10 Reasons to Visit The Timberyard

If I’d let the lazy side of me dominate my decisions instead of my curious side, I’d have ended up having a rather nondescript day, working from somewhere utterly average, like Starbucks. As it was, I ended up somewhere that’s fast becoming a firm favourite. What a find!

After having had lunch with a friend in the City, my poor little phone whirred and trugged through 1 tiny bar of free Cloud internet to bring up my search term ‘best coffee shop to work from in London’. And top of the list was The Timberyard. Even better was that it was approximately a 15 minute walk from where I was standing in the street.

It was fate, I had to go. Screw the recommendations on the list.

The Timberyard is one of those places full of young and earnest Mac-ed up entrepreneurs who demand good coffee (for all the hours they’re both working and socializing) an industrial working space and top-notch wifi (free of course).

And it’s an awesome place to hang out – whether for a coffee, chats or to get some work done.

Here’s My Top Ten Reasons to Visit The Timberyard

1. Timberyard staff are awesome. They’re all really friendly, but I really enjoyed the ongoing conversations I had with one who was just lovely and wore odd socks.

2. It’s not all about the soya milk. This is one of the first places in London I’ve discovered who FINALLY serve almond milk alongside evil soya milk as a milk alternative. Almond milk is a thousand times better than soya – why don’t cafes understand this?

3. A good variety of seating. There are benches, window seats, one person sofas, cosy little twosomes and desk-type layouts. You can’t get bored.

4. The cakes are to die for. Literally. I had some salted caramel peanut rice crispy cake thing (after awkwardly being paralysed by decision for about 5 minutes – it was a toss up between that and everything else so hard to choose…) which was so indulgently sweet and sticky that I nearly had a heart attack. It was probably the best baked goods (was it baked or just assembled? I’m not sure) I’ve tried in years and totally shits upon your average coffee shop treat. I later learnt all the tasty stuff is supplied by Bitter Sweet Bakers.

5. It’s full of likeminded people. There’s none of your Starbucks people here. The people I was lucky enough to speak with were nice, passionate and focused. And full of good tips!

6. Dogs are allowed! At the time I didn’t have a dog so it really didn’t matter but now that I’m fostering the lovely Yara (anyone want a dog?) it’s good to know that she come and work with me too. Although compared to the other little puglet that I saw, Yara may be a little one the giant size… As a testament to their dog-friendliness, they also have dog biscuits and a waterbowl by the door. Ahh.

7. They do what they can to help. Love the gorgeous board the drinks and cake are served on? They’ll do their best to help you discover where they’re from! Can’t have certain foods? They’ll find you something you can eat or make you up a drink just for you.

8. The hot chocolate has REAL CHOCOLATE in. I know, I had it. With a dash of coffee (an example of a bespoke drink for fussy people like me).

9. Water arrives without you even asking. I think stuff like this is the epitome of good service. It made me feel loved. And I didn’t have to go hunting for water jugs and glasses (they have them too in case you’re uber thirsty.)

10. They have a timer for their tea. A timer! How quaint is that? Well, it’s either quaint or a sign of OCD. Now, I’m not a tea person so I can’t say how important it is to time this sort of stuff but it certainly impressed me.

And… it’s not too crowded. I’ve heard their Seven Dials location is a little more packed but when I turned up midweek, mid-afternoon, I easily scooped a cosy spot.

Have I missed something? Let me know!

Visit the Timberyard, Old Street

61-67 Old Street, EC1V 9HW

www.timberyardlondon.com

I’m always on the lookout for lovely little places like this to work from in London. Got any other suggestions for cafes I should try next time?