This is by far my favourite coffee shop in London and it hardly needs good reviews on Unilocal to help it, but I thought I’d add one anyway to express how great this place is. It’s family owned and has a very relaxed vibe, being on the top end of the high street the traffic is very busy outside but you hardly notice it from within despite the big front window — as the place really takes you to a faraway place where you can forget the world and relax, which is what I certainly look for in a coffee shop. Of course, it’s got a great selection of coffee, tea, cakes and other food which are a must for a great coffee shop, and here everything is usually superb. Adding to the relaxed vibe is the array of books on the shelves, you can respectfully read them while you drink your coffee or buy them to keep if you prefer. You’ll always find something interesting here if you’re a fan of reading, justifying the name of the place for sure :) You’ll also find a few bottled beers from a few different small breweries, and they open late some nights so it can become an evening getaway as well as a day time retreat. I wish there were more coffee shops like this, and I can’t really understand why there aren’t — but never mind we can just enjoy this one all the more for being so special.