London with Alex from Workshop Coffee 🇬🇧

Originally from Leeds in northern England, Alex McFarlane moved to London to join the production team at Workshop Coffee, which has been a fixture in the London coffee scene since 2011. There he discovered a city that “is just a different beast,” he says. “Even if you get to know your local area, there’s also new areas to explore.”

Alex’s Filter guide to London is a mixture of his favorite spots and new places he’s exploring.

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around London?

I tend to stay fairly local, so East London, when I’m in London. I generally spend my weekends seeing friends and my partner and I have recently taken up running again. [Except] perhaps Ireland, I’ve not been anywhere apart from London which has such a nice pub culture. Most residential areas have a great selection of local pubs within walking distance, so I’m often trying to meet up with friends there. When I have the time, I do try and get out in the countryside, camping and walking, as much as possible.

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

I’d probably try and take them to either Dusty Knuckle in Dalston or Esters in Stoke Newington for some breakfast or lunch. If we fancied something lowkey, I’d look no further than Andu Ethiopian Vegan Cafe in Dalston. Always very fun with great food and BYOB. Otherwise, one of my favourite places to eat has to be The Clarence Tavern, always amazing. If we headed there, it would have to be either a pint at The Auld Shillelagh or Macintosh Ales, the latter of which I just recently discovered but is a very cute little spot.

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners, green spaces, charming walks, or hidden gems there?

There’s so many different museums and art galleries in London, and lots of quite small, specialised ones too that are always worth checking out. I recently visited the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in Highbury with my parents. Not everything there was to my taste but it’s really hidden away, off a main street in Highbury, and walking past you almost wouldn’t know it’s there. I can highly recommend if you’re looking for a slightly different art gallery, it also has a great little cafe in there.

Despite being a really built up city, there are plenty of green spaces in London, you only need to take a quick look at a map to see them. However, I really enjoy going to the Walthamstow Wetlands and walking up the River Lea as it really doesn’t feel like you’re in London once you get away from the houses, apart from the odd high-rise that you can see.

If you’re into walking and the outdoors, I’d also highly recommend a trip to the Snow Peak Store near Piccadilly Circus. It’s a beautiful space with tons of cool gear and you can also get a Workshop Coffee whilst you peruse!

Filter: What touristy things in London are worth the hype?

There are so many touristy bits to do in London, but because most of them are super busy, even on weekdays I tend to stay clear of them. I think I would focus on more ’touristy’ hospitality spots and try and hit up as many nice places to eat and drink, such as Fortitude Bakehouse, whose baked goods are certainly worth the hype.

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

In my local area, I would have to say I always enjoy going to Lodestar. They’re super small and in a very residential area down a side street, you could easily miss them but the service is always spot on in there and really warm.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

When I first moved to London I didn’t really get out of London too much as I felt like it was actually quite difficult and I missed the countryside a lot. However, in recent years, I’ve actually realised that it’s super easy to get trains out of London and there’s loads of places nearby that you can go and come back in a day. It’s probably also my favourite thing to do.

I've done a lot of walking, particularly in the Chilterns, which is only about 40 minutes to an hour away by train. I’d advise getting up early and getting out before it gets busy on the trains. Particularly in summer you can get a pretty full day out. The same can be said for camping, which I’ve gotten back into of late too and if you have access to a car, there’s plenty of places that are about an hours drive outside of London where you can get away from the city!

Filter: What makes London feel like home to you?

It helps that pretty much all my friends and my sister all live here, so it's a little home from home. Since I moved down to London, I’ve always lived in a very similar area of East London, so getting to know that area well also helps. I’m not sure that London will ever feel like home, home. Leeds, where I’m from, is a big city, but London is just a different beast and even if you get to know your local area, there’s also new areas to explore which is great but I find it hard to feel as comfortable as I do back home.

Filter: How did you end up in the London coffee scene?

I’m originally from Leeds in the north of England and ended up in the coffee industry fairly accidentally. I originally studied politics at Sheffield Uni and worked part-time in one of the university’s cafes, just to earn some extra money. The coffee there wasn’t anything special, in fact, it wasn’t very good at all but one of the managers there was really into their coffee. They took me to one of the local specialty cafes, Upshot, which has since unfortunately closed. It was quite an eye-opening experience for me at the time so when I finished uni and wasn’t sure what to do, I took a job as an event barista for a company in Leeds, called The Barista, who specialised mobile coffee bars around the UK and Europe. I enjoyed working in coffee so much that I decided to make a career out of it. That's when I moved to London to take up a position as a production assistant here at Workshop and I’ve been here ever since!

Filter: Can you share about your role at Workshop?

I work as head of production at Workshop. Working with producers and my team who are incredibly passionate about the product that we put out there is the biggest satisfaction that I get out of my job. If it’s not good enough, we don’t put the product out there and always striving for the best version is what I think sets us apart.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

I think it would just have to be Copenhagen. Every time I go I manage to discover a new little coffee shop somewhere. If I had to pin it on one shop, it would have to be Coffee Collective. They’ve grown quite a lot in recent years, but no matter which cafe you go into, the staff are always super friendly and helpful. For me, great service is almost more important to my experience than the coffee I receive at the end.

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Workshop Coffee is a roaster and cafe located in Fitzrovia, London.

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