Guardian Coffee

This lovely little café amidst the trendy little box shops in Shoreditch is a must to visit. This tranquil space offers good coffee, free e-​reads of the guardian on the tablets spread out through the space and above all a harmonious place to start your day, have a meeting or take a break from the busy city life outside. A let down was the box park wifi which was not working when we were there.

Of the Nude Espresso stores, I think Guardian Coffee is my favourite. I don’t know what it is, but it might have something to do with its more relaxed vibe than the others I’ve been to (the one off Brick Lane and Soho Square). They’ve done a decent job with the container box and made it feel more cosy than you’d expect — oh, and they do have powerpoints, they’re next to the seats near the back of the shop. They also have tablets mounted on some of the tables if you feel like reading the Guardian/​doing the crosswords (even though e-​crosswords are a liiiittle strange to me).
The staff here have always been friendly and helpful, one of the reasons why I come back quite frequently, and their coffee’s consistently as you’d expect from a Nude-​operated place. There’s a wealth of coffee options in the area, but I come here reasonably often as it’s in a really convenient spot. By the way, there are loos here — you need to ask the staff for the passcode and they’re just round the corner. I don’t know how the Boxpark leasing works, but I hope GC stays open for a while as it does what it does rather well.

Where: #GuardianCoffee
When: Morning coffee
What: Cappuccino
Summary:
+ Hip and start-​uppy café at Shoreditch BoxPark
+ It’s just under the rooftop beer thingy at Shoreditch Station
+ Fun and creative atmosphere
+ Free Guardian copies and tablet reading stands
+ Guardian-​themed coaster freebie if you answer some questionnaire
This café pop up is a joint venture between Guardian and EE. The small café is filled with fun and creative vibe. It looks like a kind of place where creative start-​up types hang out.
In addition to serving good coffees, majority of the tables are fitted with a tablet reading stand where you can browse the content of (surprise!) Guardian online edition.
When I went, they were giving out free Guardian coaster for people who answered a questionnaire.
In their official statement, #guardiancoffe is «all about making our journalism and our journalists more accessible». I’m not sure if this hip café achieves this grand but rather vague objective. But who can say no to good coffee and nice vibe.

The coffee is ok, not brilliant, just ok. Prices are fair. Staff are very friendly which makes a change to most coffee shops in London. Atmosphere is good.
Lacking is power sockets and open wi-​fi. However, you can catch up on the latest news from the Guardian using the tablets on every table.
I am going to give it 2 stars, it is a little behind today’s standards that you get at many independent coffee shops.

1). The coffee is fantastic. And take it from me, as I am Mrs. Coffee-​Snob. Nice to meet you!
2). Location — location — location as our dear friend Mr. Hilton always said; it’s literally on the corner and great for your coffee-​to-​go.
3). They’re taking «2.0» very seriously, did you see my photo with the iPads on the table? Yes, they have iPads on the tables for you to play with.
4). Service — quick and friendly, not much more to say and not much more explaining needed.
5). Just too cute. Just TOO darn cute to pass by and not go in. Do it!
The. End.

Guardian Coffee is a pretty neat collaboration between The Guardian and Nude Coffee as part of Boxpark Shoreditch. To say the place is wired would be an understatement. There’s a big screen that basically acts as a living infographic — it tells you what the most popular drinks are for the day (constantly updated), pulls in Tweets with the hashtag #GuardianCoffee, amongst other information. Every table is also equipped with a tablet running the Guardian mobile app, so you can sit down and read the newspaper in a very high-​tech fashion. They have a variety of espresso and other coffee drinks, all relatively reasonably priced. You can have it to stay or to go. I enjoyed both the Flat White and the Cappuccino. The staff is also very friendly. I highly recommend stopping by for a unique experience before the pop-​up shop is closed!

I really want to give this «Guardian» café 5 stars, I really do. The coffee was so good and deep in flavour, and roasted just right so it wasn’t bitter or acrid. But my latte was so small, at £2.70, that it really can’t be justified.
As a comparison, a normal latte from elsewhere would be twice the size. And cheaper.

This ‘pop up’ coffee spot serves up Nude Espresso with a smile… Whatever your political leanings, I like this space. The baristas were really friendly (I came in for a takeaway cappuccino during the TSA strike as I knew my commute was going to be a lengthy one), and my coffee really tasty. Not much more to add, but I’ll certainly be back when I need a takeaway (though they do have seating) due to its convenient location in Boxpark, right next to Shoreditch High Street Station.