’ve yet to try, and scrambled egg and toasty type breakfasts that make regular and tempting pilgrimages out of the kitchen.  Food detective-wise I can hold up my hands and declare their almond croissant THE BEST I have eaten in London.

So there you have it boys and girls, the number 1 coffeeshop in London.  And all for a(n admittedly whopping) 250 of your hard-earned pennies.

So go on, I dare you.  Go Nude.

26 Hanbury St
London E1 6QR

It’s really not that far.

 

Advertisement