Tag Archives: England

Kaffetur 24 / Coffee Tour #24: Artisan, London

Artisan. An apt name for a shop serving specialty coffee, if you ask me.

On a recent trip to London, we stopped in Ealing for breakfast, and decided to pop in Artisan for a coffee before we set out to explore the city with Zack’s brother and sister-in-law.

Zack had actually been here before, on a business trip. He’d raved about their smoked salmon sandwich, and spoke highly of their coffee as well.

Walking in, I thought the shop was cute. Fun lighting, lots of seating, great signage, and a nice overall setup. Artisan in Ealing is a perfect blend of rustic, charming, and cozy. But honestly, the charm factor was so high, I found myself feeling less than confident about the coffee itself.

Not to worry! Zack and I decided on a cortado and a V60. Our 13 year old, as he usually does, chose a cold brew. And imagine the delight of our 10 year old when the barista delivered a Babycino to the table for him.

Seriously. Other cafes should take note. Artisan offers a free Babycino for their ‘junior’ customers. It’s a very simple concept: steamed milk, topped with whipped cream, chocolate, and a marshmallow. Simple, and yet, it was totally appreciated by me, and devoured by my little man!

Babycino – yeah, the little man was thrilled!

Our coffee was excellent. Every drink ordered was carefully prepared, and was really delicious. Way better than I expected. Their coffee is just as excellent as their shop is cool.

 

The Ealing location is also home to Artisan’s Coffee School. Wish I could have taken part in one of those!

When in London, I encourage you to take a little side trip to Ealing. The neighborhood itself is full of cool shops and lots of charm. It’s got such a great feel, without all the touristy hoopla.

And Artisan is just icing on the cake – or should I say, crema on the espresso.

Artisan Coffee
(They have four locations… we visited them in Ealing)
32 New Broadway
Ealing, London W5 2XA

Kaffetur 23 / Coffee Tour #23: Attendant Coffee, London

We found the location and walked down the steps, to the underground cafe. 

 

I feel quite confident that this is the strangest location we’ve visited for coffee. You would be hard-pressed to find a weirder one. If you do, please tell me.

Yes, an underground cafe. But that isn’t what makes it so odd. In fact, this coffee shop had a prior life. As a urinal.

 

Urinals. Yep.

No joke. This location was once a men’s public toilet – a Victorian toilet – but has been converted to a charming (albeit wacky) coffee shop.

 

It takes serious effort to suppress the urge to use some major potty humor here…

We arrived at Attendant, and my initial fear was that a place such as this would be so focused on its kitchy-ness, it would not be quite as concerned with quality coffee.

But once we received our drinks, my fears subsided. Attendant has excellent coffee. I enjoyed a cortado, while Zack had a fresh-brewed coffee via AeroPress.

Both were delicious, and I can say that Attendant in the Fitzrovia district of London is well worth a visit. And the only time one will feel comfortable cozying up right next to someone in a urinal, I’m sure!

 

The Attendant
27A Foley Street
London
W1W 6DY
Telephone: 0207 637 37 94

Celebrating 40 Years

Milestone birthdays call for special celebrations. And since Zack celebrated number 40 this past month, we thought it fitting to celebrate big!We started out with a few days with his brother in sister-in-law in London, and then flew to Athens, Greece.

Zack’s parents purchased concert tickets for us to see one of our faves, Zac Brown Band, in London. We spent a long weekend there and had a blast at the concert. But I think we’d all agree that the best part was spending time with Josh and Savannah!

After our London weekend, we flew to Athens, Greece. This was Zack’s main birthday gift: visiting a city that has been at the top of our list for quite some time. We had a great time exploring ancient sites, visiting with friends, and eating incredible food.

Here are a few highlights from both cities. I’ll try to add more details via future posts…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaffetur 16 / Coffee Tour #16: Prufrock, London

First impressions are important. And having an espresso tamper for a door handle gave me a great first impression of Prufrock, in London.

 

Prufrock is known for fine coffee, as well as barista training courses and coffee lectures. I would love to see something like this in our area. I know a certain husband of mine who would be there in a heartbeat!

Once inside, I once again saw many of the elements common to today’s trends in coffee bars. High ceilings and wooden floors, well-lit, and a chalkboard menu. Yes, all the usuals. And yet, it still has its own look and feel. It is a nice size space, with lots of seating and room to move around.

Their coffee was great. We had the Suko Quto Ethiopia, from Barn in Berlin, served as a V60.

For those close to London and Prufrock, you might want to check out their upcoming event. Tim Wendelboe (yes, from Oslo!) will be the next guest speaker in their lecture series, on 17 August. (more info HERE)

 

Prufrock Coffee
23-25 Leather Lane
Greater London
EC1N 7TE
free wifi ~ Open 7 days a week

 

Jolly Old London Town

Coming back around to the last post about Anna’s (my niece) recent visit. The last stop on our trip was London.

In December 1993, when I was a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to visit London on a school trip. There were a couple hundred of us on the trip, including my sweet friend, Kristy. Little did I know that a few years later, she would become my sister-in-law! It was a great trip and we both fell in love with the city.

See the 3 faces in the background? 🙂

So what a cool thing that just over 20 years later, I had the chance to take my niece to London! And even better: Zack and the boys joined us on this leg of the trip. It was William and Daniel’s first time in London as well.

It was fun showing them some of Zack’s and my favorite places, and discovering a few new ones as well.

Of course we saw all the obligatory spots, like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Thames…

And the original Hard Rock!

As HP fans, we also made a stop at Platform 9 3/4!

 

We only had two full days, but we managed to see a lot. On the second morning, Anna and I went to Tower of London.

 

And the boys took a tour of Chelsea’s stadium.

Of course, there was also coffee!

 

 

We took the Tube to Notting Hill, which is now one of my favorite areas in London. Love this area!

The antique store used in the movie Paddington Bear

 

William Thacker’s (Hugh Grant) travel book
shop from Notting Hill

 

The Blue Door to William Thacker’s flat in
Notting Hill

 

 

 

A quick stop on Baker Street…

 

Total tourists on Abbey Road

 

 

And we finished off our visit at a great Fish & Chips restaurant in Notting Hill.

 

 

 

The Graduate: a European Tour

Two weeks came and went, and before I knew it, I was driving my niece back to the airport.

 

Anna made her way back to the states on Wednesday. Based on my own experience and the occasional iMessages we exchanged, it was one of those days that seemed it would never end.

But now that she is back home, I want to take a little time to show a bit of what we were up to.

 

Her grandparents were gracious enough to help out with plane tickets and passport to get her here, and we really appreciate it.

 

And once here, we found some low-cost airfare so we could show her a few of our favorite places.

 

For the first week, we spent time in our city, as well as Tønsberg and Oslo. After that, she and I had another day in Oslo, before flying to Stockholm for a couple of days, and then to London for the weekend.

It was a great trip, and I look forward to sharing a bit more about it in the coming days.