Hackney Wick is a trendy area in east London situated between Victoria Park and the Olympic Park. It is known for its graffiti artwork, independent breweries and as a home to many London artists.
Although Hackney Wick only covers a small area, there a surprising number of artisan coffee shops. Since moving here in November 2020, I have been on a quest to sample them all and find the best coffee in Hackney Wick. My drink of choice is a long black, so I tried one from six coffee shops in hackney wick. Here are the results:
(Tasting notes are kindly provided by my boyfriend who takes coffee even more seriously than me.)
All content true as of April 2021.
Pearl
Coffee served: Allpress espresso
Vibe: Pearl is known for doing a fantastic brunch. There are plenty of tables inside and out the front. The staff are very friendly and the interior is super cool.
Cost for regular long black: £2.50
Tasting Notes: Earthy notes, Less smooth than other coffees, more gritty.
Rating: 4/10 This coffee was not for me unfortunately, although my boyfriend was more taken with it.
HWK Coffee
Coffee served: Climpson & Sons
Cost for regular long black: £2.50
Tasting Notes: Unique aftertaste, could be slightly bitter for some. Nice initial sweetness.
Vibe: The coffee shop is small but there is space for a couple of tables if you want to sit in once restrictions are ended. The coffee shop is part of a larger events space that serves food and plays music at night.
Rating: 5/10 This tastes very high quality, however the unique aftertaste is not for me.
Clarinco Club
Coffee served: SEND coffee
Cost for regular long black: £2.40
Tasting Notes: Smooth, chocolatey
Vibe: Relaxed and spacious. Usually (when they are not restrictions) you can sit in. There are lots of seats if you want to bring your laptop and do some work.They also serve pastries, toasties and soups; all of which are excellent. (I recommend the cinnamon bun.)
Rating: 9/10 Once you’ve had it you just keep wanting to come back for more. I even bought this coffee to use at home.
The Roasting Shed
Coffee Served: The Roasting Shed Coffee
Cost for regular long black: £2.20
Tasting notes: Smooth and rich.
Vibe: This is a small takeaway coffee shop situated just across hackney wick bridge by the copper box area. Currently only one customer is allowed in at once and on a weekend, there is usually a queue as you can see in the photo.
Rating: 8/10 A really good and enjoyable coffee. It is also noticeably cheaper than the other coffee places I visited.
Saint Espresso
Coffee served: Saint espresso
Cost for regular long black: £2.50
Tasting notes: Well balanced, smooth
Vibe: Saint Espresso is a lovely coffee shop situated in the Here East complex. Currently it is takeaway only, although there is space for seating once restrictions end. It is a coffee lover’s paradise: they sell cups, gifts, coffee making equipment like v60 filters and aeropresses as well as lots of different bags of their signature coffee to take home. They also have a membership card that gives you your 10th coffee free.
Rating: 10/10 I LOVE this coffee. It is exactly to my taste, smooth and strong with no bitter after taste.
The Verdict
There are so many great coffee options in Hackney Wick, it’s a tough choice to pick a favourite.
In my opinion the top 3 are the roasting shed, the clarinco club and saint espresso. These three are all situated very close together in a triangle so I like to call them the ultimate coffee triad.
If you are in Hackney Wick, I would highly recommend going to one of these. My personal top pick is Saint Espresso.
