Oh Beehive!
Beehive Cafe
Ex-Flying Duck, Creek Road
I have been trying to get to this place since Angie told me it was going to open - in my keen-ness I managed to go before it was actually operative. I had a lovely chat with the people who have moved into Flying Duck's old gaff - four of them in all, all ex-market people - two lots of vintage clothes, a record guy and the coffee man. All delighted to have their own premises at last (the biggest comment was 'out of the cold - at last') even if they have to share it to be able to afford the rent. But we owe the Flying Duck people a big vote of thanks in that they may have gone themselves, but they absolutely refused to allow any chains to come in in their place and happily allowed independents to split the rent.
Then Real Life got in the way. I got emails by the crate-load - M&R, Darren, Jen, Angie, Katja - to name just the ones I can remember - telling me how good this coffee is, but only actually managed to get there yesterday.
And now I know what the fuss is about. This coffee is fabulous, folks. A worthy contender for the now-open crown (since the tragic demise of the Coffee Cellar) of "Best Coffee In Greenwich." Rich and satisfying, yet mellow and un-bitter at the same time, it's the owner's own blend, roasted by his own fair hand at his roastery in Charlton (you can still buy it at his stall on Stockwell St Market at weekends.)
The guy's Antipodean (I can't tell from his accent whether he's Aussie or a New Zealander - I'm sure someone will put me right) and they take their coffee very seriously Down Under. It truly is exceptional coffee - and for homesick antipodeans everywhere, yes, they do Flat Whites, and served with that all-important smile on their faces. It truly made me wonder at the queue outside the deeply inferior Starbucks that I had to pass to get to Beehive.
In fact my only complaint is the size of the place. It's minute. There's a couple of chairs around but apart from that you can really only get takeaway - nice enough on a day like this but less fun on a rainy Monday. Three of us trooped in and it was overcrowded. He needs a bigger place and quick.
But I have a cunning plan, and it goes like this.
We all visit this great new cafe, buy lots of coffee and then persuade the owners (someone told me it was Joy, but it could be Greenwich Hospital Trust) of the now-vacated Coffee Cellar to give the Beehive guy a good rent. We then persuade him to keep the groovy 60s theme and we'll once again have fantastic coffee in cool retro surroundings. Voila!
If you want to order hand roasted coffee - either for mail order or to pick up at the market stall, visit http://www.londoncoffeeroasters.co.uk/
Ex-Flying Duck, Creek Road
I have been trying to get to this place since Angie told me it was going to open - in my keen-ness I managed to go before it was actually operative. I had a lovely chat with the people who have moved into Flying Duck's old gaff - four of them in all, all ex-market people - two lots of vintage clothes, a record guy and the coffee man. All delighted to have their own premises at last (the biggest comment was 'out of the cold - at last') even if they have to share it to be able to afford the rent. But we owe the Flying Duck people a big vote of thanks in that they may have gone themselves, but they absolutely refused to allow any chains to come in in their place and happily allowed independents to split the rent.
Then Real Life got in the way. I got emails by the crate-load - M&R, Darren, Jen, Angie, Katja - to name just the ones I can remember - telling me how good this coffee is, but only actually managed to get there yesterday.
And now I know what the fuss is about. This coffee is fabulous, folks. A worthy contender for the now-open crown (since the tragic demise of the Coffee Cellar) of "Best Coffee In Greenwich." Rich and satisfying, yet mellow and un-bitter at the same time, it's the owner's own blend, roasted by his own fair hand at his roastery in Charlton (you can still buy it at his stall on Stockwell St Market at weekends.)
The guy's Antipodean (I can't tell from his accent whether he's Aussie or a New Zealander - I'm sure someone will put me right) and they take their coffee very seriously Down Under. It truly is exceptional coffee - and for homesick antipodeans everywhere, yes, they do Flat Whites, and served with that all-important smile on their faces. It truly made me wonder at the queue outside the deeply inferior Starbucks that I had to pass to get to Beehive.
In fact my only complaint is the size of the place. It's minute. There's a couple of chairs around but apart from that you can really only get takeaway - nice enough on a day like this but less fun on a rainy Monday. Three of us trooped in and it was overcrowded. He needs a bigger place and quick.
But I have a cunning plan, and it goes like this.
We all visit this great new cafe, buy lots of coffee and then persuade the owners (someone told me it was Joy, but it could be Greenwich Hospital Trust) of the now-vacated Coffee Cellar to give the Beehive guy a good rent. We then persuade him to keep the groovy 60s theme and we'll once again have fantastic coffee in cool retro surroundings. Voila!
If you want to order hand roasted coffee - either for mail order or to pick up at the market stall, visit http://www.londoncoffeeroasters.co.uk/
Labels: Cafes, Food and Drink
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
08:58
7 Comments:
These guys are great - they even let me have a bag of beans on credit for a day! It's stating the obvious but if locals patronise this place we may still maintain a little power against the might of chains/RHT/FtY etc etc. The only downside is where it is; as a resident I try to avoid the centre as much as possible, picking a route across the park and up King William street to get to my favourite Royal Hill haunts. Coffee Cellar would be ideal, though...
Please,please,please,please can we keep away from the 'Let's use these guys because they're not Starbucks or Costa' argument. If they are good at what they do, people will use them, if not then sadly they won't.
BTW we have the same power with the 'chains' if you continue to use them then it's your fault. Please no 'big bad chains' winging on here!
Exactly where are they please? Directions from either Cutty Sark or Greenwich DLR - thank you.
Remember Flying Duck? They're in their old premises.
Ok. Come out of DLR and turn right, going past that godawful Wetherspoons pub onto Creek Road. The shop that has Beehive in it is almost directly opposite you. It also sells secondhand records and vintage clothes.
Check it out...
I finallly made it here last week for a quick coffee and I agree it was a fantastic coffee, as good as the nice man from the Coffee Cellar made me :) I was going to stay in and drink it but it seemed a bit like sitting in the middle of their store for some reason and I felt a bit odd - so I had it takeaway instead. Will be back though as I like their loyalty card scheme and my husband will be keen on their selection of eats I think.
I'm with you in encouraging them to take over the Coffee Cellar - will pop in tomorrow to help the cause :)
I went today and it was delicious coffee. They also have Byron Bay Cookies from Oz and exquisite tartlets from Popina (www.popina.co.uk) - the dark chocolate and pistachio one I had was yum and not too sweet.
I like this place, too! Jeff the barista is Australian but his family lived in New Zealand for awhile, thus the tricky-to-place accent.
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