Though, other than Tower 47 halfway down towards the markets, there simply haven’t been enough decent coffee options on the lively strip. So it was certainly exciting to see preparations for a new, Scandi-style café underway, even more so when we realised it was also to feature an in-house bakery, too.
But what’s this? A cheeky appropriation of the world famous local venue’s name above the door? ‘By The Roundhouse’ follows the trend for rather literal monikers (see Two Doors Down, Somewhere Over Knowhere etc), but is in no way an official outlet.
Staff shrugged when we asked how the name had been received by the neighbours. The café walls are peppered with historic shots of the railway-shed-turned-gin-store-turned-legendary-concert venue too, so you’d hope Roundhouse bigwigs take it all as one big compliment, otherwise a radical brand rethink might be needed.
Thankfully, the coffee, breads and pastries are of an appropriately high standard. And the prices – under £4 for an eat-in sandwich – make this instantly attractive.
We plumped for a creamy egg mayo and salad, served on perfectly crunchy ciabatta, a well above average rendition of this lunchtime classic. A richly smoked salmon and cream cheese was also a winner, the just-out-the-oven baguette elevating it beyond the usual fridge-cold café fare.
Coffee was strong and came served with water, unprompted. (We asked about the beans, but they weren’t sure of the roastery. We’d hazard a guess at one of the better London suppliers though.) Sip it, as we did, from the ideal people-watching vantage of a little curbside table.
With tempting pastries and take-home loaves whirling out of the kitchen on trays throughout the day, this place deserves to do well with more than just the casual caffeine seekers camping over the road for gig tickets.
That’s provided a crack team of brand lawyers haven’t served them with papers first, of course.
3 thoughts on “Excellent coffee, affordable sandwiches: ‘By the Roundhouse’”
On my way to roundhouse I spotted a new cafe on the road! Hooraaaay. I was excited but unfortunately the staff were unwelcoming- three staff all sat like customers. When I entered they stood up and went behind the counter to serve me. I had an espresso but it was AWFUL. I can’t believe someone who claims to be coffee specialist do not know how to pull a proper espresso, let alone anything about coffee nor coffee machine…
Great sandwich until I spotted his long fingernails. They are also quite slow.
absolutely great.