Laptop-friendly cafes in Shoreditch
The most reliable places to work on a laptop in Shoreditch are hotel lobbies and cafes that say so: The Hoxton on Great Eastern Street, EC2A, with free wifi throughout; One Hundred Shoreditch on Shoreditch High Street, whose lobby bar is open all day; and Café 1001 on Brick Lane, E1, which offers free wifi from 9am. Shoreditch Grind on Old Street keeps tables free for walk-ins, and Shoreditch Library on Hoxton Street is free until 8pm most weeknights. Below, where to sit, until when, and where not to open a laptop.
The Hoxton, Great Eastern Street
The Hoxton at 81 Great Eastern Street has free wifi throughout the hotel and air-conditioned public areas, including the lobby. It appears on LaptopFriendly's London map with hours of 7am to midnight. When you want lunch without packing up, the hotel's Italian, Il Bambini Club, does a set lunch from noon to 4.30pm on weekdays. Buy something every couple of hours; it is a lobby, not an office.
One Hundred Shoreditch, Shoreditch High Street
One Hundred Shoreditch is an independent hotel with 258 rooms, a coffee shop, a lobby bar you can "kick back" in at any time of day, a rooftop and Seed Library, a bar by Mr Lyan. It is also on LaptopFriendly's list. Note that the lobby changes character on Thursday and Friday evenings, when DJs play Lobby Lates, so it is a daytime desk. This week there is a free album listening party in the lobby bar on Thursday 5 November from 6.30pm, which is a reasonable place to shut the laptop.
Café 1001, Brick Lane
Café 1001 at 91 Brick Lane is a cafe by day and a cocktail bar and music venue by night, over two levels, and it offers free wifi along with coffee from rotating local roasters and cakes from local bakeries. It opens at 9am every day, and closes at 9pm on Monday and Sunday, 11.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday and midnight Thursday to Saturday. Work in the morning and early afternoon; by evening the DJ booth takes over.
Kahaila, Brick Lane
Kahaila at 135 Brick Lane has been on the street since the summer of 2012, a cafe run as a community project with specialty coffee and cakes, with red velvet the house slice. It describes itself as a space where anyone can take a break from the busyness of London, and it is listed on LaptopFriendly. It also hosts events and hires out the space, so check before you settle in for an afternoon.
Shoreditch Grind, Old Street
Shoreditch Grind at 213 Old Street opens at 7.30am on weekdays and always keeps a few tables free for walk-ins, which is the policy you want when you need a seat at 8am. It closes at 5pm on Monday and Sunday, 9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday and 10pm Thursday to Saturday. Avoid weekend afternoons, when bottomless brunch tables are booked from noon to 4.30pm.
Shoreditch Library, Hoxton Street
The free option is Shoreditch Library at 80 Hoxton Street, N1, open 10am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am to 6pm on Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturday. Library members can book two-hour computer slots and print, copy and scan. No one will ask you to buy a second flat white.
When you need a proper desk
If you have calls all day, a cafe is the wrong answer. A day pass at Second Home on Hanbury Street or The Brew on City Road costs from £25, includes tea and coffee and comes with phone booths. Second Home's day pass runs until 6pm; The Brew's from 9am to 5.30pm on weekdays. More in our coworking guide.
Where not to open a laptop
- Townhouse, Fournier Street: the cafe on the lower ground floor is laptop-free.
- Ozone, Leonard Street, at weekends: it is walk-in only and weekend brunch fills up fast. On weekdays, from 7.30am, it is a different place.
The etiquette
Order on arrival and again every couple of hours, take a two-seat table rather than a four, keep calls for outside, and leave when the lunch crowd arrives if the place is short of tables. Hotel lobbies give more room; independent cafes need the table back.
