Market Coffee House

Located across the street from Spitalfields Market, this is a lovely old-fashioned place strewn with antique wooden furniture – although it bills itself emphatically as an ‘English restaurant’ rather than a coffee & cake drop-in. The menu certainly lives up to that rather grand claim: devilled whitebait with saffron aioli, warm salt-beef sandwiches, & a hearty Barnsley chop with dauphinoise potatoes keep the City crowds happy, while those with some time to kill might opt for a full afternoon tea for two. Tempting desserts, including orange & ginger brandy snaps with sherry mousse & mandarin jelly, as well as a compact French-focused wine list, complete the package. There’s live music on Mondays & Fridays, & the warnings dotted around the venue (‘no laptops at busy times’) suggest this is a place for old-fashioned conviviality.