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The window seats at the original White Mulberries  cafe may have one of the best views of all the coffee shops in London, especially when the yachts in the St Katharine Docks marina glint in the sunshine. London's speciality coffee scene has changed a lot since my 2014 write-up , but the coffee, all-day breakfast and sweet treats at White Mulberries are still great. White Mulberries'  second location , in Hay's Galleria in London Bridge, is even closer to my Bermondsey home. A couple of minutes' walk from London Bridge station and a few steps from the Thames, Hay's Galleria is a converted wharf with various shops and cafes under a high, vaulted roof. The eateries' seating areas are classed as outdoor seating — so they have been able to welcome customers even before the impending return of indoor hospitality in England — but the roof provides shelter from the elements.  White Mulberries' cafe has about nine or ten small tables in their outdoor area. You can b...

If you were looking for good coffee while in Bankside, you used to have to head to Borough, but the arrival of branches of Caravan and Origin Coffee has filled in a few Southwark speciality coffee gaps. And the latest addition, Saint Nine Coffee , is rather special too. Located on Southwark Street, a short walk from the Tate Modern and the South Bank, Saint Nine occupies the ground floor of a wedge-shaped building at the junction with Lavington Street. It's small inside with just eight seats, perched at the windows, and very elegant seats they are too.  But in all likelihood, it will be the stunning mural that runs up the back wall , wrapping up onto the ceiling that you notice first. The artist, Gabe Sapienza , is a friend of owner Laith Toukan and features as one of the subjects. It's actually printed on fabric and installing it was no mean feat, but the result is impressive, and I'm sure that leaning backwards to capture the 'full scroll' will become a rite of ...

Somehow, I still haven't made it to  Lyle's , the modern British restaurant in Shoreditch, whose high-quality speciality coffee offering has won as many plaudits as the food. Luckily for me, a sister restaurant, Flor , opened up closer to home, in Borough Market, a few months ago. I've now visited twice, experiencing both a light breakfast at the downstairs bar and a lunch in the tiny but beautifully designed upstairs dining room. In a stuffier establishment, I might have felt out of place showing up for breakfast in my running kit one August morning, but at Flor, the welcome was warm — while the marble counter  that occupies most of the diminutive downstairs was pleasingly cool. There isn't a coffee menu — and there's no filter coffee — but the usual espresso-based drinks are available. They rotate coffee roasters, and on this first visit, the espresso was a honey-processed El Salvador variety roasted by Berlin-based Bonanza Coffee Roasters . I ordered a piccolo, w...