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The best speciality coffee shops in the UK, recommended by coffee people.
After hours of accumulated research and hundreds of Google searching; “the best speciality coffee shop in …” on trips around Blighty.
It’s time we made an article on some of the best coffee shops in the UK after spending the last 10 years or so frequenting them.
It’s also bloody hard to find a google post that recommends third wave specialty coffee shops rather than cafes serving pumpkin spice lattes in pint cups.
As always with any articles we write we like to update them regularly, so please leave a comment at the bottom if there is a cafe you feel should make the cut and we’ll check it out.
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Why trust us?
Here at Batch coffee we pride ourselves on showcasing some the some of the best independent coffee roasters and their seasonal single origin coffees from around the world in our uk coffee subscription.
We are a team of coffee professionals that have worked in the industry all around the world.
Alongside tasting and reviewing coffee from independent coffee roasters we also get out on the road to visit coffee shops throughout the UK.
Find below our 100 best coffee shops in the UK.
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1. FCP – Bristol
Full Court Press serves exceptional speciality coffee provided with honest, informative and, above all, welcoming service.
For FCP honesty is key.
They aim to be both clear and transparent about the drinks they serve and the way they serve them.
Every cup FCP highlights the unique flavours that showcase not only the terroir, but the effect of every step along the production chain, from picking tobrewing.
2. TAKK – Manchester
TAKK are all about community.
Their aim is to provide a welcoming space to work, meet, talk, and dream up some big ideas.
Nordic inspired, TAKK is the result of the founder’s travels throughout Scandinavia and Iceland.
It’s a big fat love letter to Reykjavik…its peopleand their love for the coffee bean.
3. Ozone – Shoreditch, London
Ozone Coffee is an international specialty coffee company.
Founded over 20 years ago, their purpose is to lead enduring change in the way coffee is valued, grown, produced and enjoyed, responsibly for the future.
Ozone cultivate long-term relationships with coffee communities at origin, keeping in regular contact to ensure producers are supported.
With multiple eateries in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, they specialise in sustainable dining, great service and community building through their spaces, at home coffee experiences and partnerships with like-minded businesses.
4. North Star – Leeds
North Star have a vision of a more certain future for coffee, free from the volatility of the commodity market and resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Their journey began over conversations with small scale coffee producersin Kenya as they asked them about their experiences of Fairtrade.
This opportunity was life changing and inspiring but also deeply emotive, displaying the deep seated issues in this global supply chain and showing us that the industry does not work for all those it serves and specifically, for those it relies upon.
5. Fortitude – Edinburgh
Fortitude’s beautiful original coffee bar is situated in the city centre of Edinburgh.
This unique space invites conversation with their friendly and knowledgeable baristas.
The tables and counter have been crafted from sustainable Iroko hardwood and the floor reclaimed from an old church.
They offer two espresso options and a variety of filter; hand-brewed on Kalita Wave or batch-brewed.
6. Established – Belfast
Situated in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast.
This slick third wave coffee shop is a popular haunt for the daily brunchers and flat white commuters.
They roast their own coffee and offer a selection of filters on their cafe menu to enjoy alongside their delightful breakfast/brunch menu.
7. Bold Street – Liverpool
Bold Street Coffee is an award-winning speciality coffee shop in Liverpool and Manchester.
Bold Street Coffee offers specialty coffee with rotating blends on the menu as well as a selection of freshly made sandwiches, all day breakfast and lunch dishes, and sweet treats including donuts and pastries.
8. Pelicano – Brighton
The sweet spot between great design and superb coffee has well and truly being tickled in Pelicanos case.
Opening their doors to the progressive folk of Brighton in 2014, Pelicano have always kept their customer on their toes and are constantly evolving in the ever changing world of speciality coffee.
9. Watch House – London
Proudly originating in a former 19th century watch house on London’s famous Bermondsey Street, WatchHouse is fuelled by a commitment to Modern Coffee: industry-leading specialty coffee, authentic homemade food, and beautifully designed spaces, each inspired by their locations.
Modern Coffee is a holistic approach to making your local cafe experience exceptional: excellent coffee, considered spaces, quality food and most importantly, the best people.
It encapsulates the attention to detail, creativity, and focus on provenance and quality that we strive to bring our customers, both in our Houses and online.
10. Faculty – Birmingham
Faculty are a small, independently owned quality focused coffee and tea shop in Birmingham’s city centre.
Their purpose was always simple, to serve exceptional drinks with a friendly service.
Located in the historic Piccadilly Arcade, Faculty serve brewed drinks and a range of food made from their own in-house bakery for you to enjoy in store or to takeaway.
Find Coffee Beans in Birmingham
11. Figment – Aberdeen
12. Workshop – Marylebone, London
13. Federal – Manchester
14. New Ground – Oxford
15. Swevern – Bristol
16. Saints – Hackney, London
17. Effy – Nottingham
18. Lowdown – Edinburgh
19. Laynes Espresso – Leeds
20. Crosby – Liverpool
21. Pink Lane – Newcastle
22. Sibling – Cardiff
23. Small Batch – Brighton
24. Koda – Scarborough
25. Velo domestique – Bournemouth
26. Chalk – Chester
27. Short long black – Glasgow
28. Dark Arts – Hackney, London
29. Mother – Liverpool
30. Laneway – Newcastle
31. Missing bean – Oxford
32. Mettricks – Southampton
33. Hidden – Camden, London
34. Us v them – Glasgow
35. Frequency – Kings Cross, London
36. Okende – Nottingham
37. Upside Down – Blackpool
38. Little Fitzroy – Edinburgh
39. Stage Espresso – Leeds
40. Bond Street – Brighton
41. Hardlines – Cardiff
42. Colonna – Bath
43. Tilt – Birmingham
44. Idle Hands – Manchester
45. Little Victories – Bristol
46. Flat Caps – Newcastle
47. Moss – Chester
48. Brew Summertown – Oxford
49. Cartwheel – Nottingham
50. Trades – Shoreditch, London
51. Yorks – Birmingham
52. Press Bros – Liverpool
53. Flour Pot – Brighton
54. Mancoco – Manchester
55. Good cartel – Glasgow
56. Cairngorm – Edinburgh
57. Kiosk – York
58. Ngopi – Birmingham
59. Yolk – Nottingham
60. Clarnico – Hackney, London
61. Bad Hand – Bournemouth
62. Ezra and Gil – Manchester
63. Coffee Dispensary – Cheltenham
64. Trading Post – Brighton
65. Abuelo – Covent Garden, London
66. Dareshack – Bristol
67. All started here – Glasgow
68. Federation – Brixton, London
69. Corner Cafe – Cardiff
70. Speciality coffee shop – Nottingham
71. Pause – Birmingham
72. Bean and Leaf – Coventry
73. Cult – Edinburgh
74. Mostro – Oxford
75. Yay – Scarborough
76. Yallah – Cornwall
77. Jaunty Goat – Chester
78. Coffi – Liverpool
79. Mrs Athas – Leeds
80. Ouseburn Coffee Co – Newcastle
81. Small St – Bristol
82. Patricias – Glasgow
83. Brewed – Brighton
84. Society – Oxford
85. Thoughtfully – Liverpool
86. Stir – Brixton, London
87. Coffee and Beer – Bristol
88. Jericho – Oxford
89. Beam – Nottingham
90. Coffee at 33 – Brighton
91. Can’t Dance – Bristol
92. Bakery 287 – Glasgow
93. Coffee Saloon – Bournemouth
94. Homeground – Windermere
95. Ropes and Twines – Liverpool
96. Foundation – Manchester
97. Kigali – Nottingham
98. Bean and Cole – Chester
99. Caya – Brixton, London
100. Future Donuts – Bristol
FAQs
What is the most popular cafe in UK?
The most popular cafe in the UK is Costa Cafe.
This is purely because of the quantity of cafes that Costa owns, weighing in with a huge 2792 outlets in 2022. Statista
What is the UK’s best cafe?
It is hard to definitively say what is the best coffee shop in the UK because there are so many factors that make a coffee shop great.
Find our list above of the 100 best coffee shops in our opinion.
We always love a recommendation though, so if your favourite cafe isn’t on the list please leave us a comment at the bottom.
Who are Starbucks competitors in the UK?
Starbucks has obviously conquered the world of commercial coffee shops.
However in the UK there are a couple of other players that compete for that spot on the high street. Costa coffee are Starbucks biggest competitors in the UK.
Founded in Dunstable, UK in 1971 by a chap called Sergio Costa, the chain experienced huge growth over the last few years and was purchased by Coca Cola in 2019 for a reported £3.9bn.
Costa currently have 2792 restaurants and 6000 vending facilities. Greggs are also a competitor of Starbuck in the UK.
Who drinks the most coffee in the UK?
According to Statista the city that consumes the most coffee in the UK is London.
The city that consumes the most per capita is Edinburgh.
Who has the best coffee in the UK?
The best coffee can be defined in a number of manners.
Firstly, if you mean the actual coffee beans then the best coffee will be a coffee roastery (and potentially their cafe), this is a question that is generally down to opinion and preference a couple of the big names in the speciality coffee roasting scene at the moment are Square Mile, Origin and Has Bean.
The second way you could define the best coffee in the Uk could be the cafe.
There is both an art and science behind extracting the perfect espresso and brewing world class filter coffee, checkout our list above to see what we think are the best 10 coffee shops in the UK.
What is the oldest cafe in the UK?
The oldest cafe in the UK is The Queens Lane Coffee House in Oxford that is the oldest continually used coffee house in Europe which was opened in 1654.
Who is the best coffee roaster in UK?
There are many independent coffee roasters in the UK with the number continually rising.
Check out our coffee roasters map to find some of the best in the UK.
Who is the best barista in UK?
The best barista in the UK is decided by a panel of judges every year at the UK Barista Championships.
Here a number of professional baristas battle it out in regional heats where the best qualify for the UKBC final.
Here, the best baristas in the UK showcase their skill and demonstrate their coffee prowess in font of the judges before the best barista is crowned.
Previous champions included James Hoffman and Dale Harris.
Where is the highest café in the UK?
The highest coffee shop in the UK is the Hafol Eryri cafe in Snowden, Wales at a dizzying hight of 1085m.
What is the most beautiful café in the UK?
Like best cafe in the UK, the most beautiful is really down to personal opinion and preference.
However of the most beautiful cafes in our opinion has to be a cafe attached to a coffee roastery, there is something about enjoying a coffee that has been roasted by professionals a few metres away.
The sound and the smell all add to the experience. Two of the top ten above that are roastery cafes are Ozone and Norrth Star.
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