Another post, another new London coffee establishment. I welcome Shoreditch Grind.

Situated on Old Street roundabout, Shoreditch Grind has a beautiful interior, indoor window seating, rather good coffee and not a bad range of grub. Think indulgent morning pastries, chunky lunch time sandwiches, muffins and cakes to satisfy the sweet tooth.

We enjoyed a silky flat white whilst trying to get comfortable on the beautiful but slightly impractical stools.

A few things made me think that they were not quite ready for opening. The toilets were ‘under construction’ and there were no proper cups or plates. All food that we ordered was brought over to us in a closed paper bag – a tad unnecessary and wasteful.

The honey and almond cake was good without being great, the almond and honey topping deliciously moist but the middle quite dry.

The cheese croissant that we shared was gone in 10 seconds flat, very delicious but small. And at £2.95, probably too expensive.

Our toasted parma ham and mozzarella baguette was good but I forgot to get a photo as I was distracted by a mix up. The waiter gave us an extra sandwich and a muffin on top of our order – but we were good samaritans and returned them.

Despite enjoying my coffee, something niggled me. The manager or owner, I’m not sure which, seemed to be giving a member of staff a hard time – quite obviously too. There were two occasions that I saw the member of staff getting told off – once right in front of me just after I had ordered. It doesn’t give the impression of a happy working environment and I hope I don’t see a repeat when I return. Maybe the member of staff was making mistakes but I think the telling off should happen in private!

The cafe has planning permission for a large outdoor area, which I am told is likely to be ready for next summer. I took a sneak peek around the back of the building and it looks like it could be a great al fresco dining space! At the moment, it’s not a place to go for a lounge whilst drinking a good cup of coffee, it’s more suited to take away and a short stay sitting in the window.

However, it is still early doors (having only been open for two weeks at the time of this post) but there is lots of potential for this cafe to be one of the London greats.

Shoreditch Grind
213 Old Street
London
EC1V 9NR
020 7490 7490