Foxcroft & Ginger - Boxpark

Thing I learned at Foxcroft & Ginger at the top of Boxpark Shoreditch this weekend:

A rather pedestrian brew of coffee is infinitely better when served in a mismatched bone china teacup and saucer, with your own little jug of milk.

The Boxpark incarnation of Foxcroft & Ginger is a great place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while waiting to meet friends in the area on a weekend. You'll have a good vantage of Shoreditch's gentrified grime, and you'll see an Overground train or two trundle right by as well. Ooo, look at you, so urban and cool.

The staff here is outrageously friendly. And adorable. And accommodating.

Ah, not to be bitchy, but... *especially for London*

They're consistently awesome, but for example:

We arrived about 15 minutes prior to closing, killing some time before meeting friends for dinner, and the guy was super nice about it. He made us sit down after we protested and said we'd take away (something like 'it's too cold and it's no bother, please!') .

This location has the charm of the Soho location (given with a less odd assortment of seating) and the same food (which is notable for a coffee shop). Most importantly, it's the same super coffee and a nice selection of teas.

If you've been to Boxpark but not to this shop, it's important to note that the cafe has two boxes-worth of space, so there is an adequate amount of seating.

And just an idea: if you have a similarly pleasant experience, toss them some coins. It's never a bad idea to positively reinforce a novel approach to customer service in London. (Ok... to be bitchy!) =)

Could you be more cool?

Sat there in a retail project that could well be the poster-child for London's gentrification?

Drinking swanky coffee and slightly over-priced cakes?

Maybe you're shaking off the hangover from the night before. That's cool.

But please try not to judge me more than you already have, Miss Ubiquitous Hipster.

I'm sorry I don't have an ironic moustache.

This is a great place to be on a hot day if you don't mind not having shade. Massive picnic tables adorn the boxpark.
The inside looks cool too.
I can't believe how amazing many of the sandwiches looked with really inventive combos (like sweet potato, aubergine and feta). They all had what looked to be scrumptious bread.
I had an iced latte (which I think they sweetened which is slightly annoying). Other small annoyances--different music outside than inside so it was a bit of a music cluster-f*ck where we were sitting AND the woman that waited on me was so new she couldn't do anything without asking for help. Annoying having staff being trained during business hours.

I have to say, a box wouldn't usually be my first choice of place to go on a miserable Sunday afternoon, but I really wanted a drip coffee, and to be fair, the F&G container is pretty cosy. Although I've reviewed F&G in Soho, I feel that the resident coffee maker here deserves some praise as the drip-filter coffee I had here was really really good. First things first, it was brought in a jug (which my waitress mistook for tea, haha) which was really cute. Secondly, it was an excellent cup of coffee - perfect temperature (I've had some lukewarm ones before), tasty and had an almost floral flavour which I haven't really experienced before. I had a quick chat with the guy about the beans etc. when he revealed that very few people get the drip coffee here. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE BUY THE DRIP COFFEE! I'd be distraught if they stopped serving it - it was the absolute perfect beverage for my day.

We also had an apple custard crumble muffin which was yummy (obviously contained a LOT of butter which earns it extra gold stars in my book). Oh, and I was caught staring at the roast pork bun which the fine gentleman at the table was eating - that's definitely going straight into my belly next time. Nom nom.