London Blend: Tomtom Coffee House

Dean Nicholas
By Dean Nicholas Last edited 175 months ago
London Blend: Tomtom Coffee House

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Our continuing, caffeine-fuelled quest to show you some of our favourite coffee shops in London.

One of London's finest cigar emporia, Tomtom of Belgravia, also operates a nearby coffee house, thereby allowing the discerning client to indulge a second vice at leisure. Occupying a privileged position on the corner of Ebury Street and Elizabeth Street, Tomtom Coffee House specialises in selling coffee-making paraphernalia and ethically-sourced beans imported from around the world, while also offering a pleasant environment to sit in and sup from their ample selection. The cafe offers a globe-spanning range of blends, including coffee from Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia, and, on our visit, the generously flavoured Monsoon Malabar AA from India.

Though Britain's draconian laws no longer permit smoking indoors, there are tables outside for those who wish to enjoy a Cohiba with their cup of joe, and indoors a neat reminder of the cafe's cigar connections is found in the use of emptied cigar boxes to store the bags used to measure out coffee beans. The agreeable ambience is further heightened by the large bay windows, which allow plenty of light to flood the interior. For the peckish, a selection of pastries and sandwiches is on offer, while Tomtom also sell teas from William Cartwright-Hignett.

Though a trip to Belgravia for a java stop may not be for everyone, Tom Tom's location does have one major advantage: it's barely a two minute walk from Victoria Coach Station, making it the perfect pre-trip stop off and a canny way of avoiding the putrid dark liquid they sell as 'coffee' in the terminal.

See previous entries in the London Blend series.

Tom Tom Coffee House, 114 Ebury Street, SW1W 9QD (map). Open 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm Sat, 9am-5pm Sun

Last Updated 03 August 2009