Thanks for this review on what’s available, I am not a Londoner, but was searching for decent shops the last times I was there. Personally I’d also prefer Nero to the other chains, including Pret a Manger, which is very good on other food items, though.

I feel, however, that when I gave Monmouth a try, on both locations they fared far better ANY of the coffee house chains mentioned. The quality of the espresso blend they use is far superior (and fresher!) to the chains. Espressi in NERO, PAM, etc. consistently lack decent crema, and had bitter aftertastes. For me, their blends were leaning towards giving some good coffee taste in milk-based drinks, but didn’t do well in straight shots. That being said, on the service side, the barista’s skills at Monmouth seemed FAR superior the any coffee chain shop I visited in London. Milk frothed to death, no microfoam (they did not know what this is at PAM…), etc.

So, I’d simply ranked both “Flat White” and “Monmouth” around 7 to 9 for quality of the grind, service skills and shot consistency, and the usual other suspects between 2 and 5, but feel free to disagree…as I said, not much experience in London from my side as I am not local. I appreciate the recommendation for Vergnano, I am happy to try them next time I come to L.

Roasters: not much experience, but I brought home some pounds from Monmouth that were recommended to me by their staff for a lever machine. It faired very well on my Elektra and also on a semi-auto commercial Rancilio I had access to. Again, thanks for the rec. of Vergnano and Drury, I’ll give both a try next time…