Last updated on January 22, 2024
Peckham has all the ingredients for a hipster heaven – men with beards, its own craft brewery, artisanal delis and, of course, a lot of coffee. I mostly work from home and I don’t have an office so I’ve become somewhat of a connoisseur of the local cafes.
Luckily for me, there are plenty to choose from and it seems as though more are opening each month.
Here’s a little guide to the best cafes in Peckham, including places where you can work and use your laptop.
Melange
12 Maxted Road, London SE15 4LL
The little French chocolaterie, Melange always makes me think of the film Chocolat. It has a charming living-room decor, complete with house cat. The owner makes a range of unusual chocolate on-site, including, my favourite, matcha strawberry. The decadent hot chocolate is incredible. Choose from dairy, soya, rice or coconut milk. The cafe used to be on Bellenden Road but has now moved to Maxted Road and doubles as a cocktail and wine bar.
Cafe G
184 Peckham Rye, London SE22 9QA
This spacious cafe is one of the newest additions to the Peckham scene. It’s looks out onto Peckham Rye park so will be especially nice in summer. There are plenty of tasty baked goods (the brownies are lush) and the coffee is great quality. It’s another place that has plugs and good wifi.
Petitou
63 Choumert Road Peckham, London SE15 4AR
Petitou has been around for a long time and as such has a loyal following of people from the pre-gentrification days. It feels more like a country cafe than something you’d find in London. It serves hearty, wholesome food.
Well & Fed
115 Queen’s Road, SE15 2EZ
Well & Fed has a mission: to help people eat and live consciously. As such, everything is sustainably sourced and often zero waste. It’s both a deli and cafe, and serves a wholesome menu of sandwiches, soups and breads.
NOLA
224 Rye Lane
NOLA was created by pop duo Oh Wonder who swapped band life for cafe life, creating a coffee shop based on their favourite places from around the world. It’s a minimalist, hipster space, serving top notch coffee and an all day brunch.
Blackbird Bakery
The Peckham Blackbird Bakery, which originated as a market stall in East Dulwich and now has branches across south-east London, is under the arches of Queens Road Peckham station. Everything is homemade, from the breads to the pastries to the cereal. They do a good all-day breakfast menu. And the cakes are excellent.
Any others to add to the list? Let me know.
oh how I miss you London!
Nice! I visit London for work, so this will come in very handy 🙂
WHY did I move out of Peckham?!
Cool cafes. 🙂 I am sure it must be lots of fun to sit, work and sip coffee at such cafes. I am curious to taste the coffee now. 😉
I love No.67! I wrote about it in my round-up of breakfasts in London a couple of weeks ago – their poached eggs, and trout on English muffins is amazing 🙂 Totally going to check out some of these though 🙂
There are so many great places in Peckham to try out.
Great selection of cafes. I love working in a nice cafe, I find it really easy to concentrate for some reason!
Oh my! That No.67 Veggie Full English looks amazing! Shouldn’t have read this post while I’m hungry!
Oh man, these look fantastic and could totally be somewhere in Neukölln! Clearly we need to spend more time in Peckham when we’re in London next!
Great list. Also worth checking out –
– Barry’s cafe, in the station arches
– Old Spike Roastery – opened recently, and only on weekends at the moment, but a great, meaningful project roasting and serving excellent coffee
– Aneto cafe, on the burgeoning stretch of East Dulwich Road independents
– Rye Wax records – a good place to chill and have been made to go in for alcoholic stunning hot chocolates on winter days
– Mousetail van – chairs outside are perfect for watching Peckham go by on a summer’s day
– any number of ‘old school’ cafes – coffee may not be great but characterful longstanding places that we can’t let disappear
Further afield (ie a short walk) there is the new Brickhouse Bakery, the Rye cafe etc of course, and in the other direction the superlative Persepolis (check out the ginger tea – low on caffeine, perhaps but strong in every other respect), Daily Goods and Fowlds, while eastwards don’t forget Bambuni in Nunhead.
And even then I know I’ve missed plenty.
Thanks for the tips! We have friends living near Peckham and we will hopefully be moving back down to London soon.
We will definitely check out some of your recommendations! I particularly like the sound of the veggie breakfast at No.67. I’m a total sucker for Halloumi!
How funny, I found your blog through your travel writing as I’m planning a trip – and I get a list of cafés within 5 minutes of my flat! A welcome surprise!
And yes I second the vote for Aneto! Not a great place for a hangover since it’s quite loud and echo-ey and next to the kids playground, but it definitely gets my ‘best full English’ vote.
Pedlar do a fab brunch too, especially if it’s a Bloody Mary type day…
Very useful list of Peckham cafe. Thanks for sharing
FYI at least three of these are closed now (Viva, Lerryn’s, Peckham Refreshment Rooms)
Stupid list of overpriced trendy wank. You include the word “hipster” in almost all of the descriptions. It’s a real shame Peckham has attracted people and businesses such as these.