Old Spike Roastery

What’s that in the corner? Looking like a tiny steam engine, that my friend is a coffee roaster and it's the reason why caffeine heads flock here. The place is tiny, with a handful of seats along the bare brick walls or on the bench out front. Started purely as a roastery in 2014, it soon opened its doors to enthusiastic Peckhamites – and now runs coffee carts across the city, too.

You'll spot Old Spike’s seasonal, single-origin beans elsewhere, but the mothership offers a freshly roasted espresso experience, plus interesting filters. Our Ethiopian Rocko Mountain was a super-smooth brew, fruity and chocolatey. Barista Lucy was Old Spike’s first homeless employee, part of its ongoing work with homeless charities (that’s why its nomadic carts are called Change Please).