Townhouse Spitalfields is a gorgeous little hidey-hole. Set in an early eighteenth-century building opposite Hawksmoor’s Christ Church on Fournier Street, from the outside Townhouse looks like a charming and cluttered antiques shop, but step inside and you’ll find all manner of hidden courtyards, cosy nooks, winding ancient staircases, an art gallery and a lovely little café on the lower ground floor.
The café feels like being in a Georgian kitchen. Copper pots hang from the walls alongside cast iron lanterns; a range oven sits neatly under an alcove; a big farmhouse table in the centre is laden with all sorts of cakes and goodies. They serve all the usual teas and coffees as well as a few iced drinks (including a cordial gimlet), and food is strictly of the baked variety, all home made. In the shop you can peruse ceramics, contemporary artworks and olden-days treasures.
It’s strictly a laptop-free zone, so leave the work at home and soak up the peaceful atmosphere instead.