We Love Everywhere

The 'blink and you'll miss it' Coffee House is a welcome break from the cafe chains that litter every high street in the country, so don't blink and don't miss it...

Despite the signage leaning out onto Watford’s High Street, The Coffee House in the town centre is an easy one to miss. The small, comfortable and friendly coffee shop is at the back of gift shop Presence, and is filled with leather sofas, arm chairs, tables, chairs and some very average artwork on the walls.

But never mind the art, The Coffee House is a break from the boring monotonous copy-of-a-copy Starbuck-style chains that relate every town centre high street to the next, diluting individual character and demolishing independently owned businesses. 

The free internet access in the shop (again a rare treat among coffee shops these days) means that each corner is usually taken up by freelancers or students that have finally realised that work can’t be done with Cash in the Attic on in the background. 

But it’s not an office, a small crèche area puts pay to that and during the holidays The Coffee House can become a bit of a family place, with toddlers running around and mothers close behind.

Sandwiches, cakes, sweets and biscuits are all available at the bar, and the blackboard usually has a speciality drink on offer (currently the chilli coffee Winter Warmer), besides the obvious Americanos and Lattes. 

The only danger with these places is that they make life too good for customers, and the free internet access and crèche facilities encourage a 'one coffee in three hours' culture, which is great for the customer but not so great for business. Hopefully that's not the case.