Ideally located in Monmouth Street, the Monmouth Coffee Co is the perfect place for a good cup of coffee in Covent Garden.

The Venue
The small coffee house has a very cosy traditional feel to it. Don’t expect the large sumptuous sofas and armchairs that Starbucks can offer you. Instead you’ll share a tiny table that looks like its been carved into the wall in the back room. A lot of people buy their coffee to take away and that ultimately comes down to the limited space.

Inside the front door it can easily feel cramped, especially when there are more than two customers inside. There’s an old table that acts as a counter which presents a mouth-watering collection of cookies, chocolates and pastries. Behind the counter are around ten coffee bags filled with a selection of fine coffee beans sending a rich aroma reminiscent of any coffee shop down the street. The decor is made up of old varnished creaky wood. As you walk over the floorboards that flex beneath your feet and look around you’ll notice the wooden panels continue half way up the walls and turn into shelves behind the counter.

As you walk further in a small narrow staircase takes you up to the seating area which looks like it’s been carved out of a block of wood. The floors, benches, tables, walls and even the work station housing the cups and saucers and coffee maker are made up of the same dark treated wood panels There are only three wooden booths that look like rickety old wooden holes in the wall and a fourth bench large enough for a slightly smaller than average sized man with a little wooden table that juts out like those on a plane. It’s quite bizarre and uncomfortable as well as you’re forced into an upright position. Movement is very restricted but its part of the charm.

The Atmosphere
With such a small space to work in the counter at the top of the stairs has been inverted so that the staff make the coffees on the same side of the counter that you, the customer, are sitting. This actually makes the whole experience far more personal as there is always a member of staff no more than a few feet away. When you take your seat you’ll be given a glass that you can fill as many times as you like with the jug of water that sits at every table. It’s little things like that that make you feel welcomed. An interesting twist on paying for the bill, you walk down the steps to the till where you tell them what you’ve had and then pay for it. No one has anything written down and there are no table numbers, it’s all based on trust.

The Food
There are pastries and cakes to have with your coffee that are brought in from various local outlets, but by and large this place is for serious coffee drinkers and not necessarily pastry lovers.

The Drink
This is a traditional coffee house so you can expect a good coffee that has had both time and effort put into its flavour and appearance. All the coffee comes from Central and South America so don’t worry yourself over whether or not it’s the real thing.

The cappuccino comes with an incredibly smooth creamy white top outlined by the coffee as it seeps around the perimeter. A thick line of cocoa is stylishly sprinkled across the cup making it look like it should be on the front cover of a coffee magazine. The coffee is rich and full of flavour, which is nicely softened by the well-sized frothy top. A cappuccino costs £2 which isn’t too bad for the area considering this is a traditional coffee house.

The Last Word
If you’re in the area and want to avoid the commercial aspect of a good coffee then Monmouth Street is exactly what you’re looking for. Unfortunately the lack of seating lets it down.

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