"The red and white striped awning and curling gold script makes Algerian Coffee Stores look like an olde sweet shop—and it is, if you replace children with adults and gobstoppers with Jamaican Blue Mountain beans. Tell the staff what flavours you like, how you brew, and they’ll recommend some speciality beans, like the unprocessed Kopi Luwak, like a sommelier pairing wine. Or just get one of the Soho spot’s excellent, £1.50 freshly brewed coffees to go." - sinead cranna, rianne shlebak