UPDATE I now know everything about coffee well, maybe not everything but at least a few orders of magnitude more after the wonderful Qype event taking place at Notes and the great staff headed up by Ben taking us through things like how temperature and other things will affect the coffee. We had a very informative evening with Ben barely stopping to breathe while taking us through the aspects of making great coffee and Fabio adding in some technical details to complete our learning. All in all it was a great evening with a lot of tasting different kinds of coffee (beans, brewing methods, etc.) and getting to know how to get the best flavour out of your coffee. Remember, if you go to Notes Music & Coffee don't forget to ask the staff any questions you might have about coffee. They are very knowledgeable, really friendly and happy to help you out with your questions. I've been a bit slow trying this place. I finally went and wished I had gone earlier. It's such a nice little place with a very non-British interior and some great music playing. The coffee is made on a fantastic La Marzocco machine with Square Mile coffee beans and is among the best in London. I tried the lemon cake which was kind of dry but the coffee and the ambiance of the place really make up for it. I am quite excited to have a really nice coffee place in a more central location. I'd like to recommend it to all coffee lovers but at the same time I don't want it to be so full that I can't find a table next time I go there. Dilemma read more

Wonderful experience. The waiters were very friendly, recommending coffees and explaining where they came from/what naturally processed coffee is. We ordered a Kenyan coffee that had been naturally processed with the flower, so it had an interesting strawberry taste. Probably wouldn't order it again though. Also had a hot chocolate which was excellent and very authentic. Atmosphere is wonderful, great natural light and good music. Overall a great experience! We will be back. read more

Near The National Museum this cafe is a great spot for a well made flat white. I wish I recall the name of the pastry I had but it was amazing. I think this would be a good first date spot for a coffee before heading over to see some art. read more

Notes - Coffee & Tea Near Me - London, XGL

Very nice place to go for a quick drink and a sharing platter. It's not the cheapest, but the staff are friendly and it's in a great location. read more

Pleasant little coffee shop in the midst of chaos. Excellent coffee and atmosphere albeit the staff were a little ponderous with service.

Cozy ambience with amazing coffee :) I really love sitting inside and enjoy the natural lighting through the ceiling window :) beautiful decoration too. read more

Right next to the English National Opera, it's a convenient location to pop in to. They have a number of tables and counter seats as well as a large communal table in the back. Even with all of the tables, you may have to wait for a seat, or just choose to take away. Their tea was typical cafe fare and I'm told the coffee is pretty good. read more

Love this place! So sorry to have only discovered it my last day here. I've now had two yogurt and granola and fruit bowls there in one day! Bridget makes the best yogurt parfait I've had in my life. I will be back next time I'm in town!! read more

Victim of its own success??? Notes used to be the place which on one hand you want to tell your best friends about, on the the other hand you'd wish it stayed a secret to not to loose its great atmosphere. Still one of the best coffees I have ever had in London, but the last couple of times I went it was crowded with annoying tourists and lacking its usual atmosphere. Maybe it was just bad luck and I shall have to wait until the tourist season calms down before I go back. read more

A nice place for music lovers. You can enjoy it with the best coffee. The decor is also amazing.

Really impressed with the coffee, jugs of water, pastries and general concept of this place, especially given that it's right in the middle of touristville. Up there with Kaffeine and Browns of Brockley. read more

Amazing coffee with very nice and relaxed atmospher, worth every penny. Yap, Finally got a fabulous cafe!!!:)

All in all a nice little place for small groups of people. Intimate and comfy. The food is good, but the wine selection could have been more varied. The prices were reasonable and the service okay. read more

GREAT coffee and fabulous cake. Friendly, knowledgeable staff too highly recommended!

Nice place to enjoy a cup of coffee with friends. Great atmosphere and music!

The place is good, not something special,really. The staff is nice.

As the name suggests, you can enjoy some nice coffee and fine music. It's not exactly in my style but I like the place and I'm not giving up on it. The food and drinks are great and the staff is friendly who would miss such a combination. read more

This is a pleasant place, where you can read your favourite book and enjoy a cup of hot, steamy coffee. And as the quotation of John Druten goes I think if I were a woman I'd wear coffee as a perfume. read more

My sister and I came to London on holiday for the New Year. One of our rituals when vacationing is to scout out the best coffee in the area. On NYE we saw that Notes promoted online that they closed at 5PM, so we made sure to arrive a bit early to have adequate time to grab coffee and a treat. We arrived at 4:30 and were instantly shunned upon entrance. "Ladies, just so you know we are closing." She said how she THOUGHT that they had already closed down the bar, but could MAYBE whip us out a couple drinks. We looked and saw that they had already pulled all of their pastries, as well. It became immediately clear that though they were still open for a good half-hour they were no longer interested in serving patrons and were manipulatively discouraging them from entering the store. We told the barista -- who we assume was a manager of some sort?? -- that we had seen their closing time was 5PM. After a moment of hesitation she agreed, so we politely insisted that they must still be serving customers. After some awkward back-and-forth, during which she was still trying to withhold any accommodation, she finally agreed to let us order drinks and sit down. Every baristas manner was cold, hostile, and unwelcoming. Still 15-20 minutes before closing, the "manager" made the rounds to everyone in the cafe and told them they were closing. Another barista began to stack furniture and shut down seating areas even though multiple parties of guests were still seated and trying to enjoy their drinks. It was laughably evident that they were trying to kick everyone out to get on with their personal NYE celebrations. Now, believe me, I am a manager at a coffee shop myself. I have worked/closed countless holidays and know what a pain it is when patrons OVERSTAY their welcome. But never, ever would I or any of my baristas forcefully shun paying customers from my store while ostensibly open. My sister and I made sure to leave a few minutes to five -- before the store was actually closed. I can sympathize with wanting to get on with the evening's plans, but I cannot sympathize with allowing that to effect work ethic nor customer service. So disappointing and I hope management addresses and corrects this kind of behavior. P.S. Our drinks were made with little to no care. We ordered a couple of mochas, which tasted grainy and unsatisfying. We regret not asking for the names of the baristas on staff, but there were four or five present. read more

I was visiting a friend this past summer and I was told to try this little place. Boy, was I in for a treat! They serve the best latte I've ever had. The staff are very friendly. The place has a nice ambiance; I sat and unwound as I sipped my latte. Seriously, I think I spent one of the best afternoons ever at Notes. I ended up going there every morning to grab their amazing latte (hot and iced in alternating days!) until I had to leave London for home. So, thanks guys, for a wonderful coffee experience in London! read more

I've ben here 3 times over the last few months. The first time I went was for an afternoon apero and we enjoyed a good glass of wine. No complaint. The second time we ordered some tapas off the menu and the portions were memorably small and overpriced. The third time, today, was for a coffee and visit with a friend. Not only was my 2,50 glass of orange juice served in a small water glass, but the latte my friend ordered was completely forgotten by the waitstaff and barista. There was no wifi, and no soap in either of the bathrooms! To top it off the proprietor blasted the volume for no apparent reason on their TV and didn't even apologise to all the customers in the room as we waited for her to turn it down so we could actually each other again. I WON'T BE BACK! I love supported non-corporate chain café's, but the Cafe Nero up the street on St. Martin's now has my business over this place. read more

Too bitter espresso, fairly bland iced tea, not fresh enough cookies and pastries. Vibrant atmosphere without too much British arrogance is the best part of if. The skylight in the back as well as the interior lighting are perfect touches to a comfy sitting area. It's in a great location, right on the edge of Trafalgar, so it has a captive customer base. read more

Excellent place with good coffee, great sandwich and very good service. No Wifi though.

overpriced, even for touristy london. subfloor desert quality. barely adequate espresso based coffee. won't be back.

Great coffee and great customer service - I mean, really special customer service. Attentive, good follow through, coming across as genuine. The ambiance was soothing with good natural lighting throughout. Food on display looked very appealing but I had already eaten when I visited so I'll have to check it out another time. I really liked the benches at the back wall, with the armrests-cum-coffee holders, and the large tables were host to many a laptop-yielding camper. The ceilings, if I remember correctly, were fairly high, which I really like in a coffee house because it feels more like an institution, in keeping with the traditional aspects of coffee houses. The music was a bit too jazzy for my liking, and I think the video screens should be chucked out because they distracted me and my company from ourselves. I think there's too much of this kind of passive stimulation around in the first place so for me, the less the better. All in all, the shop is very nice and deserves a loyal customer base. Good luck and well done. read more

Distinctive coffee (darker roasted than many) and decent selection, but definitely service issues (slow/understaffed) and no wifi and always seem to be havibg payment card / machine / other issues. So clearly not in the top 3 for the area (grind, new row, timberyard) read more

Amazing coffee! Had a flat-white that was out of this world. So utterly perfect. Strong, short, to the point. I love this place. The baristas seem to care about the coffee, which, for my money, is worth its weight in gold. Don't go changin' :) read more

great proper espresso-based coffees. hot chocolate also excellent. pastries etc look good. this is a great new coffee stop right in the heart of touristy central London - 2 mins walk from Trafalgar Square / Leicester Square, 5 mins from Covent Garden. read more