Jessica K.
Yelp
For me, this was a surprising little shop in a surprising location. The storefront is unimpressive, but the back opens up into a good-sized health food market and cafe. The prices are what you would expect, with the produce being incredibly expensive. But the grocery area is decently priced and of decent variety, and I can see this being a huge asset if you have dietary requirements or need ***free beauty products (their 'drug store stuff' section is quite big). They also have a disproportionate amount of baby stuff, and that might strike someone's fancy as well. The freezers have never been fully stocked, which seems odd to me, and there is an odd assortment of some dry goods (a variety of goods might trump 20 kinds of rice cakes and 50 kinds of tea?). I was slightly disappointed with their faux meat selection. They had the Tofurky feast, which I can't imagine sells hotly, but only a few other faux items. Sure, that's not everyone's thing, and some of it is so bad for you it defeats the purpose, but that empty freezer space was beckoning for more.
They also have a small bakery section with a few kinds of breads, then some cookies, muffins, ect. For prepared food, there were four soups and a cafeteria-style counter with hot foods and salads that are served box-style, alongside a juice and coffee counter.
On my last visit, I was wandering the area for somewhere to do some reading and ended up staying for lunch and coffee. So...
Study spot requirements:
Plentiful seating: There are maybe 10 tables of differing sizes, spaced around the back of the store. From around 2p-6p, there was never a shortage or overcrowding on space, but there was a steady flow of business and movement.
Locally owned: There are 5 stores around London, opening starting in 1995. They seem very open about their policies and practices, and their website has a very informative "about us" section detailing their sustainability efforts and philosophies. Very cool.
Relaxed atmosphere: Totally. It was florescent lighting and wooden tables, but the general feeling was very laid back and the customer base was super varied, from a mom with two kids, "Yeayyy!!! Rice cakes!!!", to single dudes having dinner, to a couple fighting, loudly. But generally it was fairly quiet and calm, ha. The staff came through to clean up occasionally, but I didn't feel weird in the slightest sitting there for a few hours... no awkward glances, no judgmental stares.
Quality coffee: I had a soy latte, and it was alright. The coffee is FT & organic, which was cool, but pretty bitter. However! They do offer a "variety" of milks, which was pretty awesome and sort of like Christmas for those of us who don't drink milk and are used to just soya. They had plain, vanilla and sweetened soya, and rice milk, as far as my quick glance could see. I meant to ask for the full variety but forgot on my way out. And at no additional charge, of course.
Snacks: I'm sure you could buy and eat anything in the store, but they also have a hot foods counter, some nicer desserts, and a little bakery section. I had a medium box (£6ish) with vegan shepherd's pie, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes and a pumpkin and butter bean salad. They have maybe 6-8 hot items and 6-8 cold items. Everything was pretty good and didn't taste too "I've been in here all day".
Price: The boxes were £4-7 depending on size, a soup with bread was £3, the juices were £3-5 and coffees were in the £2 range
Wi-fi: They have a free wi-fi service that you have to sign up for (painless) and gives you 60 minutes.
