soledad penadés

Good news: the Mozilla London All Hands is close to a big station (Paddington) and a big hospital (St. Mary's). There's plenty of cafes to feed the abundant travellers and medical personnel and students, so it should be easy to grab a quick coffee and get some fresh air!

Bad news: most of these cafes are national chain cafes and "meh" in various degrees.

True coffee snobs won't ever set their feet on a national chain cafe. Here I am to help you keep being loyal and faithful to your coffee snobbery with my insights and hands-on-espresso experience. You're welcome.

There are non-chain or just local chain cafes near-ish the All Hands, but you'll have to walk for a longer distance than just across the road. However, this is a great opportunity to breath some fresh/humid/damp air (whatever the weather is up to), admire Marylebone's architecture and maybe also get wet as a duck thanks to a sudden downpour, then enjoy the sun as it emerges behind the clouds. It's the great British Summer!

So, without further ado, here's my list of favourites. Walking times are from the Landmark:

• Monocle Cafe, 18 Chiltern Street. Heavily Scandi. Has cool flat whites plus cinnamon / cardamom rolls, and other Swedish-inspired foods. Quite small. (12 min walk)
• Workshop Coffee, 1 Barrett Street (in St. Christopher's Place). Has Aeropress, flat whites are solid, seating not very comfortable, but the square is full of quaint things to look at (if it's not raining) (20 min walk)
• Fernandez & Wells, 55 Duke Street., another store from the local Spanish-fusion-whatever chain. Good cortado and tasty snacks (20 min walk)
• The Attendant, 27a Foley Street (with Great Titchfield St). It used to be... a public urinal. Come here for the thrills and the absurdity, stay for the coffee :-P (26 min walk)
• Kaffeine, 66 Great Titchfield St, solid flat whites and food. (27 min walk)
• Curators Coffee Gallery, 51 Margaret Street. Good flat white, has V60 and similar. Also interesting matcha lattes, and lots of nice art on the walls (27 min walk)

I haven't been to these but they're nearby too and people that have been there say they are good too:

• Nordic Bakery, 48 Dorset Street (with Chiltern Street). I've heard good things of the flat whites and the Swedish sweets.
• Beany Green, Unit 6C, Sheldon Square (on the canal)
• The Borough Barista, 60 Seymour Street

Alternatively, one of the local greasy spoons can also make you a solid 'builder's tea'. Give it a go for a different experience! :D (but please don't order coffee at a greasy spoon if you don't want to be really EWWWWing for the rest of the all hands).

If you really have to resort to a chain, in order of less to more terrible:

• Costa / Nero (I'm unable to decide which one is less bad)
• Pret a Manger
• Starbucks

Happy walking for a coffee, and remember to also be on the look out for blue plaques on the buildings as many former famous residents are immortalised there: Arthur Conan-Doyle, Charles Babbage, JMW Turner, Charles Dickens, John Lennon... and not to forget the most famous fake resident: Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street! 🕵🏻