Can't agree a good idea as my idea of good coffee is no doubt way different from other people's. No argument about making recommendations to try for oneself though.
I know that if you ask people what they buy as their preferred instant or ground (or bean) coffee at home, you'll get 99 different answers so I'd think it really unfair to receive a bad review because an individual had found something more to their preference elsewhere. Coffee isn't "one fits all". Of course, if a café has other things to recommend it, you could always buy tea instead
The place we go to the most is probably Brown & Green, because it's in the park, they do coconut water and other things you don't tend to find elsewhere, plus their fantastic scrambled eggs which are rather unusual. It's child friendly and pretty relaxed and laid back and a genuinely nice place to sit (although I've never encountered any issues like Rod has). It's the only place locally we tend to visit reasonably often.
But we like other places for different reasons (OTH is one of our favourites, but we haven't been for ages as there isn't much reason to venture into Sydenham Road for us), although we now travel further than just locally for a change of scene.
I have to admit my go to place is Gail's in Dulwich Village, simply because they do the best cheese cake and carrot cake we have ever tried, and they actually do nice tea. I don't get this obsession with coffee, but I love tea and it seems sadly neglected. It needs a pot, proper tea leaves and a pot of milk to adjust to your liking. There is a ceremony to it, and it makes cake taste better!
Gail's isn't cheap, but we don't go often, which it makes it more of a treat.
The Alexandra Nurseries in Penge and the Bluebell cafe are also great places to sit and they are very friendly.
I am not a coffee connoisseur but have noticed they do coffee in both the Golden Lion and the Dolphin pubs and just wondered if their coffee was any good.When I moved to Sydenham 30 years ago the only place that had a coffee machine was the ice cream parlour next to the Golden Lion I think.
Rod, I don't know most of these places well enough to rate the standard of the coffee, as I usually go to the cafe in Mayow Park, and have a chai latte (though maybe not now, after seeing the amount of sugar that might be in it) - previously I've rated Blue Mountain as rather good.
rather intriguing in the OP that you want recommendations for tourists to Sydenham... I wonder what sites you think these tourists are visiting?
I can't think of a reason why anyone would specifically come to Sydenham for anything other than it being their local shopping area. Where are the hoards of Japanese with cameras around their necks?
I don't get the love for Blue Mountain. Or On the Hoof (they do the coffee at the station and forest hill station as well right?).
What is it with serving everything so HOT?
I've yet to find a decent coffee in Sydenham.
I judge them against Tapped and Packed on Tottenham Court Road.
demeaux wrote:I don't get the love for Blue Mountain. Or On the Hoof (they do the coffee at the station and forest hill station as well right?).
What is it with serving everything so HOT?
I've yet to find a decent coffee in Sydenham.
I judge them against Tapped and Packed on Tottenham Court Road.
Oh, don't get me started on scalding coffee. The milk is not supposed to be boiling, but a comfortable drinking temperature when served. Not thirty minutes later.
<coffee snob mode>
Every couple of days I medium roast a batch of green beans. Favourites are Old Brown Java and Guatemalan HueHuetenango. When I want a basin of coffee I grind about 3 oz, put them into my ancient drip filter machine set to 'slow pass through', warm up some milk with sweeteners, and then mix coffee and milk in an enormous mug.
Compared to this anything from a Sydenham cafe just tastes awful, although there may be degrees of unsatisfactory.
demeaux wrote:I don't get the love for Blue Mountain. Or On the Hoof (they do the coffee at the station and forest hill station as well right?).
What is it with serving everything so HOT?
I've yet to find a decent coffee in Sydenham.
I judge them against Tapped and Packed on Tottenham Court Road.
Oh, don't get me started on scalding coffee. The milk is not supposed to be boiling, but a comfortable drinking temperature when served. Not thirty minutes later.
The On the Hood bistro lattés are just right ...not too hot, lovely flavour, really good. As are the Capucinnos!
I enjoy the lattes in Brown & Green in Mayow Park. Sorry for non supporters of chains but I also enjoy the coffee in Costa by Sainsburys. I used to be a regular in Kente but no longer; sadly it has gone down hill so much.
