03/02/20 'Covent Garden Grind' - review

It’s 1pm by the time we settle ourselves at a table. Our intentions for a mid morning brunch abandoned after we’d all slept in and been distracted by vintage clothes shops along the way. It’s a Sunday in mid January and me and a couple girlfriends have come to Grind Coffee. The coffee shop we crowd into is packed with young, hipster looking types. David Bowie lyrics adorn one wall in pink neon writing which, if a little cliché does seem to fit the atmosphere. As it transpires there’s no room inside but by the time we actually got here we were so hungry we decided to just sit at one of the tables out front and soon enough we are joined by other groups who’ve had the same idea. We order coffees first. One of my friends is belated by the waiter for her choice of milk alternative, after which ensues a brief but thorough discussion of which is the best type of plant based drink, apparently milk is “boring” but nevertheless, when it arrives my friend happily sips her soy chai latte. I order a butterfly pea latte. When I ask exactly what that is, the waiter seems about as ignorant as myself other than that it’s some sort of vegan coffee substitute and that it’s blue. That’s good enough for me. 

Between the three of us we order 2 breakfast burritos (one of the vegan variety) and some eggs Benedictine. As brunches (well, late lunches) go, I’ve had better. The burritos came wrapped in paper which looked quite cute but instead of keeping everything contained in the tortilla wrap which was I think the intention, ultimately it just made it quite difficult to eat when all the fillings started spilling out. The flavours were pretty basic (hash browns, avocado, tofu) but lacked seasoning and, it I’m honest, temperature. We did peruse the cocktail menu while we were eating and I think while I won’t be clamouring you revisit any time soon, if I did go back it would most likely be for happy hour. Whilst aesthetically pleasing, Grind Coffee could maybe experiment with seasonings a little more and spend less time chastising it’s customers for their milk choices (albeit humorously) and more time making sure the food makes it to the table shortly after it’s been prepared. 

42 Maiden Ln, 
Covent Garden, 
London 
WC2E 7LJ