St David Coffee House makes “Best 9 Coffee Shops” - Evening Standard

An article in yesterday’s Standard:

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St David Coffee is a wonderful little place with a great atmosphere and probably the best flat white in Forest Hill.

Much deserved mention in the Standard.

Well done, St David’s! I do love their coffee but can’t work in there so it doesn’t feature on my regular roster.

Why can’t you work there?

Thanks again for this xx

@StDavid no problem Sian - glad to have you onboard.

It’s just a personal thing. Most of the tables are too small for laptop and coffee and notebook. They’re also a bit too close together for me to entirely forget my neighbours. And I’m always conscious of people coming and going. I can work almost anywhere but this space just don’t work for me. Which is bad luck for me because they make the best coffee in FH, hands down.

Their table by the window is my favourite for working - I quite like being surrounded by the buzz of people when I’m otherwise zoned-in on my laptop.

Provided people keep their kids at bay, that is.

We are just about to take over the downstairs basement flat - building stairs from our shop down into the basement - this will be starting end of June we hope for more seats, lap top space & all that sort of stuff -

I’m normally the same, @anon5422159, I find the white noise in cafes really conducive to concentrating. I’ve worked well in St David’s when I’ve had that table, it’s a peach! And when it’s only half full. But at other times - no. It’s just me and I don’t know why, I’m not normally so fussy. If I were a knit-your-own-yoghurt type I’d say the energy in there doesn’t resonate with mine.

Now that IS good news!

Excellent news!

Well done Sian and the team. Deserved.

My favourite table is the one in the corner by the kitchen, with the big sturdy chair, looking out over the shop.

Hahaha thank you! The overlord seat of St David’s!

I just have to say, it is a coffee shop, not a work station.

I agree. However, what I do is work while I eat. I don’t think people should hog tables for hours on end. Just for me, I need to be able to do both, which is why St David’s currently gets less of my custom than some other coffee shops. That custom entails me buying lunch and coffee and having one hour’s dedicated writing time.

I’ll hope to be occupying it in the morning, if I leave myself enough time before my train.

Sorry, that came out wrong as I had not included the smiley. My bad

You made a fair point though.

Guilty as charged then, I certainly do it. Most of my meetings are in coffee shops. Easy to recognise me at the end of a busy day, I am the VERY wired guy in the corner drooling slightly

St David’s makes me happy to live in Forest Hill. It is the highlight of my morning commute to pop in for an insanely delicious flat white every day. I hope they last for ever.

Thank you!! Your so kind Will see you in week day mornings xxx

Indeed - well done St Davids’ - I wrote my novel in there! It’s part of Forest Hill’s marrow

How strange. The article is gone. Even did a search on the ES site.

Love St Davids … perfect little nook with gr8 good and coffee !

Please fix your door - it drives me mad .!

Is this space open yet?

End of this month - it will be ready by the 30th of not before! X

The iced lattes are great. I had seven the other day.

This is so funny! My member of staff text me at the end of the day & said ‘you won’t believe this but some guy had 7 iced latte today!’ So now we know it was you!!

And it doesnt end there. I enjoyed them so much I went home, ground some beans and made another in my Aeropress. I then ground a lot more beans and started a new cold brew. I have not slept since!

@StDavid… thought you’d like to know I have friends from Auston, TX in town and they made a special trip to FH just for your coffee.

My friend is a real coffeenista. He secures his beans from a number of sources around the World. He tailors his brew method to the bean. I have had him painstakingly make coffee for me with a Hario V60 and a Syphon (totally worth it but I’m too impatient myself). And yet on his first visit to your shop he thought it was one of the finest coffees he’s had around the World.

Thought you’d like to know.

Good lord! You must have been bouncing off the walls!!

Ah wonderful! thank you for this that’s really made my day! We put so much time & energy into our coffee & I’m glad he appreciated it! Xx

Nope, coffee has little effect on me. Happy to sit down at 10pm with a nice Sertao Natural after a day of hitting the coffee’s before going to bed.

St Davids is fantastic - and where the bulk of the Life Assistance Agency was written. However, I drink tea, so the coffee chat leaves me cold!

I’m in St David at the moment and just checked out their new basement area - brilliant for laptoppers and people looking for a quiet little nook with great coffee:

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That looks amazing. I could definitely work in that space.

Hay sorry I was a little dazed when you were in earlier!! Thanks for the shout out xx

Yikes … I think I was also quite dazed when I left and I forgot to pay you! Will be back tomorrow to do so… and to eat more of your cake. And to pay for it Apologies!

Haha no worries at all xx

Great news. Tracey Ullman’s show returns to the BBC next month. Why is that great? I’ve been trying to recall a comedy sketch someone did about an IT consultant working in a coffee house. And because of the leads for the new Ullman season I now remember.

Here is App Guy!

Seems to be more of these about these days.

I was int there this afternoon, quite a few people working away. Never understood the attraction myself, I go to coffee shops to get away from work.

If I worked from home all week I’d be inclined to seek some social interaction and a change of venue once in a while as well. I’ve one friend locally who does it often. I guess that challenge for these guys like @StDavid is too ensure some middle ground. I’m really looking forward to seeing the expanded venue, but I have been turned off a couple time because perhaps one too many tables are taken up by people working off laptops.

I still go as my Austin, Texas coffee nazi friend thinks they have one of the best poured coffees in the Western World.

I’m a member at Picturehouse Central and one great benefit is access to this amazing bar/cafe with views looking down Lower Regent Street. Except everytime I’ve dropped all the window seats are taken up by one person with a laptop out and a cold cup of coffee.

That is something that bugs me. Table for 4 people taken over by one person and a laptop meaning that groups will come in and have to leave as there is no seating.

I might hog a table for two with my laptop but would always avoid taking a table for four. The new space in St David has tables for four or more so if it was me and my laptop by ourselves, I’d use the long counter at the back. It might get a bit weird if it gets crowded, though!

The reason I use coffee shops for working is that my home is my other workplace, where I revel in my domestic duties. As a dyed-in-the-wool procrastinator, I can always find something that needs doing other than sitting my butt down and doing some writing. I have to relocate myself somewhere where cleaning the fluff out from behind the toilet doesn’t suddenly seem more appealing than the writing.

Congrats @StDavid - another mention - this time, Londonist:

12 posts were split to a new topic: Music in St Davids basement

I was in the area visiting some nurseries ahead of our move next month. Stopped by for a coffee and cake and I must say the flat white was spot on and the lemon polenta cake was absolutely divine.

@StDavid makes a lovely velvety flat white

Welcome to our hood.

Saw your comments “next door” in response to Mr ViewHill or whoever. Good work!

As I was quite early for my train (or late depending o perspective) I popped into St Davids for my morning coffee as an alternative to On the Hoof.

Music. Lovely and definately at the right level. Disconcerting though was the tables of singletons almost all with heads in laptops. No couples. No families. No chit chat. Felt more like that a cafe in the middle of some oh so trendy Hoxton hot desking office. Not so much a community based coffee house. But maybe that is a morning thing.

That said. Coffee sublime. Must buy the beans next time but I doubt I could recreate that Flat White at home.

I’m happy to report the last time I was in meeting a friend for a coffee there were plenty of other people doing the same, and there’s quite a few young families in for lunch most days. But still room for the singletons with their laptops, of which I am occasionally one.