It’s a new year, a new month and therefore time for a new article. I’m starting off by finishing the task I set myself at the end of last year, to visit all the independent coffee shops in Brockley. For those who live in the area, you’ll notice I haven’t included _all_ of the cafés/coffee establishments in the area. There are a handful of places that, let’s say are less artisanal than others and those I haven’t included purely because I don’t think it’s the type of place that one would find comfortable spending four or so hours behind a laptop at. With that out of the way let me share my thoughts on 6 Brockley-based cafes.

The Brockley Deli

If you have a sweet tooth this is definitely the place to visit. It has an array of freshly baked cakes and pastries that greet you as soon as you enter and that display alone is worth visiting the Deli to see. The cafe itself is quite small with a few tables in the centre and a counter at the far end. The staff are incredibly friendly and helped me decide on what to order from the wide variety of things on offer. For toast, I was told I could have any bread I wanted with not just butter but jam, peanut butter, Nutella, marmalade, and after I chose jam I had a choice of strawberry, plum, raspberry. I probably spent more time at the counter here than at any other place. The WiFi here is good and so was the hot chocolate, the only problem for me was that it’s pretty popular. I wasn’t there for long before I felt the need to leave and give my seat up.

Pistachios Hilly Fields

This is the place to come to after you’ve done anything in or around Hilly Fields park, this isn’t quite the place to come to for a morning of work. Let’s get the good things out of the way. I really like the wooden decor of the place the art on the wall, the WiFi and the fact they provided a cooked breakfast. The bad, for being the only cafe in the park it’s a bit too small. The majority of visitors were people who walked dogs; mother’s with prams or young children, groups who have done some sort of outdoor exercise, or people who are exploring the area, and there definitely wasn’t enough room for them all on a January weekday morning. There was plenty of outdoor seating but it was far too cold for that. The place also didn’t have any fresh pastries which are more of a comparison to the rest of the cafés than a disadvantage of this one. The croissants on offer were small, cold, and looked like they came from a supermarket. I’ve been to this place in the summer and it’s great to pick up an ice cream or milkshake and sit outside in the sun, it’s not, however, the best place to work with a laptop in the winter.

The Orchard

I love the Orchard, love the homely feel, the wall full of second-hand books, the fish tank, the section with sofas, and the section with old wooden tables and chairs. I bought just a hot chocolate but never felt the need to move because those who came for food would simply sit in the section with tables and chairs and leave me on a sofa. The staff were super friendly and the WiFi was good. Two bad points though. One, the hot chocolate was far too sweet, and it was presented with a small cup of brown sugar which was unnecessary. Two, the Orchard opens at 11 am. This makes sense since it is a restaurant as well and closes at 11 pm, but for someone who plans to spend the day working from a coffee shop that’s a bit too late.

The Brockley Mess

At the start of this post I mentioned avoiding non-artistic builders like cafés, this place felt like one of them in the way its tables were arranged, nevertheless, the back section was designed as a minimal art gallery with a sofa, and there was leather green setting on the left side of the entrance so it wasn’t too boring. On the whole, I enjoyed this place, good WiFi (although it wasn’t obvious they was any so I had to ask), and the hot chocolate was–alright. One thing I wasn’t a fan of was my mildly pushy waitress who kept asking if I was going to get anything else. Yes, I was there for longer than anyone else but the regular prompting was still unnecessary. I ended up spending the most amount of money here than any other place I visited so I guess it worked. A massive downside to this place is that it’s only open from Friday to Monday, closed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so, not the place for a daily visit but maybe the occasional one.

Arlo & Mo

This place had really nice decor, I liked the use of colour and the way it’s designed. As I mentioned in the previous post it’s unusually busy around the time parents have dropped their kids off at school (about 09:30), and picked them up after school finishes (about 15:30). Considering the place isn’t particularly large it gets packed very quickly. It’s in a great location close to Crofton Park station, the hot chocolate was great, the wifi was good, and so was the food, it’s just a bit too small and busy at times for my liking. Again a place worth showing friends how cool and hipster the area is but not for daily work.

Browns of Brockley

I’m not a coffee drinker but I’ve heard this is the place to go if you are. People travel from different parts of the country to visit it and I can see the appeal. It’s incredibly minimal, decorated very well and has possibly the best tasting hot chocolate I have ever had in my life. The people I sat next to were very creative with someone starting a fashion magazine called Vanguard sitting on my left, and behind me a lady interviewing someone else for a blog. I felt my creative juices flowing just being around them. There are unfortunately a few downsides to people who would like to work here. At the time of writing this, there was no WiFi at all, and there was not a functional toilet, so I had to hold in my pee and steal internet from Parlez. It’s also very small, in fact, the smallest and most expensive cafe I’ve been to in Brockley. I can definitely see myself coming back here for a drink and sitting outside in the summer but alas, not the best place to work.

The Noak

I thought I’d mention this place as it’s one of the cafes that came up in my google search, it’s the closest one to where I actually live but it has never been open. I’ve been told it’s something to do with the management. I may review it in the future when they’ve got themselves sorted but until then it’ll just get an honourary mention.

So there you have it, a review of 10 artisanal independent cafes in Brockley split up into two different articles. I’m blessed to have so many establishments close to where I live and it’s been fun exploring them during my time of redundancy, now I know where to take people who visit. I hope someone finds this helpful especially those who want to find somewhere to work and drink some hot chocolate. One final tip if you’re that person, make sure your laptop is 100% charged before you leave the house. I’ve learnt that lesson the hard way by starting a day on 30% and not able to sit near a plug.