Kahaila Cafe

This place rules. Everything tastes like magic and it’s all for charity, which will make you feel good about all that cake you just devoured.

Kahaila is a wonderful café tucked away in the heart of Brick Lane. Great coffee, delicious cakes, warm and welcoming atmosphere. The staff here really care about everyone who walks in and gives back to the community often.
In fact, this place is a not-​for-​profit and registered charity as all the proceeds go towards it’s community development efforts. It is also a church, which holds meetings on Wednesdays at 7:30 led by the owner, Paul.
Shoreditch High Street Overground is the closest station and only a short walk, but Liverpool Street Station is probably the most convenient if you are coming from Central London if you don’t mind walking about 15 minutes.

Lovely coffee and lovely cakes! Smoothies were a bit sweet but I guess it really depends on your personal taste.
Particularly love it how it becomes a church on Wednesday night 7:30pm.
Lovely joint with style!

It’s nice, very hype place!
Quite expensive tough, 2 almond croissant 1 muffing banana, 2 cappuccinos and 1 hot chocolate, 15£.

Wonderful hip café with social purpose to help women build future for them.
Good coffee and good feeling about paying for it!

I love that this place is a charity and it feels great to go there! Bread is quite hard to eat but the cakes are so wonderful. How nice that it goes to good causes. Love it x

Great lattes and unpretentious atmosphere. A bit on the pricey side, though for the small portions!

Living in Shoreditch means that I have access to an abundance of coffee shops, which also means that on hungover Saturday/​Sunday mornings I can try a different one out!
Having walked (staggered) past Kahaila Café the previous evening, I earmarked it for my Sunday morning Americano.
As others have mentioned, Kahaila is a NfP café which makes me feel a little better about the £11.50 I paid for two coffees, a croissant and a sandwich but I did still find it a *little* steep :-$
The staff are lovely though and my black coffee was particularly packed with aromatic flavours (i got, spice, cinnamon and smoke).
The cakes looked really good but I miraculously resisted temptation. Maybe next time.

Really love the vibe of this place! Turns out it’s actually a not-​for-​profit café which gives back to the local community — which explains the monthly activity schedule chalked up on a board on the wall that I found myself gazing at whilst waiting for my coffee.
We were strolling through the market chaos on Brick Lane (enjoying some unseasonably gorgeous late autumn sunshine!) when I was distracted by the cakes in the window of this place. We joined the queue and after a bit of banter with the lovely guy who asked if I wanted food, I succumbed to ordering a slice of the red velvet cake. He boxed it up with care and put in two forks for us (not that I was planning on sharing ha!).
I also ordered a latte to take away and the girl on the till was similarly smiley. We then got a little stuck in the flow of people leaving and coming in to sit in the café area at the back so my mate waited outside whilst I people-​watched a little longer. There seemed to be a really nice homely feel to the seating area so I’d like to come back and eat in.
I was a little disappointed that my coffee was quite small for the price, which makes it more of Sunday treat place than a daily caffeine fix. But it was nice to know my money was going to a good cause plus most importantly both the items I ordered were delicious!

Went there with a friend after being seduced by the sight of the enourmous and colorful cakes by the window. Ordered a raspberry one and it was indeed lovely; the sponge just right and the buttercream a leeeeeettle on the «too sweet» side but not too bad to compromise the flavour (and I like my desserts to be sweet anyway). My companion had the red velvet cupcake and declared it to be one of the best she’s had in London so far (I know, big claim!).
There’s good wi-​fi, the place has a big seating area at the back (lots of communal tables, not really my thing but it didn’t matter) and was packed, but not on a noisy, distracting way. Everyone was just enjoying themselves, chatting away or using their laptops, and the average atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing. Plenty hipsters if you’re interested in people watching. :) The staff is friendly and chatty without being intrusive; it’s nice every now and again to be asked with a smile how is your day going while you’re being served at the till.
The café is actually a registered charity, so you know your money is going back to benefit the local community. It certainly makes the food taste better. :) Prices are reasonable for the area and they take cards.
The only downside to me was the coffee. I ordered an americano and while I’m not one for leaving food behind this time I gave up on my cup after 3 sips as it was unbearably bitter. No amount of milk could save it. Maybe next time I’ll order tea, as it’s much more difficult to fvck up with a cuppa. Unlike many people like to think, London is usually not a great place for coffee (unlike France and Italy); but people here tend to equate cremated coffee beans with *strong* coffee (nothing further from the truth), so maybe you will like it. I didn’t.
Would definitely go back for more cakes and to try the smoothies, though. :)

Un endroit vraiment très chouette en plein cœur de Brick Lane qui propose boissons chaudes, gâteaux, pâtisseries et quelques sandwichs, donc parfait pour le petit-​déjeuner, un déjeuner sur le pouce ou encore à l’heure du goûter.
A noter qu’ils ont des propositions vegan (notamment la vegan granola bar) !
Tout est très bon, le service très agréable, le lieu hyper joli et lumineux et le personnel très gentil.

Excellent coffee, good pasteries (some vegan!), free wifi, friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere. A+

Friendly service, and had my first cold brew in here. Staff walked me through the options well and told me what it was exactly. Would defo go back and try one of their mochas.

After reading great reviews for this place I had to come try it out on my next trip to Shoreditch! I had a lot of work to get done that day so I brought along my laptop. The place was extremely crowded and we were able to find a seat at a smaller time and eventually move over to a large corner table. They have a large variety in table types which I really like: booths, standard 4 person, and a communal table. The selection of desserts is to die for and the coffee I found was very reasonably priced. Will definitely make it back if I am in the area.

This café is tucked a few shops down from the Ghanian chocolate shop and 24-​hour salt beef bagel joint, so we were already stuffed when we visited. Couldn’t resist the red velvet cake though, and it wasn’t disappointing. Moist, creamy and generously sliced, the cake was a perfect dessert. The quality of foods and bevs is high here: lots of gluten free treats, yummy teas, and even a froyo machine! Staff is friendly, music is soft and laidback.
In the back they have lots of tables and benches. The best place to work is the large communal table under the skylight. Free wifi is fast and outlets abound. A great quieter café option on Brick Lane.

We happened to wander into this café on a Saturday afternoon around 5:30 pm or so. There’s actually quite a large seating space in the back, but it was totally packed. All rusty wood tables and chairs. Has a very earthy vibe, somewhat dimly lit, and very bustling.
A couple of things I like about this place:
1. It’s mission. First, it’s a charity and any profit from the place goes into supporting local community projects and various charitable causes. Nice.
2. Their baked goods are pretty cool! I haven’t tried it, so I can’t yet comment on taste, but I love the concepts — at least of their cakes. I remember they had an oreo cake (chocolate inside with real oreo cookie frosting inside and on top, topped with additional oreos), a malteaser cake (same concept as oreo cake, but malteasers instead), millionaire shortbread (biscuit base, then a caramel layer, then a chocolate layer), not to mention tons of other brownies, tray bakes, cakes, etc… The oreo cake seemed to be super popular — I saw tons of people ordering it.
What I didn’t love about this place, oddly enough, was their coffee. The cappuccino I ordered was wayyy too milky and had zero froth/​foam. That was sad and I do wish it had been better. Not really sure what to do about that — perhaps I’ll just request it next time because I do want to go back again, but I also don’t want to drink nothing if I go back.
It’s also nice that they have lots of water bottles you can grab and take back to your table, so you’re not constantly having to ask around for tap water.
Also, it’s nice that you order at the counter and they bring the drinks to your table, but their system is somewhat inefficient. It’s crowded and loud and they kind of just aimlessly walk around calling your name, hoping you’ll hear it. A lot of times they walk around quite a bit before finding the right group.
Overall, would definitely recommend giving this place a try. Nice vibe.

Lovely little café. Staff are always friendly. Lots of nice cakes to choose from. The pick of the bunch for me would be the chocolate guinness, but you can’t really go wrong with any of them.
Coffee is also really good, regardless which one you go for. My favourite is the filter coffee, as it’s strong without being too butter.
The price is really reasonable, and portion sizes are very generous.
It’s a must visit if you’re in the area and heck come to think of it, even if you’re not, make a special trip anyway and you won’t be disappointed.

There’s no shortage of cafes along Brick Lane and the side streets leading off it but I find myself returning to Kahaila more often than not. The service is always friendly and the sandwiches and cakes delicious at reasonable prices.
It’s comfortable and spacious, and ethical — all profits are used for community projects. What’s not to love?!

Stumbled across this place as we were looking for a pit stop before continuing down Brick Lane.
Kahalia has an enticing selection of cakes in the front window, and a huge selection of teas, which drew me in instantly.
There are loads of seats, and the whole café has a great chilled vibe. I love that the chairs a mismatched, and the tables are all made of old wood.
It wasn’t until I sat down and looked around that I realised how great this place actually is. Kahalia is a charity and supports local projects, all the food is locally and ethically sourced.
They also have free wifi. Which is a big win.

There are many places down Brick Lane where you can get a decent cup of coffee, heck! There’s loads of places in London you can! The difference between the others and Kahaila Café is that this is a coffee shop that is out to support the community.
As a registered charity, Kahaila help women who were in sex trafficking out and help by teaching them new skills. They also have a new scheme to teach homeless people to bake and sell what they make.
You may think that all the charity aspects would mean that the attention on the coffee and food would take a hit. Nonsense! The coffee is top quality and the cakes you see displayed in the window, well I defy anyone to be able to walk past and not stop to drool over the tasty treats.
The fact that you can support and help your community and a charity whilst drinking great coffee and eating delicious cake, makes this an easy choice for me.
The place is a simply designed bright space, with revolving art work on the wall and there are always killer tunes playing in the background.
I am happy to call myself a patron of Kahaila & hope it carries on the great work they are dong for years to come.

I come here whenever I am in the need for cake, coffee, and a place to relax or study. I admire their cause; they are a registered charity and profits go towards community projects. I love that my cravings for dessert can actually help the community. This place is a ray of sunshine, I always have a great day when I stop by. The staff are so friendly and make me feel welcomed.
The main thing that keeps me coming back though are the cakes. My favourite is the passion fruit mango cake. Absolutely delicious, sweet, and perfect in the frosting to cake ratio! I ordered a flat white to go with it which was smooth and creamy, paired well with the cake. I have also tried their Raspberry, Rose, & Pistachio cake — it was one of the prettiest desserts I’ve ever seen and one of the tastiest too.

Avec la neige dehors, on a voulu se réchauffer avec un bon thé et une bonne part de gâteau… Et là on tombe sur le Kahaila sur Brick Lane! La vitrine donne envie d’entrer avec ces gâteaux et ces cakes!
On entre et là, découverte: l’espace est super grand! Il y a une bonne vingtaine de tables et tout est en matériel de récup: banc d’école en bois, chaise en fer, table en tronc d’arbre… Bref, un vrai café hippie à la cool! On commande 2 thés et des pâtisseries: muffin banane (on avait demandé myrtilles mais elle s’est trompée!), une part de carrot cake et une part de red velvet cake! Les gâteaux sont très bons. La crème n’est pas ecoeurante et le gout est bien prononcé. La part est à 2,9£… Raissonnable!
Les thés arrivent une fois que l’on soit assises et comme au starbucks, on appelle notre nom! Sympa! :) Le thé n’est pas transcendant… Le mien est à peine infusé. Mais les autres boissons chaudes ont l’air très bonnes. Le cappucino de nos voisines de table avait l’air très bon!
On peut également manger salé avec des petits sandwichs maison et très frais: roquette/​tomate/​jambon ou brie/​salade. C’est 4£ la sandwich.
On pourrait y rester des heures tellement on est bien…
Je vous le conseille si vous êtes dans le quartier indien de Brick Lane. N’hésitez pas à faire toutes les boutiques vintage de la rue… C’est super comme ambiance!