Coffee in London: Orrery Epicerie

I have no idea how many establishments there actually are in London where it is possible to buy a coffee. However I suspect if they were all slammed together into one linear-mile-long street that to fit them all in the buildings on the imaginary street would, like a miniature version of Manhattan, be sky-high. When I was in London recently, despite the plethora of choice for a caffeine fix, I ended up returning to the Orrery Epiciere on Marylebone High Street, partly because I was in the area but mainly because the last time I was there the coffee was a model of perfect velvet-y smoothness.

The Orrery Epicerie is right beside The Conran Shop. It is actually part of, although separate from, the Orrery restaurant which is on one of the upper floors of The Conran shop. All food for the Orrery Epicerie comes from the Orrery kitchen. Although I have never eaten in the main restaurant it is by all accounts good.

The Orrery Epiciere which according to the Orrery website is open for breakfast, lunch and early supper is lilliputian but much is packed in. There are: a handful of tables surrounded by chairs; a counter to sit at running along the front window; shelves filled with foods and wines; and a deli counter with yummy looking food in the fridges and a tempting selection of salamis dangling over it. Outside there are some more tables which this year must definitely be reserved for die-hard optimists as the leitmotif of the summer thus far has been rain – rivers of it.

I just had a coffee with a macaroon. If you are heading there for lunch the menu offers a soup of the day, various salads and plates (salmon plate, charcuterie plate, cheese plate etc) and a pretty good selection of wines by the glass. As I was there before noon I had no difficulty getting one of the table but I suspect that’s not so easy come the lunchtime rush. As it’s principally a delicatessen all the gourmet food is also available to-go.