Best coffee shops on the network?

[teaspoon]

Gordon Street Coffee at Glasgow Central - alas I don't expect they'll be open again any time soon. At Queen Street, 92 Degrees is the best of the three independent stalls.

In my former East London haunts, Perky Blenders at Walthamstow Central and Leyton Midland Road. (They also have kiosks at Leytonstone and Finchley Road tube stations)

 

[D1537]

Gordon Street Coffee at Glasgow Central - alas I don't expect they'll be open again any time soon.

There is also a Gordon Street coffee in Market Street just outside the south entrance from Edinburgh Waverley, which is very good. However the one just down the road a bit (Jake's Coffee, next to the also recommended Doric Tavern) is even better.

 

[teaspoon]

Some more that have sprung to mind...

Pink Lane Coffee opposite Newcastle Central, and a couple of minutes walk away Sorcerer Coffee, under the arches on Forth Street (who also do excellent sandwiches)
Gramos Coffee in Kings Cross St Pancras northern ticket hall
Mode Coffee in the street food market outside Euston
ManCoCo at Manchester Deansgate

 

[Acathater]

If Lancaster Brewery still sell coffee from Atkinsons of Lancaster then their pubs in Lancaster and Carlisle stations may well be worth a coffee visit.
Altkinsons are a small-scale bespoke blender and roaster of coffee beans, and tea blenders operating from the same shop since 1901, though the company dates from 1837.
Even if the Brewery no longer sells their products, if you have time in Lancaster Atkinson's shop and three of their cafes are within a ten minute walk of the station
list of locations https://www.atkinsonscoffee.com/locations/
currently available products https://www.atkinsonscoffee.com/all-coffee/

The shop itself is well worth a visit - it is still fitted out with the original Waring & Gillow furniture and fitments.

 

[canary fan]

Wherever the best is, it's certainly not the Starbucks on Reading overbridge.

There's an absolute horror of a woman there that's embarrassed me several times. One time she told me very fiercely "No, you don't want just one spoon of milk foam on the macchiato, it will be too bitter!" and another time, when trying to redeem a complimentary beverage I'd been offered earlier, as a result of being overcharged, she yelled "We don't do that, you need to pay for drinks here." She's a middle aged lady with a South Asian accent and glasses, I'm not sure if anyone has encountered her before, but she makes me feel a bit intimidated.

The sugar packets are always strangely damp there too, to the point where the sugar is all clumped together, and they also don't accept the rewards app

Unfortunately I have a caffeine addiction and need a double espresso before I take three hours on CrossCountry, so what can you do?

The Pret just opposite the station is very good, with pleasant staff ( cheaper than Starbucks too).

 

[Skiddaw]

The Pret just opposite the station is very good, with pleasant staff ( cheaper than Starbucks too).

Yes, back in the day I always opted for the Pret.

 

[sh24]

The cafe at Lewes on Platform 2 (the London Victoria bound platform) deserves a mention. It is a good quality independent cafe with indoor seating and good quality drinks and food. It has been there for over thirty years. I have used it many times. There is also a newer second independent cafe at Lewes in the ticket hall (that was a Costa Coffee previously and a W H Smith before that) which i also find to be quite a nice good quality cafe.

Runway is the cafe on Platform 2. Yesterday I had an excellent Americano with extra shot and truly world class chocolate fudge slice.

 

[mono1989]

I'm currently doing a series on my Instagram Channel as a wider part of my Youtube Channel @gbrailadventure

The last place I visted which had excellent coffe was Hit Coffee located in the station building at Cross Gates Station just outside of Leeds https://www.instagram.com/hitcoffeelimited/

Brilliant coffee and rather good cakes. Well worth the visit!

 

[bleeder4]

There's a very nice coffee shop at Betws-y-Coed station. Apparently it's been under new ownership since the start of this year, so I'll have to go back at some point this year and see if it's still the same.

 

[Hbbz9392]

I'm currently doing a series on my Instagram Channel as a wider part of my Youtube Channel @gbrailadventure

The last place I visted which had excellent coffe was Hit Coffee located in the station building at Cross Gates Station just outside of Leeds http://hitcoffee.co.uk

Brilliant coffee and rather good cakes. Well worth the visit!

fyi their websites appear to be dead

 

[mono1989]

fyi their websites appear to be dead

Thanks for the info. In hindsight, I should have checked it first

I've updated the post with their Instagram page!

 

[Parallel]

Unfortunately I have a caffeine addiction and need a double espresso before I take three hours on CrossCountry, so what can you do?

A double espresso is probably favourable to the therapy needed after travelling on CrossCountry service for 3 hours!

My favourites:

The cafe at Barnstaple - friendly and good hot food options
The newish cafe at Yeovil Pen Mill - Good tea and cake but closes a bit too early.
Knot - any of them, nice pretzel styled bread based snacks, and hot drinks.
I actually quite like ‘cafe refresh’ - they have them at Chester and Manchester Airport, as well as a few other locations. Nice selection of hot food but they are a little expensive.

I am not a fan of Bay Tree Cafe at Westbury station, or the independent one on the platform at Lewes. I’ve used them both more than once and found the food and drink to be consistently poor.

 

[NeilCr]

I use Coffee Station at Margate quite a bit. Decent

Think they have others at Herne Bay and Faversham

Ramsgate (my local station) has a Pumpkin which has been rebranded to Cafe Local. Reopening tomorrow after being shut for more than a couple of weeks. Had a look as I went past on Tuesday and they’ve certainly spruced it up

Be interesting to see what (if anything) has changed with the food and drink offerings

 

[teaspoon]

It's just another SSP brand, so I wouldn't expect anything too exciting!

 

[Tetchytyke]

@teaspoon mentioned it too, but Pink Lane Coffee in Newcastle- just up the lane between Subway and Greggs- is excellent. The Caffeine Rush cart at Carlisle has been there for donkey's years and is as good as it always was.

I always used to like Laynes in Leeds on New Station Street but they seem to have moved more towards a sit-down meal sort of place these days.

It's not on the network but it's a short walk from Barbican so sod it, I'm including it: Goswell Road Coffee, owned by the same people who run F*ckoffee on Bermondsey Street in London.

 

[SuspectUsual]

@teaspoon mentioned it too, but Pink Lane Coffee in Newcastle- just up the lane between Subway and Greggs- is excellent. The Caffeine Rush cart at Carlisle has been there for donkey's years and is as good as it always was.

I always used to like Laynes in Leeds on New Station Street but they seem to have moved more towards a sit-down meal sort of place these days.

It's not on the network but it's a short walk from Barbican so sod it, I'm including it: Goswell Road Coffee, owned by the same people who run F*ckoffee on Bermondsey Street in London.

+1 for Pink Lane

Shame about Laynes if that's what's happened there - the coffee was brilliant and they were also one of the few cafes whose options for toast included marmite, which is a massive win in my book

 

[sh24]

Kinship coffee a short walk from Driffield station.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Shame about Laynes if that's what's happened there

Have to say the food has looked very good when I've gone past, but I've not wanted to go in just for a latte.

 

[NeilCr]

It's just another SSP brand, so I wouldn't expect anything too exciting!

I know!

Food was the same

Much more alcohol though …

 

[steve_brown]

Heidi (The Station Wagon) at Mistley, admittedly slightly off the beaten track

 

[teaspoon]

Rise at the top of the old taxicab approach at Preston is worth a mention.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

I'll second this - had a lovely flat white last week. (It was starred on my Google Maps, I think off the back of your post)

There are quite a few coffee shops near Oban station - the nearest is a Costa - but if you have the time, Hinba is a five minute walk along the front, and is worth the trek. They also have a handful of branches in Glasgow.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I'll second this - had a lovely flat white last week. (It was starred on my Google Maps, I think off the back of your post)

There are quite a few coffee shops near Oban station - the nearest is a Costa - but if you have the time, Hinba is a five minute walk along the front, and is worth the trek. They also have a handful of branches in Glasgow.

+1 for Hinba - excellent coffee and cakes

 

[childwallblues]

Maghull
Llandudno Junction

 

[minimann]

Sereen at Isleworth is very good. Certainly better than the one at Hounslow station

 

[speedy1]

Best is very subjective. I personally favour a Pret as that gives me cheap and decent quality filter coffee, which is my favoured preparation (strong yet a smoother taste than espresso based coffee) but very rare elsewhere (Tim Horton's also do it but it's not cheap, Starbucks allegedly do but it's very rarely actually ready and an Americano is usually offered instead), and has the benefit of being served very quickly too.

100% the same as you.

I like drinking my £1 or £1.20 Pret imagining I'm in Portugal or Italy where you can still get decent espresso for that price. It's pretty drinkable.

Starbucks tip: you can usually order filter on the app. Wouldn't recommend it at any place you go regularly because the staff hate the faff.

 

[BazingaTribe]

I've always liked the Pumpkin and Lemon Tree buffets, although I know many don't. Ritazza, Lavazza, Tchibo. Costa, all fine by me.....
One crucial bonus is availability. eg Cafe Destino on Basingstoke station is open either 5am-10pm or 6-10 each day. I hate places that close far too early. 2pm 3-4-5pm, not much point in opening really. Obviously the viability varies by location but Destino deserve credit for putting in the time and effort.
Even the Starbucks on the island platform closes at 7pm, so Destino gains from that....

Destino is very useful when I catch the train after work -- generally when I need to be somewhere in person, I get expenses to go for an overnight stay so I can start fresh the following morning. (Don't drive and walk with a stick, so get extra adjustments from work.) I get a panini or something as well as my coffee and I'm set up for the evening. I'm often going to Windsor which means three trains, so I get there fairly late on. I've been using them for years since commuting to and from Reading, and I barely even noticed the Starbucks since the Reading trains go out of Platforms 4 and 5 and on my way home, the odd time i come in on platform 3 on the XC service, I know I can get a drink at home.

Speaking of which, it's inside the station mall so it counts, but there's an independent bakery at Windsor which does the best cinnamon rolls. Not a coffee connoisseur, but definitely a cinnamon roll enthusiast!

 

[WestAnglian]

Iron and Fire, on Shrewsbury Station Approach, is good.

 

[Bald Rick]

Speaking of which, it's inside the station mall so it counts, but there's an independent bakery at Windsor which does the best cinnamon rolls. Not a coffee connoisseur, but definitely a cinnamon roll enthusiast!

Not the Cinnamon Cafe at Windsor & Eton Central though. Their cinnamon buns come from CostCo!

 

[BazingaTribe]

Not the Cinnamon Cafe at Windsor & Eton Central though. Their cinnamon buns come from CostCo!

No, not them. Heidi's.

 

[D1511]

Coffee shops near NS stations might be an interesting thread ......