Introducing: Karina Approved Cafés

PANCAKES Amsterdam Westermarkt near the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam

I’m on the quest all Gen Z students/freelancers eventually go on… the quest for a good “working” café.

Everyone needs a sanctuary for study. The ancients had the Library of Alexandria, Samwell Tarly has the Citadel, millenials… well we have coffee shops with “urban-industrial aesthetic” and baristas named Indigo.

Finding a good cafè to park yourself at for two hours is harder than you’d expect. A first world problem, I know, but still this is the information age. Come on guys, we can do better. If you’re going to hop on the tube for 20–30 minutes and pay for overpriced coffee, your pilgrimage better end with good wifi and plenty of outlets! Sadly, Yelp doesn’t suffice for my purposes. That “good for working” tag is “good for nothing”.

I’m always frustrated that there’s no good resource on evaluating the experience of an establishment through the perspective of a student/freelancer looking for some bomb carrot cake and table space. Ergo I decided to stop complaining and create one myself! Behold! The Condé Nast of Cafés, the Michellin Guide of Matcha Lattes: Karina Approved Cafés (KAC).

Worry not future study abroad student, I will find a place for you to insta while you “study” so all your plebeian non-abroad friends back home can grovel in jealousy. I plan (hope) to keep this going, posting whenever I see a new cafè! To kick off the KAC series I’m starting off with the café only a few steps away from my door…

An unassuming entrance into the coffee shop.

Coffee Studio 7Gr. Clapham

139 Clapham Rd, London SW9 0HP

Don’t let the outside fool you. It’s really well refurbished on the inside, with ample table space. No awkwardly bumping elbows with the person next to you.

Nearest Station: ~6 min walk from Stockwell Station (Northern Line, Zone 2)
Price: ££ (not dirt cheap, but reasonable for the quality)
Wifi: Fast, but I think you need to give your information for it
Space: ★★★★★
Outlets:★★★☆☆
Coffee/Tea:★★★★★
Food:★★☆☆☆

SO much table space ie. you can do a good spread of textbook/notebook/laptop without annoying your neighbors (which is pretty rare to come by at a coffee shop in a bustling city). A real gem, this feature is definitely what I would come here for. To be fair though, this much space is at the cost of being farther out from really central London.

Cute decor, not too loud and a good mix of couch-y space and desk-y space. Outlets are relatively easy to access from any spot near a wall.

Cute signage, quite straightforward.

If you love espresso drinks this place’s motto is “for espresso lovers only”. They’re, like, dropping hints I think.

Their espresso drinks are obviously very smooth and the tea comes with it’s own pot and timer which I thought was really thoughtful! I had a plain latte, which I thought was quite good but there wasn’t anything about it that made me think it was THE latte. The drinks are good, but not what keeps me coming back to this place.

Food isn’t bad, just not much selection. If you’re not coming at a meal time and not looking for anything hearty they’ve got some buns and some baked goods.

Kevin’s tea came as a set with its own pot, cup and steeping timer. How thoughtful!

Overall productivity was pretty good here. I finished a whole 10 page essay I had been working on for a few days in this shop so I would say ability to focus was good. There’s a mix of people on their laptops and chatting away so good background noise if you’re into that kind of thing, but it’s not super loud. Door was a little unstable though, so the cold wind and air would blow in from outside if people didn’t shut it properly which was a nuisance since I sat a little closer to it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first installmend of KAC! Let me know your thoughts/comments below! Have you been to 7 Gr. Coffeestudio Clapham? What did you think? If you liked this guide and want more like it, subscribe!