Welcome to one of London’s most unusual coffee shops
We promise we’re not pulling your chain: Attendant is a coffee house in the unusual setting of a Victorian public convenience.* Built around 1890, the subterranean space was given a new lease of life in 2013, after lying derelict for more than 50 years — and it’s a striking refurb at that. Going down the stairs through the wrought iron gate at street level, you’ll find a door at the entrance with a pen on a chain for visitors to leave graffiti (nothing too rude, mind). Then there’s the unusual seating arrangement, which consists of a row of stools positioned in front of the original porcelain urinals, plus a small booth area at the back for less adventurous customers.
Excellent coffee, great menu and bonus points for the quirky setting
If you can get your head around the concept, it makes for a quirky, altogether unique experience. The coffee is first-rate, while the sandwich selection is pleasingly offbeat — salt beef with dill pickle and smoked cheddar with sweet chilli chutney, to pick examples at random — and there’s a fine array of locally sourced muffins, cakes and brownies to boot.
This is a London experience you’ll want to tell your friends back home about!
Ideally located on a quiet road in Fitzrovia just a stone’s throw from the buzz of Oxford Street, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to call the Attendant the Cistern Chapel of light refreshments (sorry).
Attendant
27A Foley Street, London, W1W 6DY
T +44 (0) 207 637 37 94
www.the-attendant.com
Monday-Friday 8am – 6pm
Saturday 10am – 5pm
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Alex Denney is a journalist and copywriter based in London — follow him on Twitter.
* “Public convenience” being a polite description of a building with toilets open to the public. Now, doesn’t that just sound better?
