Roasting Plant Coffee — Restaurant in London

During my recent visit, I encountered a staff member—a woman wearing a scarf and with blue eyes—who I found to be quite unhelpful. I was with my 8-month-old daughter in a pram, and I was asked to move from one area to another, through a fairly small space, just to serve myself a sandwich. Considering the high prices of the sandwiches and coffee, I expected a bit more support or flexibility.

What made the situation more uncomfortable for me was her behavior. She was laughing, and while I understand that people express themselves differently, I didn’t feel at ease—particularly with my young daughter present.

I want to express something that has been on my mind. I sometimes feel that raising any concerns involving women who wear the scarf can be misinterpreted as being against religious freedom. That is not my intention. My discomfort was about the behavior and the broader societal context.

I often reflect on how society is changing. In the 1960s, women in countries like Algeria, Iran, and Afghanistan had the freedom not to wear the headscarf—and many chose not to.

Recently, I attended a women’s circle, and the facilitator reminded us that such gatherings are actually illegal in some parts of the world. In places like Afghanistan, for example, women's freedom to meet and express themselves is severely restricted. That reminder stayed with me.

My concern is that, in our efforts to be tolerant and politically correct, we may sometimes avoid important conversations.

I fear that when my daughter turns 18 in England, she will be forced to wear a headscarf, as is the case in Algeria, Iran, and Afghanistan. There could also be a civil war, like the one between Protestants and Christians that still rages today on the border of Northern Ireland.

This is not the kind of future my grandmothers—or many women of earlier generations—fought for. They stood for freedom, peace and choice. I sincerely hope this message is not misinterpreted. I simply want to raise a question—perhaps a quiet warning—that we should remain aware of what is happening around us and continue to ask ourselves: Are we truly protecting freedom for all women by protecting certain rights in the name...

I came alone on a Saturday afternoon and ordered a filter coffee to have in.

I came once before a few years ago, and clearly I had a good experience because I saved it on my map under 'proper coffee'; but after this experience, I have removed it.

--- Food / Drink --- I spent a few minutes browsing their wall of 'just-roasted' beans, and decided to go with a Sumatra bean in a filter coffee. When I was served the coffee, I was served it nearly as quickly as if I'd ordered an espresso, which tells me I was being served batch brew and not a pour-over (not a problem, just an observation). The server was rapidly stirring it with a spoon before handing it to me; this is not something you do to filter coffee, so it made me think the batch had gone cold and instead of asking me to wait while preparing a new one, they simply gave it a 'boost' of hot water. So my bean choice did not matter in the end: the coffee was terrible. It was 'burned' so badly it tasted like Starbucks, and though I tried to stay until I finished it, I left with my mug still a quarter full.

--- Service --- Mixed feelings here. Many of the crew were cheerful even when not serving customers, which is a good sign of a happy crew: when they only have smiles for the customers and not each other, that's a red flag for a bad workplace. But the crew here seemed healthy. That said, even though there were four of them, they were clearly underwater: it was simply too busy for them to focus on every customer and each other. They were obviously working at an uncomfortable pace and scale, and it was upsetting to experience.

--- Atmosphere --- The atmosphere was not what I expect from a 'specialty coffee' shop: it was positively bustling, and that's not a good thing for this sort of place. The shop's location has a lot to do with it: it is not well-positioned for specialty coffee, it is well-positioned for Starbucks. The amount of foot-traffic this place gets is insane, and if you're trying to enjoy coffee, you don't want to be trying to do so amidst a swarm...

TL;DR Best place you’ll ever find, whichever for stay in, take away or deliver. Great choice of coffee and excellent service.

I went there randomly one day looking for some coffee for my espresso machine. Arriving there, I was pleasantly surprised by the greenish and fancy design. When looking at the wide variety of coffees, it was hard to make a decision for a first try. I saw a group of employees doing a coffee tasting with who I suppose was a new employee there. When they finished, I asked if I also could try some, which was happily agreed on. Thanks to this, I could make a much better informed decision and decided to get some. At the time, I got some Brazilian roast and Decaf as well. That was the very first time I enjoyed a decaf espresso. Later on, as I was having a lot of coffee at home, I decided to go for the subscription to make my life easier. As there was a lot of choice on the website, I asked some help to get some insights on what would be the best for my tastes. This is when the fantastic Kallie appeared. She helped a lot and suggested the Kenyan roast which was absolutely perfect for my needs and tastes. Thanks again for that! Later on, when they stopped the Kenyan roast, beforehand, I received another email from Kallie who suggested to move to the Ethiopian which was the perfect new choice and along, she included some samples of others to help confirming that the advice was definitely the best. Kallie really makes this place a jewel so please, have a try and enjoy the roast that...