Redemption Roasters - Hampstead Heath — Restaurant in London

Visited on Thursday with a friend. Having passed Redemption many times I thought we should give you a chance. Prices were a bit higher than average but I’m not bothered about the price as long as it’s worth it. Considering the price (£7.70 I think) and that Redemption is a roastery, we sat in the window hoping for a decent coffee to arrive.

Our order was called out. It seemed our coffees were ready, but I was a bit confused as to why they weren’t brought over to us. We hadn’t ordered takeaways. My friend was about to get up but I stopped him and asked for them to be brought over and was told “we don’t bring them out”. The girl at the counter wasn’t willing to bring our coffees out to us. A quiet afternoon at about 4PM, with no other customers waiting at the counter.

This negative experience was followed by another- the coffee itself. It was well below the standard we hoped for, the milk wasn’t done properly and the coffee itself didn’t taste anything special. My friend is a barista and gave it 4/10. We sat in the window drinking our miserable coffees. The coffees weren’t much to look at- surely the girl at the counter, seeing coffees day in and day out, would recognise that they weren’t great and could compensate by at least bringing them over. I work at a popular restaurant. If something isn’t as good as it could be, you compensate for it in your service afterwards. You try not to follow a negative point with another. We also care about our customers. There might be certain ways of doing things but you must be flexible. I myself try to do as much as I can at work, not as little as possible. I earn my wage. I don’t take my job for granted- I recognise that without customers, I don’t have a job! So, you don’t usually take coffees out to tables, but if you can you should! There is no reason not to. People who are having them in should not have to wait at the counter for their coffees. I don’t think I’ve actually seen that before. And why would you want customers clogging up the space at the counter while they wait? Do you think your coffee is so damn good that this is...

In the Redemption Roasters tradition, the Hampstead Heath location serves tasty but expensive coffee. The standard serving size is small - less than 50ml - for £3.60 (£4.10 if you ask for oat, almond or soy milk). Their filtered coffee is hands down the best in the area. Food wise, their sandwiches are the only food menu item that offers value and a tasty option. One area of improvement is making the decaf option free of charge as opposed to a supplemental charge, given some customers might not be able to have caffeine.

The interior of the store is large and although it enjoys of high ceilings it feels crowded. There are no power outlets anywhere in the store which can be a challenge for laptop users or anybody looking to charge their phone. If you are not a fan of dogs the weekends might not be a good time to visit as early afternoon gets packed with dogs and their owners. There is outside seating on three picnic tables on dry, sunny days.

The high price of the coffee does support a larger purpose. The firm sells coffee roasted in Aylesbury Prison in four coffee shops across central London. The firm teaches young offenders coffee skills with the aim of helping them find employment on release. The service is friendly and warm. A really good coffee if you do not mind the high price relative to the small...

The loft/industrial design of the place has removed any sense of cosiness. I visited on Saturday afternoon and I clearly noticed it was understaffed. Long queue to order and even longer time waiting for the coffee. I am not blaming the staff, they two of them were trying to do their best. A third one came later to reduce the ordering backlog. Available tables are usually not clean and with the rest of the previous clients, so get ready to take the role of a waiter for a second to empty and clean the table. Decoration is kind of basic, but it is fine to have a quick warm drink and go. The selection of beverages is okay: coffees, teas, hot chocolate and alternative fizzy drinks. Sandwiches and desserts are also available. I tried a piece of brownie and it was a nice bite. Prices are aligned with the area, hence a light bit overpriced, but this is common in Hampstead. The most annoying thing happened right before 5pm. The staff opened the door and they started cleaning and settling up the place for the next day as they close at 5:30pm. Bearing in mind the temperature outside was 4 degrees, you are invited to leave or wear the coat inside. Not sure sure if this is the best tactic to make sure the place is empty at...