Coffee is sexy. Really? According to the Shoreditch Grind it is.

The Venue
First things first. The Shoreditch Grind isn’t actually in the heart of Shoreditch. It’s on the Old Street roundabout. Yes, that huge, ugly nightmare. Just make sure you take exit 8 or you’ll spend half an hour or so working out how to cross the nightmare of a road to reach it.

When you do manage to reach it, you’ll find quite possibly the sexiest little coffee shop in London. It’s in-your-face with an old school cinema style sign declaring its name, and quirky little statements like ‘sex, coffee and rock ‘n’ roll’, or ‘more coffee, more sex’. Otherwise, it’s a pretty simple layout with walls of glass (unfortunately the view is of the Old Street roundabout) complete with bar-style seating and high stools nestled against them for prime people-watching. Otherwise, you’ll need to make do with the communal table and old wooden chairs.

The décor itself is stripped back and very East London with painted white bricks and funky low-hanging lamps. And the serving counter is literally covered in cakes and sandwiches, which gets the mouth watering. Rumour has it they’re looking to open a roof terrace in the coming months and possibly even a recording studio complete with alcohol licence – but only time will tell if these are concrete plans or not.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere at Shoreditch Grind is effortlessly East London. It may be the funky setting or the happy feeling you get supporting an independent over the likes of Starbucks, but there’s an upbeat buzz about this place. It’s the ideal Old Street stop-off – cool, trendy and not try-hard. And the staff have clearly been well trained and seem keen for you to return – and possibly bring some mates with you. This is a venue that has realised the power of word-of-mouth.

The Food
This is a simple cafe so you can expect simple cafe grub, albeit particularly tasty cafe grub. There’s no real menu – the cakes and sandwiches sit on the counter with little signs stuck in them telling you what they are and how much they cost. And this is one cafe where you won’t be shelling out more than a fiver for a sandwich and a coffee. A tomato, mozzarella and pesto ciabatta is an example of what they could have on offer, and it's a well-filled sandwich with fresh ingredients and a particularly creamy mozzarella and tangy pesto sauce giving it a lot of flavour. But it’s the cakes that steal the show. A slice costs up to £2 for a fat slab of cake and includes some unusual options like pomegranate or yoghurt cake.

The Drink
Make no mistake, the coffee at Shoreditch Grind is excellent. Excellent and cheap. Now there’s a winning combination. They also don’t overcomplicate it too much with venti skinny wet mocha latte syrup whipped cream concoctions – although you can opt for soy milk. Their flat white, for example, is delicious and well priced at just £2 for a large cup. The milk is creamy and works well with the strong roast to produce an easy-to-drink coffee that will convince you to make another trip next time you’re in the area. And the latte at the same price is equally good, with a fine balance of milky creaminess and dark coffee bitterness.

The Last Word
If you’ve become a little jaded by all of London’s chain coffee shops then the Shoreditch Grind is worth checking out. Who knew coffee could, indeed, be sexy?

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