Tag Archives: Coffee Shops Kennington

Walcot Stores

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In Greater Kennington we are blessed with a complement of independent coffee shops such as Change Please in Elephant Park, Kennington Coffee Shop, Urban Botanica, newbie Capheum, and of course the mighty Bouquets and Beans. We’re proud to announce another has joined our serried ranks and is located in an oft looked overlooked part of our area, at the top of Walcot Square near Brook Drive. 

We made our surreptitious trip to Walcot Stores coffee shop on a Sunday morning. On the Lords’ day it’s difficult to entice Runoff staff to work, so we asked our accounts guru and self confessed party boy Phil if he’d like to join us for ‘a drink or two’ on Sunday morning. He arrived looking confused and crestfallen, but willing to act as our additional pair of eyes. Walcot is very clean, bright, and inviting. They sell gift cards and crafting things, with chirpy owner Millie defining her gaff as a ‘creative café’. She also confirmed it as a place where people can take a break if they want to work outside of the home. Dogs are allowed. 

We came for a caffeine kick, and Phil had an Americano which he described as rich and smooth, and your scribe had an Earl Grey. A variety of milk and substitutes were also offered, and presented in 60’s retro crockery. Of special interest were the fresh and tasty pastries. Phil had the GF coconut and almond ‘mini mouthful’, where your scribe opted for a blueberry oat crumble bar. The bar was moist and sweet with a big hit of ground almond. There were a range of good looking pastries with Millie explaining that savoury items, such as overnight oats and foccacia bread, are also available. Isn’t this sounding so of the moment! 

Walcott Stores is located in an old neighbourhood grocery shop and we have stolen unearthed a photo from its earlier incarnation, below. Walcot is a fine place to work, catch up with friends, or grab a quick coffee/bite on the go. And Phil, if you’re reading this, we hope you’ve taken away a valuable lesson from this experience, as things aren’t always what they appear to be. Except quality coffee.   

Capheum

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When we recently yelled out in the office ‘who’d like a lunchtime drink’ Phil from accounts reflexively leapt out of his chair, but was crestfallen when we he discovered he’d be heading to brand spanking new coffee emporium ‘Capheum’. Capheum is nestled subtly in a former tattoo parlour in that sketchy bit of Kennington Park Road down from Tesco Express and the dreary pub Oaka. We love them already. 

When we arrived, our first impressions were of a clean, bright and petite (four or five tables) boutique coffee/tea house with the usual range of coffees and a small but pleasing array of pastries. The owner explained that they are supplied by the award winning Celtic Bakeries which is all delightful but as they’re not based in Greater Kennington we weren’t interested.  Your scribe had an Americano, and it was a full flavoured, rich and nutty blend. We gave Phil a sip and he unhelpfully commented ‘well it just tastes like a Guinness to me’. This was served as directed with cold milk in a clever, ribbed cup that never got hot. 

Phil had a breakfast tea, which he described as ‘great’. 

And in spite of Capheum having a name that sounds rather like the latest recreational party drug, it’s a very sedate place to work or just catch up with your bestie. The music is low in a kind of ‘Buddha Bar 2000’ manner and there is good wifi and plenty of plug sockets. We tested it a second time and stayed a while with a laptop, and the owners were fine with that.

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