Tap Coffee No.114

I love this place. The coffee here is exceptional! Tap 114 has great wifi, plenty of delicious pastries, friendly staff and just the right ambience for working or reading. Will I come back again? OF COURSE!

Flippin’ LURVE Tap. Their coffee is just what I need at, well… any time of day, pretty much.
There are three Tap locations, all within reasonable walking distance of one another. All Tap locations serve exceptional (exceptional! I don’t use that word everyday!) coffee. Summertime? May I recommend the iced latte and/​or the cold brew? The iced latte is *perfect* with just the right amount of chill to it. My slight peeve is that the default seems to be to add sugar, which I don’t always want (even if it is tasty). Forgivable, but just note: If you’re NO SUGAR, TIGHT RULE… remember to verbally opt out. Thankfully the cold brew craze has picked up in London and Tap has one of the best versions of it around… low acidity, full taste. Other drinks available (old style bottles of coke and cups of juice stored in ice in a porcelain sink), and hot coffee options also highly recommended: macchiato and flat whites especially.
Otherwise, the space itself is a dream: small, but perfectly volumed (correct adjective?) music, nice little wooden tables and easy no-​fuss strong-​connection WIFI. What more could a gal want for? Nothing.
Steady stream of people for takeaway. It’s small, so at peak times maybe not the best to sit for hour upon hour cranking out, say, a dissertation. But otherwise a super spot to hang your hat for a mo’.
NB: have never tried their food, but am a sucker for quiche so one day — one day! — I’ll opt in to one of their lunch specials. They also have a delicious mix of baked goods — pistachio chocolate florentines and peanut butter blondies caught my eye last time I was in.
Come on over, get java-​ed, and even stay a while!
Unilocal note: extra points for the opening hours at this location. Sometimes I find London places open a tickity too late and close a wee bit too early by my NorthAmericanCaffeineFiend standards. This location, though? 7:30 open, 7:00 close. Not too shabby, Tap #114.

Occupying the former site of Travellers Knock-​Off Luggage, a neat little place that sold off last year’s Samsonite and Delsey at discount rates, the modestly named 114 has swept the space off its polypropylene-​clad feet to an almost unimaginable level of style and grace. Huge windows, simple wooden furniture, fresh food cooled on ice (fridges would, no doubt, spoil the look), and such little post-​modern touches as treacle tins on every table and vintage spoons to serve the sugar within.
Coffee is good. No frills, no thrills none of your hazelnut vanilla skinny chail latte (I don’t think I’d have the front to ask for one). Just 8oz of very good coffee, served in a Duralex glass as it was in the 50s (this little gem courtesy of my mother). In a word, Anti-​Starbucks. Food looked pretty good, although sadly for me, no vegan dessert, cake or biscuit to satisfy my craving for one. (Is this really, really asking much, in 21^st Century central London a crumb of dairy-​free deliciousness to accompany a cup of coffee? Maybe.) Otherwise, cakes sandwiches and salads (at a decent£4.50) looked very inviting. So that was the fifth star, gone. Otherwise, lovely. Go with a date, or hang out and flirt. It’s not in the classiest part of town, but maybe the neighbours will take note and raise their game accordingly.