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The best speciality coffee in Canary Wharf!

If you’re a coffee lover, then you’ll know that there’s nothing better than finding a great speciality coffee shop. And if you’re lucky enough to be in Canary Wharf, then you’re in for a real treat!

The coffee scene has rapidly expanded here — so fast, that most of the search results to “Canary Wharf Coffee” recommend shops that no longer even exist!

Barista making the best coffee in Canary Wharf

In this guide, we’ll take an up-to-date look at some of the best coffee shops in the area. So whether you’re looking for somewhere to relax and enjoy your favourite drink, a speedy takeaway option, or you need somewhere to work from, we’ve got you covered.

Disclaimer: As a corporate hub, there are plenty of Starbucks, Pret and Costa coffees dotted around the Canary Wharf estate. However, this guide is designed to help you avoid the big chains and find some of the best speciality coffee shops in the area.

Attendant

Best for: Huge choice of coffee and zen-like atmosphere!

Opened in January 2021, two weeks into the UK’s second Covid-19 lockdown, Attendant’s low profile opening has seen it fly under the radar of many of Canary Wharf’s best coffee lists. While they may have terrible timing, the Canary Wharf branch of Attendant arguably provides some of the best speciality coffee in the area — and is my pick of the bunch.

At Attendant, we believe that coffee can be better. The importance of sourcing the right green coffee often goes unexamined, but not with us – we only select green coffee that has a ‘cupping’ score of 84 or above.

The Attendant

Attendant is located around 5-10 minutes walk southeast of Canary Wharf’s Jubilee station, in an area known as South Quay. The brand gained its name from the group’s original coffee shop — a Victorian toilet in Fitzrovia — and have since expanded into several quirky locations across London.

Alongside the hugely varied selection of coffee available (there are over 20 types of coffee drinks on the menu!), South Quay is the first Attendant café to serve cocktails, wine, and beer.

The shop is minimalist, light, and airy. Set near the waters of Middle Dock, it’s perfect for enjoying a leisurely weekend cup of coffee, or a quieter shop to work from if you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Canary Wharf.

Notes Canary Wharf

Best for: Grabbing a proper coffee on-the-go!

After starting life selling coffee from a cart in London Victoria, the two founders of notes have expanded their empire to 11 physical locations, a cart and a roastery.

The 3 — yes three — Canary Wharf shops cover all your bases. If you’re looking for somewhere to sit down and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee — or even a glass of wine in the evening, then you’ll love the Notes located by Crossrail Place. As the flagship Canary Wharf store, it is open 7 days a week, staying open until 9pm.

There are also two smaller grab-and-go stores located within Canada Square shopping centre and at the main entrance to the Jubilee line station (pictured above). All three notes stores serve up super-locally roasted coffee, with the group’s Blackwall Roastery only around half a mile away in E14.

Especially helpful for the Jubilee line kiosk, Notes have an app allowing the thousands of Canary Wharf commuters to pre-order their drink on the tube and collect it on the way past!

Café Samba

Best for: Old school espresso from a vintage machine!

I know what you’re thinking — a food truck? I thought this was an article about speciality coffee shops? Well, there are food trucks that serve coffee, and then there’s Café Samba. Which I assure you is more like a food truck built around a coffee machine!

Don’t expect cutting edge apps or super-fast wifi — the closest you’ll get to a social media presence is a barely-updated facebook page — but the cafe is a long serving locals favourite for a reason.

There’s a selection of pastries and drinks on offer, a short walk over South Dock bridge, but the real speciality is the coffee. For coffee geeks like myself, it’s probably the only place in Canary Wharf with a lever machine — no fancy semi-automatics here — and the espresso is top-notch.

Black Sheep Coffee

Best for: In store working — decent coffee, wifi and power!

Black Sheep Coffee is a rapidly expanding, speciality coffee franchise with stores across London, Paris, and even the Philippines! The Canary Wharf branch is perpetually busy, with decent seating, fast Wi-Fi and plenty of plug sockets making it a favourite for the work in-store crowd!

Serving the world’s first specialty-grade robusta beans on the market. We are innovators in the coffee industry.

Leave the herd behind — Black Sheep

For those not choosing to dine in, there are a myriad of ways to order your speciality joe exactly how you want it. If you prefer your morning cup without having to speak to a human, the Jubilee Place branch of Black Sheep coffee has a dedicated touchscreen ordering system for coffees; alongside personalised ordering through their app. It is even available on Deliveroo, Uber eats and Just Eat!

RoastWood Coffee

Best for: A relaxed weekend coffee

One of the most recent additions to Canary Wharf’s coffee scene, Roast Wood Coffee, opened at the start of 2022. On first impressions, it’s a tiny place, with just a handful of tables. But there is a small upstairs mezzanine with a few more seats, and in the summer they make use of the outdoor seating too.

Quality baristas, La Marzocco machine, and single origin coffee, sets the coffee apart from the myriad of cafés in the local area. It’s well worth seeking this place out for a decent flat white.

Located at the bottom of Maine Tower, one of the residential blocks to the immediate south of the financial estate, the newly opened café is fast becoming a popular locals spot!

Caravan Canary Wharf

Best for: Top-quality coffee paired with brunch

Starting out as a small restaurant with a coffee roaster in the basement, Caravan has expanded to 7 locations across London, with the Canary Wharf unit the group’s 6th addition — opened in February 2022.

Located right in the heart of Canary Wharf underneath One Canada Square, you may be forgiven for thinking Caravan is just another place to grab brunch in Canary Wharf. You’d be right on the brunch front. However, don’t be fooled by the sleek restaurant exterior, Caravan is a speciality coffee roaster in its own right.

The brand maintains their in-house coffee roastery, have a choice of beans available, and as well as a mean cup of coffee also sell their beans in store and at Caravan Coffee Roasters.