Coffee shops in London

sergioib said:

I am sorry to start with the closing of the Costa shop in Old Compton Street in Soho. I am not sure why, as I thought it was quite a busy spot. I am not aware of Costa making any comments on this.

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A lot of coffee shops are deceptively unprofitable. Many many many branches of Costa, Caffe Nero, and Starbucks run at a considerable loss, having simply being rolled out as 'footsoldiers' to try and saturate out the competition. I wouldn't be surprised if we see lots more closures going forward.

they're not really a trend are they? they're sort of a part of life and have been for 15/20 years. i recall going to costa when i was at school - for a cup of tea (i don't drink coffee).

and they are all over the place - from every london street to every suburb and small town in the country. is it costa in old compton street? i thought it was caffe nero - the one on the corner that everyone sits outside. but in the case of that branch - probably less to do with high rents (which could easily be covered because it's probably the busiest branch in london outside a train terminal), and more to do with there being much better nearby, and a fashion/media/predominantly gay clientele that has discovered something new...

so the closure of that is hopefully a sign that the zeitgeist has changed.

belfastuniguy said:

You're in London and you're going to places like Costa? There is a wealth of FAR better coffee shops in London to use. Same goes for other UK cities, the best coffee shops are the independents

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Agreed, but the good ones in Portsmouth tend to be in Southsea. Costa is usually more convenient. I don't touch Starbucks.

They replied to my comment on Twitter and said it was due to the lease being up already. I am just wondering why they haven't renewed it.

Yes, there is a Caffè Nero in Old Compton Street as well, pretty close to where Costa was, and I would say that's one of their most successful ones, being open until 2 AM in the morning on weekdays and 4 AM on Saturdays, if I am not mistaken.

To me, Caffè Nero has a more Italian style, I think they are better in making coffee and is the place to go if you are a coffee expert.

However, if you don't like strong coffee like me, I think Costa or Starbucks are the place to go, but I personally don't have a preferred chain I always go to, I like to vary and I can find myself going to one for a few months, then change to another one, etc.

One thing I don't really understand though is how expensive sandwiches are in these places, especially their paninis. £4.50 for a toasted sandwich is a bit too much!

If I had to choose a chain, I'd go for Costa. British business, and their hot chocolates are quite something...

Blighters were outwith London then? Ah. I used to sit in the one in Thomas Neal's in Seven Dials Garden at lunchtime and read my newspaper. I was working in Covent Garden.

And all along the storied Monmouth Coffee was round the corner on the street with the same name. Never went there. Although all for the best maybe. That place is always rammed with people and the last thing I wanted to be doing was speaking to anyone.