I don't have trouble finding great shops in smaller cities in the UK but London is simply to large to feasibly search. I'm hoping for some shop recommendations from the fine users here. Coffee I've tried the best cafe's in Bath, Reading, Oxford, York, Glasgow and Edinburgh but realized I've not done so in London. I use tripadvisor to find some excellent restaurants but it's not suitable for coffee. Yelp works better for this but London is too big. I'm looking for a place that has amazing flat whites, the kind that only uses home blends, 3-4 different beans and even better gives me a choice of which blend I want for my flat white. Most even go so far as to have tasting notes like you would expect for a wine. Recommendations Tamp in Chiswick Beany Green in Paddington/Broadgate Circle (try the Lamingtons) The Algerian Coffee Stores in Soho Noble espresso outside kings cross and knockbox coffee near Russell Square Vagabond and Exeter Street Bakery near Finsbury Park (North) Lantana near Goodge Street (North Central) Notes (one on St Martin's Lane (Very central, but there are a couple of others)) Saigon Coffee Company Crouch end in London is great for coffee, same with Stoke newington. my favorite cafe's are workhouse cafe in Reading and Colonna & Small's in Bath Hot Sauce I would like to buy some nice hot sauces. Ebay has a few shops with a decent selection but I would like to find a nice shop where i can talk to the staff, receive recommendations and preferably taste some different offerings. Currently my favorite deal is this: Psycho Juice Gift Box Extreme Collection 4 from amazon. Recommendations The Rib Man Beer Beer Boutique in East Putney
Beany Green in Paddington/Broadgate Circle for coffee. Yum. While you are there, get your chops around one of their Lamingtons.
The Algerian Coffee Stores in Soho (Never personally went to the place but it's a on my 'Places to go' list if I ever go in London).
Noble espresso outside kings cross and knockbox. I've found both of these consistently better than the traditionally lauded coffe places (like alchemy or espresso rooms)
London is a big place, you might want to narrow it down a bit. Coffee: Another vote for Beany Greens, in Broadgate Circle (East Central), Vagabond and Exeter Street Bakery near Finsbury Park (North), Lantana near Goodge Street (North Central), Notes (one on St Martin's Lane (Very central, but there are a couple of others). Beer: you can get decent beer in lots of supermarkets, but if you want to browse try the Beer Boutique in East Putney
Crouch end in London is great for coffee, same with Stoke newington. As for hot sauce I'm amazed no on mentioned a trip to ribman (shop outside Euston, or I think a stand in the East end somewhere, he is renowned for good hot sauce).
Coffee London is a big place but as I'm always going around. I live in SE, my wife studies in UCL, we shop in SOHO and I go to paddington for the train to my uni. Thanks for all the great suggestions for coffee houses, my wife and I appreciate it. Beer I've tried all the beers at Tesco and order different ones from Ocada. I went to York recently and went into House Of The Trembling Madness and really enjoyed talking about beer with the staff and picking out some new ones to try that I'd never come across before. It's not the same experience picking up a case of Kornberg from the Tesco down the lane. Hot Sauce My wife and I did the wings challenge at Red Dog Saloon in SOHO and they were so yummy. I recommend it to anyone that can take the heat. I checked out the The Rib Man site and it looks pretty awesome. I will definitely make a visit.
Bit-tech is a great community I tried the The Algerian Coffee Store in Soho, I had a nice espresso for £1 and bought some coffee for brewing at home. Very nice shop, seems on par in price with Whittard of Chelsea. Look forward to trying the other recommendations.
I also second Tamp as being fantastic, their empanadas are also great if you want a snack. Seems they've gone for the tapas theme as their unique twist. Also in the vicinity: Chief You'll find Chief just down the road from Tamp, on the side of Turnham Green Terrace. Aside from good coffee, they also have an underground pinball room with 6 machines or so. So if you want to try something oldschool give them a try, I go there quite frequently just because of the pinball (ofc I'll always pick up a coffee too). The staff are very friendly also. Artisan Further down Chiswick High Road towards Hammersmith end you'll find Artisan. Again fantastic coffee, their twist appears to be good sandwiches and cakes. I recommend the halloumi sandwich there (if you like that sort of thing) as it's brilliant grilled Can't help much with Hot Sauce unfortunately as I don't really use it much so never really looked for a good supplier. For beer I also second the place in Putney. A friend of mine worked there for a year so we got to sample a decent number of drinks, there are some real winners in there (don't try to make me list them haha...). I believe there's also a good place in Soho, but I don't really know where it is. I can walk to it, but I don't know the shop nor street names. I find I tend to do this a lot in London thanks to the abundance of public transport. I'll often know how to get to a place but can't for the life of me describe it to somebody else.
For beer: Cask in Pimlico Craft in Brixton Bottle Shop, Brewed By Number in Bermonsey The Lyric / Old Coffee House in Soho Draft House Battersea My usual haunts if you're after something bar your standard pint of lager
I've been to the bottle Shop, Brewed By Number in Bermonsey It's not bad, but it doesn't have the greatest selection.
I've not been there myself but I thought I should mention it for the novelty. Cafe in Stratford called the "Saw Mill" accepts BitCoin.
