The Liberty of Norton Folgate

A good coffee place with a cool café layout!
Tried the flat white and iced latte and both were great with a distinct flavour. They do seem to run out of ice quite quickly though so perhaps you don’t want to bank on them for your iced coffee fix when it’s warm.

In need of a latte while passing through the area I called into this coffee shop which is usually open during the week only. An exceptionally friendly shop manager took my order. She asked how my day had been thus far and asked as to where I was heading as she prepared my latte. felt that my custom was genuinely valued. Seating is available both inside and outside the shop. The interior is bright, modern and minimalist. There was a temporary exhibition of art on the walls. Unfortunately, there are no toilets. My latte was smooth, creamy and refreshing. Although my small latte weighed in at a whopping £2.70 it was a small price to pay for a refreshing hot drink served by an enthusiastic manager with a bright and sunny demeanour. Pricey but recommended nevertheless.

For an area plagued by sterile generic coffee and across from RBS this place is an oasis with rock star status. The pluses – amazeball coffee executed by Aussie baristas who are rocking their amazing acoustic soundsystem to rockin’ good electronic music that is palatable for an afternoon and which accentuates the coolness of this place with its long layout, white-​ness and cool lamp/​lighting scheme.
The drawbacks – the weirdness about ordering from the counter vs. entering through another door to get table space. And no wireless and no loo! Boo.

The Liberty of Norton Folgate is a cool and lovely coffee shop between Liverpool Street station and Shoreditch High Street station. The layout of the shop might be a bit unconventional or confusing, as it is a relatively long and narrow place with a separate take-​away counter, but if you can find a table, it is a great place to get a decent coffee and eat some delicious food.
They usually also play quite good music, so you can enjoy your time there even more and perhaps also get to know a new good song while sipping your coffee.
They are not always open at weekends, but during summer they seem to extend their opening hours, so if you cannot go there during the week, like me, you can still have a great coffee there on Saturday or Sunday.
If you like coffee and are in the area, stopping by at The Liberty of Norton Folgate is always a good idea.

Long and narrow, the shop is comprised of two halves replete with two separate entry ways. Go into the ‘take away’ side for a ‘sit down’ drink, and you’ll be redirected to the other door. Folk wanting a bevvie and not reading the small, but stylishly constructed signs apprising one of this fact, kept going in the wrong door and needed to be redirected. –wonder if that will be the case for TLofNF for some time to come?
If one wants to drink out of a porcelain cup, but not go through the rigamarole of sitting and then ordering, then one may order from the take-​away side, and, sort of, stand by the food displays (or have a seat as there are two chairs there expressly for that purpose) while imbibing. That’s what I did because I just couldn’t abide having a ‘table service’ experience for a measly flat white. As I can be an impatient so-​and-​so, waiting for the bill to arrive would have really chapped my hide.
Sweets and savouries, the likes of which one may find at places like Foxcroft and Ginger and Dept. of Coffee, are on display at the take-​away side. Although they looked appealing, I was just in, as usual, for a flat white. The espresso used by TLofNF comes from one of my faves, Climpson and Sons, so I had high hopes for the flat white. Maybe my taste buds were off, or maybe the drink was off, but I didn’t empty my cup. –milk tasted a bit ‘funky’, in some way. Was it really low-​fat instead of ‘full fat’? Had it been scalded and left to cool? Dunno.
With so many other coffee choices in the Brick Lane/​Shoreditch area, I’m not too sad TLofNF didn’t fit the bill. Having said that, I do wish them much success!