Kahaila

Before Christmas time my friend Matilda set up a make your own head-band workshop, where a group of people from her class and a group of outsiders got together to make any random type of head piece. I was going to attend a Great Gatsby themed party, so of course I went along and made something, or rather, 4 things. 

This workshop was held at the back of a cafe called Kahaila on Brick Lane. My flatmate Charlotte calls it her favourite place on Brick Lane. It's a cute home-y coffee shop that offers a variety of food and drinks, and cake. The indoors is similar to my flat in the sense that they have the same brick walls as we do. But not only that, they have these amazing wooden tables which are really worn out, but not in the sense that they're about to collapse but in a beautiful "I have lived" sense. 

One of the beautiful things about Kahaila is the artwork hung up inside it. They have temporary shows of different art from around the community. Oh and I forgot to tell you, it's a charity coffee shop. Which means they give all their profits to supporting local community projects. So stop by, grab a cake, enjoy the art and feel like you're doing something to help others while enjoying your self. Their sandwiches are good too.

Here's their website: http://kahaila.com/

Mr. Buckley's

Mr. Buckley's is a cafe I found on my way to Broadway Market and I told myself; I have to have to pass by here again for brunch or something. I went there with a friend one day purposefully and all I remembered is that the seating area was up a little staircase that you could see from the window. 

Walking in I hoped they had good food, and drinks. I had a simple ice-coffee for drink, and looking through the menu which wasn't too cheap but neither too pricey I chose the brunch skillet. I didn't want anything with bacon, because I knew I was going to have it again soon. So this was the healthy option. After all there were potatoes and cheese, it couldn't be too bad; the dish had all the major food groups. 

Once it arrived I was really excited to dig in, because they actually serve it in a skillet. And I did, I think I barely talked to my friend throughout the whole meal just because I was so busy eating the food. I think its the kind of place you can even go there alone and relax waiting for an amazing breakfast. Maybe I'll do that next year. I really recommend it, just so you can have a slightly different breakfast experience. It will be a taste-y one, and the staff is really nice too. 

Here's their website: http://www.mrbuckleys.com/

Pitfield

Pitfield is a really nice home decor store that doubles as a café. Its really cute, welcoming and the food is really delicious. The people who work behind are all French, and to me that means they must know something about food, as well as their coffee. Because the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Greeks and the Italians know about food. We have a saying "We live to eat" whereas the others "eat to live". We look for the joys in food, and I think that's what makes me a foodie too. 

I walked in with a few friends, and we went straight to ordering food, I hadn't had anything to eat yet that day. I got a salad, but not one of those weird leafy things. I got a mix of feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, and olive oil as well as cold pasta. And as an Italian I usually stray away from cold pasta salads, but this one was incredible, it almost made me wish I had only gotten the pasta part of it. 

I loved the inside of the place too, because there was a random bronze octopus in the corner and there were loads of cute little details. The section of it that was a store had really strange colour combinations, it was kind of eclectic but somehow everything looked like it was in style, and it fit. Maybe that's just because the place is in Shoreditch. 

Here's the website of the place: http://www.pitfieldlondon.com/

Also do you think I should start including mini maps to show the locations of the places? Comment to let me know what you think.

Joe & The Juice

When I was walking around Chelsea with my friend Kristin we decided to stop at Joe & the Juice because we had never been to one before and we really needed to sit down. From the moment we walked in it definitely felt happy, relaxed and friendly. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out our order. I obviously looked at the food first, typical me. 

I got a tuna and avocado sandwich, which they call a Tunacado, which I find pretty cool. Kristin then asked what the barista would recommend, and she got a random one he has talked about. However I was too intrigued by the name of the "Iron Man" juice, so I just had to get that one. 

The two baristas were really friendly, and funny. The younger one was kind of flirty and he jokingly suggested that he'd give us his number, which we just laughed at. We then went over to a table, sat down, and started talking about our assignments. He brought over our drinks and my food, and the sandwich was wrapped in tracing paper which I think was really cool because it stops the oils from getting on to you hands and its somewhat creative and different. 

As we left the two baristas said "bye girls" and blew us an air kiss goodbye. It was just so funny and cliché that it make Kristin and me laugh really hard. Here's their website: http://joejuice.com

The Old Shoreditch Station

While waiting for some friends one day I finally decided to get some coffee at the Old Shoreditch Station. I've walked past it countless times and I always wanted to go in, we were just always doing something else at the time. From the outside you can see part of their menus written on their windows. But from the second you walk in it looks really spacious. There are cool quirky details in every corner, and none of the lights above the bar match. 

There are really relaxed couch-like seating areas lining the whole window and small coffee tables in the middle of the room with chairs. There's also another room behind the bar, which is a lot brighter and has bigger tables for groups. The day I went there it was really grey, but I'm pretty sure they always have the lights turned on in there. Its nice because you get to see the people walking by, as well as enjoy your coffee in a quieter environment. 

I felt so relaxed when I was there I didn't want to get up from the couch. Sadly I had to, but I think I'm going to try to go back there and enjoy reading a book while drinking some tea sitting on those couches. As my friend Kristin says, "sometimes you just need to do nothing". 

Here's their website: http://www.jaguarshoes.com/?page_id=88

Fix 126

Fix is a coffee company with 2 stores in London. The one I went to was Fix 126, which is the Shoreditch branch. The wooden bar, and wooden tables give the place a very warm and welcoming feel. Most of the people inside are either chatting quietly, or tapping away at their laptops. You have to make your order at the bar, but unlike other Shoreditch bars they accept card payment for any purchase, so you don't have to worry about finding an ATM before you get there. 

Its set up the same way as Starbucks, you order your drink, they make it, they call out your order, you pick it up, and then you take your seat. Its nicer though, because they have a bigger variety of things to order and the atmosphere is a lot more like a community. I want to go back there soon, because I was able to focus better there than I have been able to focus at home, and it was really for me to study for my marketing exam there. 

Also one of the few other joys of Shoreditch, a random person dressed really creatively can walk in any time making your day more fun and special. Here's their website: http://www.fix-coffee.co.uk/fix-126/