Cycling
The UK’s coolest urban cycling cafés
Coffee and cycling go hand in hand, and no bike ride is complete without a café stop. We've hunted out the coolest urban cycle cafés to visit in the UK.
Whether your favourite order is a flat white or an artisan cold brew, part of being a cyclist is appreciating a well-made coffee in great surroundings. So what makes a top-notch cycling café?
Obviously, the coffee has to be first rate and, of course, you need a decent slice of cake to go alongside it. Excellent views are a must (even if just for people watching), and it's always nice having other Lycra-lovers around to swoon over Strava stats – or help out with mechanical issues. And it turns out, some of the best spot you'll find are tucked away in UK cities. Here are our top picks.
1. Four Boroughs, Crystal Palace
On the edge of South London, this café is a frequent stop-off point for riders heading in or out of town. Claire Rampen from beryl, designers of innovative urban safety accessories, says: "It has a great view out onto the countryside, away in the distance to the south. It is community oriented, and promotes other young businesses and artists. Best thing to order? A double espresso and vegan brownie.”
Sit back and relax, looking over the hills you have tackled that morning.
2. Mud Dock Cycle Works, Bristol
Mud Dock practically invented the idea of bike cafés back in the early 1990s – it was one of the first spots to offer a workshop, sales area, coffee and food for its clients. Its harbourside spot offers everything a cyclist can want: top-brand bikes, helpful mechanics, kit to ogle over and delicious nosh from breakfast through to dinner.
It’s a piece of cycling history and still one of the best cycling cafes going.
3. Look mum no hands!, London
No café list would be complete without Look mum no hands! The original LMNH based in Old Street is still a firm favourite, with its combination of café, useful workshop – staffed by an excellent team of skilled mechanics – and social hub, for talks and evening events.
It’s the perfect hangout for pre-ride breakfast through to post-ride beers, and a good spot to watch live bike racing in the company of other fans.
Will Butler-Adams, Brompton CEO, agrees: “I pass it often when crossing London and, when I have a moment of time, I stop, grab a flat white and watch the world go by. It is genuine, the coffee is bitter and rich. It attracts an eclectic and interesting crowd.”
4. The Cycle Hub, Newcastle
Right on the edge of the quayside, within sight of the iconic Tyne bridge, The Hub is popular with Newcastle residents heading out of town to quieter roads, and the many people tackling the popular coast-to-coast routes that run past it. Bike hire, quality food, riverside seating and a workshop makes it a great stopping point, whatever it is you need.
5. Rapha Clubhouse, Soho, London
As Rapha’s first ever club house, this is the place for meeting other aficionados of Rapha cycling style and ethos. It is a regular stop off for riders heading out for park loops, as well as a destination for city shoppers.
You don’t have to arrive by bike, says cycling journalist Rebecca Charlton. "I always pop into the Rapha Cafe in Soho whether I’m on foot or by bike, because there’s always cycling on the TV, great people to chat to, good coffee and very secure bike storage, meaning you can really relax in sight of your pride and joy.”
6. The Handlebar Cafe, Oxford
The Handlebar is a favourite with cyclists, but its central location means it enjoys lots of visits from folk looking to soak up a bit of cycling culture. There are bikes hanging everywhere, the coffee is great and their breakfasts come in cyclist-sized portions.
7. Velocity, Inverness
A social enterprise café and workshop that has become a focal point for riders, artists, musicians and innovators. Frequently used as an evening venue for showing cycling films and hosting talks by adventurers, you'll find some great events taking place there. You can learn how to fix your bike, listen to great music or join in on spoken-word open-mic sessions. The cake and coffee is pretty great, too!
8. Seabass Cycles, Peckham, London
Seabass Cycles’ new place in Peckham incorporates an awesome cycling-friendly cafe. It’s a usual haunt for TEKKERZ rider Alec Briggs: “If I’m just on my normal commute in or even finishing a ride, I often end up at Seabass Cycles on Rye Lane.
“They do a variety of breakfast treats, my favourite being the avocado and feta on toast, but it's their chilli jam that makes it. Also as they're bad boy mechanics, you can get anything fine tuned while you eat, surrounded by a vast collection of bicycles.”
9. Coffee Architects, Royal Leamington Spa
This tiny cafe is packed and buzzing with atmosphere. Located in the middle of Leamington Spa, its huge range of cakes (including vegan and ‘sugar-free’ options) go down a treat. It's great in the summer, when you can sit back in the garden and enjoy a coffee and flapjack, knowing you've 100 percent earned it!
11. BrewDog Chain Gang, Brewdog craft beer bars, UK wide
BrewDog’s new global cycling club uses craft beer bars as club houses. The BrewDog Chain Gang provides a framework for anyone who is passionate about cycling to start or join a club (or 'chapter'), in their hometown, at their own local beery hangout. There are plenty of chapters across the UK, and some internationally, too.
12. Prologue, Harrogate
A one-stop shop for all your cycling needs: top-end bikes, a busy workshop, bike fitting, fitness testing, coaching, sports massage and, most important of all, a cracking café serving hot food and great coffee all day. This is the place to meet for your pre-ride espresso, post-ride re-fuelling or to kick back with a large slice of cake and watch the days’ Tour stage. Head out into the nearby hills to sample routes made famous by the Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire.
13. Popup Bikes, Manchester
Popup by name only, this is Manchester’s original and well established bike café, opened in 2012. Found underneath the iconic railway arches in Angel Meadows, it provides indoor cycle parking for up to 100 bikes, six days a week, has a cracking cycle repair shop and a quality café, which has become a popular meeting point for local cyclists. The whole vibe is very much about community before profits; it’s a space for cyclists to interact, exchange tips and share great coffee, sourced directly from the producer and roasted locally.