Artisan Coffee — Restaurant in London

I wanted to write to express my gratitude to the staff at Artisan Coffee in East Sheen. The nature of my work means that I spend a lot of time in cafes and I have never met such a kind, generous, talented and friendly group of people.

Chiara the manager runs the cafe impeccably. Her relationship with regular customers like myself and the transient customers is equal and faultless. She is fun, competent, has an exceptional ability to remain calm when the cafe is busy and her compassionate nature is something I have never witnessed before. It shines from her throughout the day. Alongside Chiara is Paola, who is equally accomplished in her role and is the most professional and proficient person I have ever witnessed in their industry. Both of them show such pride in the work they do. It is breathtaking to watch.

I recognise that there can be a high turnover of staff in their industry, but all the regular staff are as outstanding as Chiara and Paola. Gabi is possibly one of the best members of staff I have been lucky enough to know while I’ve been visiting. She has unmatched skills in her role and is one of the brightest and friendliest people I’ve had the joy of meeting. Leo is fantastic and greets every customer with such warmth and engagement that he immediately makes you feel as though you are a good friend. They are a magnificent group of people and I am lucky to have such a good place to visit. They open from 7:30am to 4:00pm and that is a long shift. Throughout the entire day, their standards are exemplary and every customer is greeted and served with the same warmth, spirit and generosity as though they are all family.

I find it impossible to say anything negative about what they do. My only constructive comment is directed more to the owners of the group. I believe that the team could be better supported during the busy times with more members of staff working the busy shifts. Saturday and Sunday mornings can be horrifically busy, but they have the same number of staff working as a quiet Tuesday morning. The standard of service never slips during these busy times (which is a marker of their talent and dedication) but the pressure they are under during this time is palpable and I wish that the owners of the group would rota in more staff at these times. I don’t like to see such talented people have to struggle during their work.

This cafe and the people who work there are a highlight of my day. They treat me like a friend and that is rare in London. Therefore, I wanted to thank them here and to say how glad I am to have...

Well I'm honestly appalled and somewhat angry at the other reviews posted here, as people are giving bad reviews yet their bad experience seems to generally be due to their own ignorance. To the people saying their flat white was too milky - news flash, a flat white is espresso and milk! Of course it's milky! If you don't want a milky coffee don't order one! IF what you are really getting at is the fact that Artisan uses a single shot in their regular flat white as opposed to two, this is indeed perfectly common practice throughout the Antipodes as well as in other leading third wave coffee shops in the UK.

Bottom line; every coffee shop is different and if you want a drink a certain way you should just ask the baristas or the person on the till how they make said drink, and ask if you can amend the recipe. A macchiato in Seattle is going to be different from a macchiato in Florence. Going around and giving bad reviews to independent coffee shops simply because they don't make their drinks in the exact way you want it doesn't help anyone.

Oh and about the 'oily substance' that someone else mentioned; that's called...

Oh dear. Sorry to buck the trend, but I've given this place two chances now and while the decor's nice enough, both times I've been to Artisan, the coffee has been awful which is pretty unacceptable given how expensive it is. Twice, a black Americano has been so sour that I've had to leave most of it. It tasted to me like filter coffee that's been sitting on a hot plate for ages.

The second time I visited, I politely asked the perfectly pleasant staff if they might turn the music down a notch as I was trying to chat with someone (all the other customers were plugged into laptops with headphones, sigh), and they just looked at me as if I'd asked for permission to sacrifice their first born. The volume did not change. The conversation remained challenging, and the coffee remained sour.

Anyway, sorry to be the two star misery but I've given Artisan two chances now and I won't be back I'm afraid, especially as Sheen there's no shortage of alternatives in...