Curators Coffee Studio — Restaurant in London

This is hands down the best coffee in London. And given that I'm Italian, and know some truly great Italian coffee shops in London, this should mean something! There is something about the flavour: it's less bitter and somehow smoother than other high level competitors, that's very special. I asked them about this and their standard coffee bean is a kind of Colombian blend that I can't recall... but if they run out or they swap it out I can pick up on it instantly: it's still delicious, but the point is that their coffees have very distinctive tastes. The shop itself is tiny, with only maybe 4 barstools inside and a few seats outside, but the coffee is truly well worth it- and many people just take it to go anyway. The shop is run by a team that seems to be mostly Australians, all of whom are kind and friendly. They offer a limited but delicious selection of snacks, both sweet (biscuit and cake sorts of things) as well as savoury (sandwiches at lunch time), throughout the day... and I am always curious to pop in to see what their Fact of the Day is, because it's always really...

I am a bit surprised by the reviews, as I had a rather unpleasant time at Curators.

I ordered an americano. Before paying, the barista asked if I wanted anything else (i.e. a snack), and I inquired if anything was gluten free. In response, they scoffed and went "Do you see this see this? We don't have the space for something like that." I was a bit taken back, to be honest. A simple 'no' would have been fine. I don't expect every place to have gluten free options, but I do expect to be treated with respect. Perhaps that particular barista was not having a good day, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting.

The coffee was good, but not great. I would say it's typical standard of what you'd expect at a London coffee shop.

Besides the patio, there aren't many seating options. It's more of a takeout, rather than dine-in, spot.

There are other coffee shops in the area with friendlier service that I would frequent...

I'd passed Curators a few times on my way to Fenchurch street station but never had time to stop for coffee.

Today I did and it was at best a mixed experience. The coffee was ok, no better or worse than what I'd had elsewhere but the service was odd. There was barely a smile from the person taking my order and zero acknowledgement as I left.

I've worked in hospitality for twenty four years now and the first impression is really important, you always try to be friendly and polite to guests even if they're rude to you..though obviously there's limits to that...and saying goodbye as the guest leaves is equally important especially if the person has wished you a good day.

If it had been early morning I'd probably have written this off as tiredness and thought nothing of it but...