/wheretoworkinlondon

Hello,

This repo is an attempt to make it easier for people to find places to work in London - which places have free wifi? Which have power? Is it noisy? etc.

The original source of this information was a copy of Google Sheet taken in October 2019 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IGil4SeG23-iP4LcFmtTm4x5mm03fLc3fam5XYXTmfg. The original compiler of this information was Caroline O'Donoghue - however attempts to contact Caronline to get access to update old entries have failed, so here we are.

To update or add entries please raise a PR or comment here. Please use the same format as below. Please note that information is not verified by me and no responsibility is taken for this information.

Area VENUE WEBSITE LINK WIFI WIFI PASSWORDS/NETWORK PLUG SOCKETS MENU £ STAFF STARS PRICE OF A CUP OF COFFEE ANYTHING ELSE?
North London Archway Bread and Bean Fine Mainly fancy sandwiches and cakes, and a few other options. ££ All nice; although some a little brusque at times 3.5 Looks quite small from the outside, but there's a back room as well so don't worry if looks busy from outside.
Central London Bank Merchant House of Bow Lane http://www.merchanthouselondon.com/bow-lane Sometimes flaky but usually quite passable Cocktail bar with good tea and coffee, some small plates ££ Extremely friendly and chilled out, during the day they like the company more than the cash 5 £3.50 Open from 11am until late. Best cocktails in London when you're finished working ;)
Central London Bankside Citizen M https://www.citizenm.com/destinations/london/london-bankside-hotel Excellent No password, just accept their T&Cs Plentiful Breakfast & Lunch buffets. Fully stocked bar. ££ Very friendly 5 £2.50 Walk into the hotel lobby and sit down.
Plenty of times I've bought nothing if it's busy enough to get away with it.
South-west London Battersea Battersea Arts Centre www.bac.org.uk Good and consistent Open network Plenty Limited food £ Really friendly and good atmosphere. Gets busy around performances, but in downtime it is often empty. 5 2 Can get very noisy in peak times.
South-west London Battersea Social Pantry https://socialpantry.co.uk Good Open network Limited – best spot is the big table down the end. Good brunch menu and fresh salads bowls for lunch. ££ Staff quite pushy about buying more if you're there over an hour. Stagger your food! 4 3 Don't sit under the air con supply. It drips and I left with a soaking bag :(
East London Bethnal Green The Common E2 Very good Great breakfast dishes ££ Real nice 5 loads of people on laptops
Central London Blackfriars Merchant House of Fleet Street http://www.merchanthouselondon.com/fleet-street/ Sometimes flaky but usually quite passable Cocktail bar with good tea and coffee, some small plates ££ Extremely friendly and chilled out, during the day they like the company more than the cash 5 £3.50 Open from 3pm until late. Smashing cocktails once you're off the clock
Central London BLOOMSBURY Continental Stores (and its sister cafe, store street) Alright - but staff sometimes turn off over lunch A whole galaxy of fancy herbal teas and hippie lattes, salads and sandwiches, cakes that look more delicious than they are. ££ Very lovely. 4 Store street gets CRAZY at lunch - but it opens early
Central London BLOOMSBURY Dillons Coffee at Waterstones Gower Street Can be pretty slow Cakes and toasties, decent coffee ££ All nice 4 The wifi isn't great, but it's big and thanks to being right near lots of universities is actually mostly filled with people working, which makes for a peaceful atmosphere and means staff leave you be.
Central London BLOOMSBURY Institute of Historical Research Library and Common Room http://www.history.ac.uk/library yes for members +eduroam Jacket spuds, panini, sandwiches, cakes! £ Lovely 4 For budding historical fiction writers... Free for academics and gradute students; day or £52 per annum memberships. Try the 3rd floor for a quiet spot.
South London BRIXTON Stir Coffee http://www.stircoffee.co.uk/ Good Decent coffee, cakes, sandwiches, salads, canned craft beer ££ Bit over the top 4 Hipstery, but in a Brixton way, with a relaxed, friendly vibe. Even at its busiest never failed to find a seat. The kind of place you can stay for hours without worrying.
South London BRIXTON The Ritzy Good Quite pricey coffee, good food with lots of choice. Also a bar for when work is getting tough. £££ All nice 3 Don't mind you being there a while, but only really a good idea to go during the day -- it's a cinema so gets packed in the evening. Head to the upstairs cafe/bar rather than the downstairs one.
South London BROCKLEY NOAK slightly dodgy Cinnamon buns for days ££ Everyone's cool here. 4 I've had issues with the wifi cutting out before
South London CAMBERWELL Lumberjack https://wearelumberjack.co.uk/ good Good cakes. Seriously good cakes... ££ Largely very sweet; almost all of them seem to be actors/musicians so good for eavesdropping when bored... 4 Pretty small, so not necessarily somewhere you can guarantee a table, but very chilled, quite arty vibe.
North London CAMDEN TOWN Yumchaa Free, but connection is unreliable. But a neighbouring shop has a guest wifi network that can be accessed. "A whole galaxy of fancy herbal teas and hippie lattes, salads and sandwiches, cakes that look more delicious than they are." Yumchaa is a chain: been to one, been to them all. But the cakes are amazing. ££ Always perfectly pleasant 4 £2.50-£4.00 UPDATE: Due to the landlord increasing the rent, the Yumchaa on Parkway has closed down. The one in Camden Market's food court is still open, but it's not laptop-user friendly – pen-and-paper writers will be fine, if they can snag a table from tourists. Yumchaa is a chain, so if you've been to one you know what to expect.
Central London CANNON STREET Joe and the Juice Pretty good They charged me 50p for a lemon slice £££ A man called me "darling" five times 2 Phat beats, armageddon on the streets.
South-east London Catford 🐈🐈🐈 Archibald's Excellent Lunch/brunch - fairly predictable but good food ££ Friendly, chatty 3.5 Relaxed atmosphere. Sometimes fills up with buggies and mums, but often very quiet and chill. Importantly, there are loads of plug sockets and the wifi is good.
Central London CHARING CROSS Upper Crust ( I think) Excellent (in-station sky.com) Er, don't know, I just bought a banana so I could sit there ? Good 4 ? Only including this half remembered entry because, like the author above, I fought and lost against the Waterstones Wifi. Go into Charing Cross station along the "Cab Road Passage" ( http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/images/content/SME/1485-0000002.jpg ) and turn right immediately, the space is open, has many chairs, power, good station WiFi and you can "hide" around the corner if need be.
Central London CHARING CROSS Waterstone's Cafe Awful It's a Costa so obviously I'm not going to eat there ££ The woman in there was definitely over my shit 1 Seriously, no one could work the wifi, it was Lord of the Flies
South-west London Chelsea Raw Press Good, fast healthynothard Lots All vegan. Lots of juices. Not sure how to feel about it, but also quite nice? Lots of salads Fine
West London Chiswick Kitchen and Pantry Good Breakfast, brunch, light snacks and lovely caskes. ££ Chilled, friendly 4 Lots of plugs and confortable sofas
South-west London CLAPHAM Tart Very good t@styt@rt Some. Tarts (three on rotation it seems), the odd sandwhich and coffee/tea. Of course, you're there for the tart though £££ Delightful 4 Genuinely nice tarts (as you may have guessed by now) and a great pace to take a laptop. Not every table has plugs, however. Toilets have wheelchair access.
South-west London CLAPHAM The Black Lab http://blacklabcoffee.com/ Very good Toasted sandwiches (a bit ££), good loaf cakes, pastries etc. V. good coffee. ££ Lovely 5 Have spent eight hour stretches there. Power points at various places. Good tables for working on.
South London CRYSTAL PALACE/
SYDENHAM		 Brown & Green Good Nice coffee, breakfasts etc. ££ Nice people 4 Isn't the biggest place and buggaboo central at certain times, but know of people who've written whole books in here. two CP locations (one in the 'triangle', the other in the station), and Sydenham one in Mayow Park.
East London Dalston To The Jungle Good Pretty much just sandwiches and pastries ££ Nice, fairly hands-off, won't hassle you to leave earlier than you want 4 Plenty of plug sockets, never struggled to get a seat there. Point knocked off because the menu is a bit boring and the seats aren't very comfortable but I am probably being unnecessarily harsh.
South-East London DEPTFORD London Velo excellent Also largely fine ££ Everone's cool here 4 It's also a bike shop? Don't know what that's about.
South-East London DEPTFORD Mousetail http://www.mousetailcoffee.com/#ourlocations excellent Real good banana bread ££ Everyone's cool here. 5 it's kinda dark so you'll get SAD if you sit here for too long
North London EAST FINCHLEY Dan n Decarlo https://www.facebook.com/DanAndDeCarlo/ Good £ Seemed nice enough 4 Right across the road from station and a few min away from cherry tree woods, Good for the traveling freelancer.
North London EAST FINCHLEY Caffe Nero https://caffenero.com/uk/stores/east-finchley/ Good Yes Standard Caffe Nero £ Standard Caffe Nero 4 Standard Caffe Nero About 5-7 minute walk from East Finchley Station. Surprisingly large branch, with a long table suitable for packs of writers, and plenty of small tables in booths. Most tables seem to have power points nearby and there is WiFi. Everything else is what you usually find at a Caffe Nero.
Central London Euston British Library very good wide range of food in cafe. no food allowed in library bit ££ leave you alone 5
North London EUSTON Friends House Cafe http://www.friendshouse.co.uk/getting-here They give you a code that lasts an hour when you buy a coffee. Nice cakes, sandwiches etc - plus tea and coffee are super cheap £ Nice 4 £2 -ish - tea is about £1 Very near Euston Station
Central London FARRINGDON Ask For Janice http://askforjanice.co.uk Great Full menus. Separate Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner menus. ££ Great 5 Staff very happy to leave you for hours whilst you work. Coffee is excellent, food is great, healthy and well priced. They also have an excellent gin and beer selection. Gets busy during lunch and from about 5pm. Outside of those times you should always find a comfortable table.
Central London FARRINGDON Smiths Of Smithfield Good Quality breakfasts, free coffee refills until 2PM £ Reasonable 4 Turns into a bar after 2pm, you can stay but it gets loud and annoying. Easily the nicest open space & largest tables around here
Central London Finchley Central Bespoke cafe https://www.facebook.com/bespoke.Cafe/ Consistently fine. Excellent coffee, avo on toast, soups of the day, good breakfast menu, and green smoothies £ Friendly owner and staff 4 Lovely indie cafe that is not terribly expensive. Does not get too busy in the afternoons, not too many charging points (about 2-3)
Central London Finchley Central Tintico https://www.facebook.com/tinticocoffee/ Consistently fine. Very nice coffee, menu of various egg on toast, avocado toast type dishes. Reasonable range of cakes. ££ Lovely staff 4 Can get a bit busy
North London Finsbury Park Vagabond http://www.vagabond.london/ Always strong There is a plug socket but it's above the door Excellent, rocket fuel coffee, basic brunchy menu of eggs on toast etc, and cake. £ Lovely staff, cool neighbourhood vibe 4 Crucially, no plug sockets. Which is a pain – but sometimes also the incentive you need to work and stop dicking around?
South-east London GREENWICH 🕒🕒🕒 Waterstone's Cafe, 2nd floor Waterstone's WIFI is always horrible, but you can crab 🦀 WIFI from the M&S downstairs pretty easy I had a cookie and it was ok ££ Everyone's fine, if sort of non-plussed, which I get 3 There are very few tables that are comfortable typing-height
East London Hackney Bernstein's Bar Good Small menu but lovely. Open from breakfast until late so you could theoretically stay all day if you wanted. ££ Staff are all cool, you will get to know them quickly. 4 One point knocked off because it's absolutely tiny. Plug sockets only available from one or two points I think. REALLY GOOD if you like visiting dogs, for some reason I've never been there and not seen a dog.
East London Hackney Footnote http://www.footnote.london/ Very good Changes regularly Lots by the windows Nice posh breakfast/brunch food. Cakes not as good as they used to be but delicious ice cream ££ Very friendly. They love dogs. 5 £2.50 ish (I am a tea drinker, it's £2.00 for a pot of leaf tea) Lovely big windows, my favourite place for writing. Gets busy at lunch and occasionally they get laptop people to share tables, but outside of meal times it's a lovely quiet space
East London Hackney Jim's Cafe Good Nice food, on the experimental rather than the comfort side (like, duck egg hash rather than cheese omelette). £££ Nice, unfussed if you just want to stay there the entire day and not even get food. 4 Point knocked off because it's v dark and expensive. Key though is EVERY table has a plug socket.
East London Hackney Palm Vaults Good Almost the whole food menu is variants of avocado toast. I think it's all or almost all vegan. Drinks menu is ludicrous and you have about thirty options, many of them caffeine-free, most of them very fancy and instagrammable.. ££ to £££ They're intimidatingly cool but all really lovely. 3 It's extremely pretty, extremely fancy and extremely luxuriously hipster. It's also unfortunately very small and always busy. DO NOT go there at the weekend you will not be able to get a seat. Plenty of plug sockets. No air conditioning and Not Good in heatwaves.
East London Hackney Venetia's OK Sort of like a slightly less greasy greasy spoon. Reasonably priced. £ Nice but not over-friendly. If you need to get stuff done and don't want to have to socialise, good choice. 3 Not many plugs, dark inside, but they do also have a covered garden out the back. Something weird going on with the wifi I can't figure out but rebooting on my end always seems to fix it.
North London Hampstead Silverberry Deli and Kitchen OK Good coffee and amazing cake. Good choice of vegan options. £ Nice staff don't bother you too much 4 Nice outside area in the summer.
North London Harringay Moka Good Nice stuff, good coffee, Mauritian angle to the food ££ Nice (the chef's annoying but mostly in the kitchen) 4 The food's too expensive but the coffee's good and not too much
Central London Harrow Bru Good Ace waffles and ice-cream. Also does more normal cafe stuff ££ Pretty nice and chilled 4 Busy on weekends and after school due to the ice-cream. lots of plugs and comfy chairs of different types. open late. don't mind you being there for ages
South London HERNE HILL 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️ Brockwell Blend Good Good coffee, tasty avocado toast if you're feeling rich ££ Lovely, will chat but also leave you be for a while to work 4 Decent wifi, but quite small. Grab a table before lunchtime rush or Herne Hill buggy brigade turn up. Gave me a free coffee they'd accidentally made last time I was there.
Central London HOLBORN The Hoxton Great Full menu £££ Will leave you alone. Not great if you're ordering food lol It's a fancy hotel. I saw a high end hooker sex worker there once
East London Homerton The Hatch Good The best pain au chocolat I've had in London (i'll put money on them being baked by french people). Sweet things, salads, sandwiches, all excellent. ££ Friendly enough. Buy some stuff to drink and nibble now and then and you'll have nothing to worry about 4 If you're feeling flush you can pay a couple of quid to sit upstairs in the gallery set aside ESPECIALLY for the purpose of WORKING, where there are benches and chairs and more plug sockets than you can shake a magsafe apple power charger at. Can be hot however
North London Islington Finsbury Library https://www.islington.gov.uk/libraries-arts-and-heritage/libraries/your-local-libraries/finsbury-library Very good get-reading Plenty normally no food allowed except water - Leave you alone 4 Can be a bit noisey when the school finishes for the day, there are plenty of plugs and USB charging points, during Tuesdays and Thursdays closes at 8pm.
West London Kensington Wayne's Coffee www.waynescoffee.co.uk/ Good Can get WiFi from Seraphine Hotel next door. 24 hours access. Sandwiches, bagels, salad, pastries, juice, coffee and tea. Most of the time there are one or two raw vegan cakes, but these are the only vegan food options. Not sure about gluten free options. There are a few vegetarian options. £-££ Very nice. The owner is lovely and he is occasionally around. They aren't bothered by people working on their laptops and usually smile. They occasionally bring orders over to your table for you. 4 £1.50 - £3.10 There's a 20% own cup discount that not all staff are aware of. Fresh lemon or mint tea is more expensive than a tea bag.There's usually music playing, it's not very distracting and can be eaisly drowned out with headphones. It's typical easy listening/coffeeshop music.
North London Kentish Town Arancini Brothers Consistently fine. Delicious coffee and muffins, cookies etc. Arancini are cheesy, heart-attack-y perfection. ££ Super friendly, cool staff. 5 There's a little garden in the back, which is quiet and ideal.
North London Kings Cross Dishoom Great Indian. Small plates of stuff, wraps, curries, bread, nice drinks. Bottomless chai! Bacon naan! £££ (compared to a cafe) Totally fine 4 Look, I know. But bear with me. The King's Cross one is massive, and not crazy busy during the day, mid week. You can sit at a booth downstairs, or at the bar upstairs, with a laptop. They will pretty much leave you alone. Food is consistent, and good if you're hungry. Chai is bottomless. Bacon naan kicks off your day really well.
North London Kings Cross Drink, Shop, Do http://drinkshopdo.co.uk/ Fairly good - have two separate networks incase one goes down Scattered around Salads, tarts and a lot of cake! ££ Really nice staff and quite helpful 4 £3 This is a really nice place, and actually pretty spacious. I'd give it a miss at weekends as it can get pretty packed, but you can pretty much always get a table in the week. Staff are lovely and will leave you too it.
North London Kings Cross Le Pain Quotidien [in St Pancras] http://www.lepainquotidien.co.uk/store/st-pancras/ Okay French food: pastries, salads etc ££ Fine 4 There's huge tables near tha back where you can spread out and work in peace. If you're worried about the tourists, don't be - they usually sit at the front and aren't that loud in any case. Also if you get kicked out at 10pm: 24hr Costa right next door.
South-East London Lewisham Lewisham Centre Not many 'laptop' cafes in Lewisham yet - there are Costa and Starbucks inside the shopping centre.
East London Leytonstone All You Read is Love Good Good home made cakes, sandwiches, excellent coffee, also has a licence if you fancy a beer or cocktail £ Couple of friendly Danish hipsters 4 Not all tables would be suitable for working at, but there's always a few people in there with laptops. Point knocked off as it's a bookshop and therefore has too many distractions!
East London Limehouse Husk café & creative space http://www.huskcoffee.com/ Good, but sometimes over-populated Yes, but limited Great fresh soups, sandwiches, cakes £ Very friendly - all young studenty types 5 £2 Always full of students working and rarely paying, so feel no pressure to keep buying stuff. The staff seem to expect you to set up camp for decent amount of time
East London Mile End Mae + Harvey Good None Super nice food, really reasonably price (although fairly small portions) £ Staff are super lovely 3 Only a three as this place is teeny teeny tiny (entire place cannot sit more about 10 people). Usually quiet during the weekday though, so good if you're working alone.
East London Mile End The Chesterfield Good, but often off before ~2PM Amazing food - all in really big portions. Bagels are great, brownies are heavenly. £ to ££ Staff are nice, and happy with you hanging around all day. They can be a bit dozy - I've had my order forgotten, the wrong thing ordered, etc, so many times - but always nice enough. 4 Various places to sit big tables, little tables, couches, etc). A few plugs but not too many! The tea comes in annoying pots which stew really quickly so despite size, you can only usually get a cup out of them.
South-East London New Cross The Red Lion Pretty good Good brownies ££ Everyone's cool here. 4 Don't come here on a bright day, as it is a glass box of sweat when it's hot
South London NEW CROSS ⚔️⚔️⚔️ Out Of The Brew Good I haven't eaten there but the coffee is good. Hot and cold things like tarts, lasagne, salads etcetera, various cakes. ££ All nice 3 Always massively busy, really hot, nice garden.
North London North Finchley North Finchley library https://www.barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/libraries/find-your-local-library/north-finchley.html Available. Yes. Library membership needed. Yes None. But you can bring in bottled drinks, due to lack of staff. – Friendly, if any are around. 3 – North Finchley Library is only open to the public for a few hours a day. Outside of those hours, you need a membership card to enter. Inside of those hours, the library is staffed by volunteers and professional librarians. At the back of the library there is a large, well-lit room, with loads of tables and chairs. It has the feel of a cheap classroom, and everything echoes a lot, but otherwise it's quiet and there's plenty of space to work.
North London North Finchley Artsdepot Cafe https://www.artsdepot.co.uk/ Good Basic sandwiches, salads and cakes, with tea and coffee. £ Friendly. 4 Three issues with the Artsdepot: plugs are hard to come by for laptop users and get snagged early. It closes early - check its website for opening hours. And finally, the Artsdepot is home to a dance school: so during terms at lunch the cafe gets rammed by teenaged dance students grabbing their lunch: it can feel like you've wandered into a scene from Fame.
South east London Nunhead The Old Nuns Head http://theoldnunshead.co.uk/ Good Street food pop-ups, dinner only, except lunch on Sat / Sun: Burger Bear (Mon, Tues, Sat), Greek (Weds), various (Thurs, Fri), great Sunday roasts. They make a decent coffee - and hot chocolate in winter! £ Manager Nick and all staff super lovely and supportive of the arts, esp theatre 4 Usually fine to spend hours and hours working in there unless massively busy. (Quiz night Thursday 8pm very loud and busy!) Sockets available, ask for a booth (and also elsewhere, ask staff). If you need peace and quiet, and pub is quiet during daytime, ask staff if you can sit upstairs in the function room to work.
South London PECKHAM Anderson & Co Pretty good So good that you should probably eat before you go there to save ££ ££ Really lovely - great music 4 Don't seem to mind you be there AGES
South London PECKHAM Blackbird Bakery Queens Rd OK Fine - coffee could be nicer, other stuff is good. ££ Very nice 4 Can definitely do a few hours without feeling uncomfortable. No aircon, so pretty warm on a hot day. Nice to have outside tables for a little al fresco working.
South London PECKHAM Refreshment Rooms Good Delicious ££ Seem nice enough 4 Good for an hour, maybe 90 mins if you want to be out of the house, or aea heading in on the train later.
South London PECKHAM Rosie's OK Spenny but lovely, good coffee ££ Nice people 3 If wifi better would be FIVE
Central London PICCADILLY Café Monico Very nice Full menus ££ Excellent 4.5 Definitely a great place for meetings and/or to work. Looks like it's way to fancy to let you work there, but they're great about it. Excellent service.
Central London PICCADILLY Picturehouse Central Decent Hot & cold food, coffee and pastries ££ Nice 4 Please boycott - theres a current boycott called by picturehouse's workers until theyre paid living wage. (details: https://www.bectu.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/picturehouse) You'll be left alone even if you sit there all day with your laptop. Does attract tourists who can be noisy. Last time I was in music was very loud, so you may need headphones or earplugs if you need quiet.
South-West London Putney Dillons (Waterstones cafe) Excellent Plenty on wall-side booths Limited daily menu, but solid selection of homemade baked snacks
Wide range of coffees, high quality		 ££ Lovely, usually young, sometimes a bit slow but always friendly and helpful 3.5 £2.80 Very popular in general, but especially so with new parents - I'd recommend headphones
Wifi is excellent and there are plenty of sockets
There's usually space but sharing of booths is encouraged
Tip: ask for your coffee in a takeaway cup, even if you're sitting in. Not sure why exactly but their coffee does tend to go cold quicker
South-West London Richmond Pattisserie Valerie Very good wide range of food and of course cakes, tea, coffee, etc ££ really nice 5 comfy sofas, mixure of ladies who lunch, small business groups, laptoppers
South-West London Richmond Reference library very good no food apart from botttled water allowed £0 leave you alone 4 no food or drink but great space for working if you don't mind A'level students and the occasional bag lady/gentleman taking refuge. looks out over the Thames. get there early though.
South-West London Richmond Starbucks very good usual Starbucks stuff sandwiches, salads, coffee, tea ££ Good 4 loads of laptoppers
South-West London Richmond Waterstones Cafe Very good nice sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee, cold drinks ££ Good 4 laptops plus carers and babies
North London SEVEN DIALS TimberYard Pretty Good Lots of tea and coffees, which they bring to your seat even when the place is packed. Sandwiches during lunch, plus a wide variety of pastries and muffins. Also Granola £££ (4.70 for a tea and a juice) Good Atmosphere, unless a group comes in. 4 Wingback chairs to work on downstairs, a few power sockets but not one for every seat. Some tables as well, can book the room downstairs. If the main TY location is out of order, they only let club members downstairs
West London Shepherd's Bush Laveli's Bakery Good Brunch and pastries galore. ££ As above! 4 Lots of big tables, so good for groups. Only one power socket
West London Shepherd's Bush Detour Cafe Pretty Good Good coffee, lots of power sockets. Sausage rolls from Ginger Pig ££ Good Atmosphere, unless a group comes in.
West London Shepherd's Bush 🐏🐏🐏 Bush Hall Dining Rooms t Good All-day breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas from 5pm. Iced coffees, iced teas, milkshakes and smoothies. Not many gluten free or vegan options, but staff accommodate. ££ Mixed bunch, but young and keen. Most are also in the arts! 4 Avoid on weekends - busy brunch is loud and it's likely you'll need to book a table to get one. It's also next to a music school for children, so when classes come out around 4pm, it gets noisy. Lots of plug sockets in the lower section, air conditioned, good music. Open until 10pm most days, and fairly quiet in the evenings.
East London Shoreditch Barber & Parlour Great Good classic hipster cafe food – avocado toasts, brunch-y food, salads, as well as more dinner-like offerings I think. Good coffee, as well as beer and wine. ££ Sometimes inattentive and slow, but generally nice and friendly. Good food, very comfortable seating. Only plugs in some places – can sometimes be hard to come by, but the ones hidden behind the corner couches are good game. One of the higher quality wifi situations I've come across, and they don't mind you hanging around for hours.
East London Shoreditch Google Campus Excellent Salads, pastries, great coffee £ to ££ Very nice 5 You'll need to be a member to get involved. [Membership is free.] Cons, foosball table. Pros, super professional environment, so you'll get a ton of stuff done.
Other Cons: Quickly gets rammed, so it's hard to find seats unless you get their early in the day.
Stays open until 8pm, but food and coffee only available until 5pm.
East London Shoreditch Pitfield Cafe https://pitfieldlondon.com/pages/cafe Good AMAZING mix and match fresh salads from the salad bar, pretty good sandwiches and flat breads and then hot food to order which I've never tried £ Fairly eccentric and can be slow at busy times 4 Unsure about plugs, but atmosphere is great - very chill with the occasional 90s banger on the music front. It doubles as a hipster art/furnishings shop so looks great. There's loads of space (there's another seating area at the back, away from the counter) and is quiet outside of lunchtimes. Cheapest 'nice' cafe I've been to in Shoreditch and they're cool about you sitting there with one coffee all day.
East London Shoreditch Ace Hotel Great Awesome. Try the Eggs Benedict. ££ - £££ Really attentive. Almost too attentive 5 Loads of little spots to sit and work and each one has a different 'aesthetic' if you get bored sitting in the same place. VERY popular with freelancers so get there early for the central table with lamps/plugs.
Central London SOHO Yumchaa Decent ££ Always perfectly pleasant and ok with you staying there for hours 4 Open until 9pm most nights, which is weirdly rare for cafes even in central. Can be heaving earlier in the day but a nice, peaceful spot for evening working – and there's a cosy downstairs too.
Central London SOHO 🍆🍆🍆 Soho Theatre bar Pretty Good SohoPublic
peachbellini		 Coffee good, wine pricey, water (flavoured) for free on the end of the bar! chips & pizza or salad available. £ to ££ Utterly super darling, suave & genuinely charming. Apt to add biscuits to the side of regulars coffee. 4 Wifi is passably fast, there are sockets and booths (but people pounce fast - however sharing is rarely seen as odd) and half the folk in there 10 to 5 are also working, or having meetings. good for hearing indiscreet media or theatre gossip, and overhearing people needing freelancers, or about good auditions
South-West London South Kensington Brompton Oratory Cafe Good Limited menu - some sandwiches/salads. Incredible donuts. Coffee is good and good range of T2 tea ££ Friendly and chill 4 Not sure about plugs. Some tables not great for typing, but the atmosphere is really nice. Is conjoined with a Christian library if that's not your thing. Don't go on Sunday. edit: last time there weren't any donuts :c hopefully they just ran out and haven't stopped selling them. Also they have an outside section now, idk if the wifi works up there tho.
South-west London South Kensington Drayton Arms consistently good O2 Wifi Plenty near the sofas Pub food/fancier stuff. ££ (but actually reasonable for the area) Totally chill. 4 Gets busier/noisier in the evening thanks to theatre upstairs. Brunch menu is awesome but ends at 2pm - highly recommend getting there before that. Coffee isn't the best ever. Generally really nice atmosphere.
South-west London South kensington Zacks Deli Extremely patchy Only by the window and long table Sandwiches and cakes ££ Generally fine 3 2.5 Bad wifi. Coffee was expensive compared to the food which was weird. Food was edible, cakes looked good.
South London Southbank National Theatre https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ Pretty good Coffee shop with the usual spread, restaurant/kitchen with sandwiches, cakes and hot meals as well, and there's also a pub attached to the building 'The Understudy' where you can still access wifi ££ Friendly 5 Lots of people working there throughout the day, but when they have matinee shows they'll ask you to free up the desks/tables for visitors during the lunch hour and also after 6pm.

When the weather is nice they've got tables outside that you can work from and still connect to the wifi.
South-west London Surbiton The Press Room http://www.pressroomcoffee.co.uk/ Good, can break occasionally but they'll fix it if you mention Sandwiches/wraps/melts, lots of pastries, incredible range of loose tea (not T2 overpriced tat either...) ££ Really friendly 4 They have changed the layout a bit to try and encourage people to not stay but they are very nice and as long as you don't sit all day sucking down one cold cup of tea they'll be fine :) I have hung out there for multiple hours on days I freelanced
Central London TOTTENHAM COURT RD Waterstone's Cafe, Basement Floor https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/waterstones-tottenham-court-road Pretty Good Lots of teas, coffe, beers and cocktails. Also yummy looking cakes (not tested) ££ Super friendly 4 Its underground so no windows unfortunately. But they do have wifi and there are others around you sitting and working. There are some times events in the eveing but it should be quiet during the day - bring headphones.
Central London TOTTENHAM COURT RD The Cafe at Foyles Pretty good Everything's kinda fine, no standouts £££ Everyone's cool here 3 It's always busy, like always. Currently there aren't using the gallery space, so it's a lot bigger than usual. Wifi is good but your VPN won't work if you need to access it.
Central London TRAFALGAR 🔲 The National Portrait Gallery http://www.npg.org.uk/visit/shop-eat-drink/cafe.php Pretty good Consistently good cakes, they do £2 cafetieres ££ (by central London standards) Everyone's cool here 5 They close at 5 SHARP, which can sneak up on you
Central London TRAFALGAR SQ The National Gallery Good It's a benugo I think ££ Pleasant 4 In the basement espresso cafe, there are plugs and wifi. Almost like having your own desk. Can stay as long as you like (though might have to wait to get a spot while tourists charge their phones). Bring headphones.
Central London TURNPIKE LANE Blend Consistently fine. Great coffee and good food: hipster sandwiches, breakfast foods & a nice selection of freshly baked cakes! ££ Staff & owners are always friendly & helpful 5 Plenty of plugs sockets. Tap water on a side table so you don't have to queue to ask for some. Gets fairly busy at mealtimes & there are usually families with kids in there.
South London WEST NORWOOD Volcano excellent Good coffee (they roast in house) food ok but mostly limited to sandwiches etc. ££ Nice people 5 Sat in here for hours and it's fine. Big airy space, not the best food choices but great coffee.
East London whitechapel ideaStore whitechapel very good. although VPN is blocked, a few popular websites blocked such as reddit ideastore2015 plenty on site cafe. plenty of shops nearby pretty quiet atmosphere. there are always seats available.
East London Whitechapel/
Aldgate		 Grounded Alright Tosh, got a Toshiba? Lovely - niche quiche, good breakfast range, huge toasted sarnies £ to ££ Nice, although there's one lady who can get quite grouchy if you're a lone person on a bigger table... 4 dfghjukl Plugs under all the tables by the door, on the left hand side as you walk in. Tends to have very sweet, chatty German tourists (must be on a guide somewhere!)
East London o jai