The Bench Cafe in Islington

I’m a regular visitor and have always found it welcoming. The coffee in particular is very good.

Food was good, coreee was OK, and service was friendly. Quite loud inside.

10 second shot of espresso; not at all balanced.

I passed by here by accident for a short visit, to grab coffee and a couple of vegan croissants, and the space really caught me. It has a community feel to it, hospitable, and very welcoming to laptop fellas such as myself 😀 Service was fine and I intend to return for a closer and more relaxed visit 😌

Simple coffee shop with good coffee and service. let's hope the new management retains the status quo.

Despite being quite noisy, it has a very pleasant ambiance.

The coffee shop that we randomly walked into But I wasn't disappointed. Good coffee, delicious food, and good service staff. #travellingAsACouple

Feels like a home away from home. The coffee is just👌

Belle salle claire et bon accueil . Des salades , des quiches ,... dans un endroit calme . C'est frais et bien adapté pour une pause déjeuner .

£4.80 for an oat cappuccino that is bitter? Hmm

I previously rated with 5 stars, but during my recent visit with friends, the server was unwelcoming. Her tone and demeanor lacked warmth and seemed displeased to assist us. Management should consider retraining your team to communicate with frequent customers in a more hospitable manner.

£4.60 for an oat flat white - £0.85 of which for non dairy milk, like it’s a choice to be lactose intolerant

Stopped by very briefly for lunch at around 2pm, but by this time they had stopped serving many of the lunch options. However, the soup was delicious, nice atmosphere however quite busy.

Paid £4.50 for a thin slice of banana bread. Extortionate. Can’t help but feel ripped off.

I didn't have time to eat or drink anything because it took me ages to locate the place.

This place was a great space for a catch up with friends . Variety of great veggie and vegan food , great christmas selection with the drinks ! With Lovely staff.

Our local. Terrific coffee, great food, fantastic team and unique location at the Goldsmiths Centre with cool displays out back. Can’t wait for them to get a proper brekky menu up and running!

Good food and coffee and the staff are lovely!

Clean and tidy and food was nice.

This used to be my favourite lunch spot. They've recently refurbished so the venue looks very nice but the food is not as nice, portions are much smaller and expensive. Very few options are gluten free. Coffee is very good. Staff is friendly.

Nice environment and nice atmosphere nice staff. Good place for a sit in.

Happened upon this cafe while passing through and was struck by how lovely and friendly the staff were and how tempting the food.

Great place to work from, great coffee and food - lovely staff :-)

Delicious coffee, friendly staff, nice busy but relaxed vibe.

Great coffee on the best street in Clerkenwell!

Lovely atmosphere and is spacious. Great food

Went around 9am service slow , no atmosphere to speak of but coffee was ok

Great place, friendly staff and perfect place to get away from the stresses of life and relax!

Great place to have a coffee and snack. Chilled and quiet for a work meeting

Great coffee.. wonderful atmosphere

Good good, nice quality, friendly staff 😊😊😊

delicious vegan cookies and nice salads. the Bench staff were very friendly too. very nice ambience for bringing a laptop and working for a few hours. would definitely come back.

Best coffee in town! Place of true professionals ! 5 star! Recommend to everyone

Amazing place and food lovely service Defenitly coming back again

Great food and coffee, a lovely place for breakfast and lunch!

Had the iced caramel oat latte, amazing! Friendliest staff:) delicious cakes.

Amazing coffee, friendly staff, delicious carrot cake, relaxed atmosphere. Will come back

Super comfy, great coffee and cakes and friendly staff!

Wonderful teamwork, friendly staff, and great food!

The staff were extremely friendly and happy to help with anything I needed! Loved the food and delicious vegan, and guten free cakes there is something for everyone here!

Been here for 3 weeks now & I must say Julianna and her team offer amazing customer service, as well as offer amazing lunch meals

Great team and super food!! The tea and cakes are excellent!!

Nice lady, food and atmosphere!

Best food and coffee in Farringdon! Great staff!

Amazing place ! Today I came with my husband to have a coup of coffee. Beautiful ladies was very helpful and extremely friendly. Julianna has helped us to choose a cakes and I must say, that it was a drop of heaven( please kindly see the attached file). Definitely will come back here again. Very happy customer ♥️see you soon!!!!

We stopped by for a coffee and it reminded us of delicious coffee from Handlebar Santa Barbara. We will be back to check out the breakfast and more coffee! Thank you!

Nice spot. Light. Spacious. Music Free. Sometimes they have very tasty vegan biscuits

Visiting London and staying in Clarkenwell this was the closest option for lunch and what luck. Nice selection of baguettes and savoury pastries. Coffee was very nice great for brunch. Staff were very friendly, my numptie son left his bag there and they went out of their way to return it even though shut (which was a great help as we were returning home that day). It’s a shame that it is only open weekdays as would have also come for Saturday breakfast.

Love the cosy atmosphere, superior velvety coffee, delicious freshly prepared croissant, most friendly, fast and welcoming staff. What else you can wish on the cold and miserable London’ scroll?

Bench is a great place to eat,meet and relax in the heart of Clerkenwell according to the website. It's not a great place to eat if you go between 11 and 12. Breakfast finishes at 11 and lunch doesn't start until 12. I'd never been so didn't realise when I turned up at 11.30 and fancied a coffee and a bite to eat. They are missing out on potential revenue it's a strange one! All they had was a small selection of cakes. Coffee was good. Ambiance was good. Some seating out front as well. It's on a very quiet road near the station.

Great food, coffee and welcoming staff, cquite reasonable prices for London Will definitely go back.

Lovely place for food and coffee. Reasonable prices and good atmosphere. Great place to work and have meetings. 5min max walk from Farrington station, which is convenient.

This is a great little place with some really great choices and quite reasonable prices for London. Popped in for lunch just after 1pm and their was plenty of seating. Their cakes all looked fantastic and had the lemon drizzle which was brilliant. Their coffee is top notch and the staff really nice and friendly. And if you're lucky enough to find a space Britton Street has parking for up to 2 hours.

went his this morning. all three staff were nice. allowed me to plug in laptop, WiFi was fast I was able to find this spot to work from last minute and had an omelette and bacon too. Will be back to try other things. many nice things to try. its clear why this is so popular. Good place.

I really like this place. The staff are nice, the coffee is good and it's a cool place. I go here regularly for work meetings. It has a nice terrace too which is nice when it's sunny.

Atmosphere is good, light and airy, stylish without being self-conscious. My decaf flat white was greatly enhanced by salted chocolate gluten free brownie which was delicious and not too sweet. Great for a meeting as there is plenty of space however it can be quite noisy... the accoustics could be better. Service is good and staff are knowledgable.

Splendid cafe attached to the Goldsmiths Centre. inside and outside seating. interior decor approaching minimalist , but very agreeable. Fairly animated atmosphere. For once a hot chocolate really extra hot (and exceptional quality), Excellent fritata, quiches, sandwiches etc and salads. Excellent service. Thoroughly recommend. Didn't check the loos but the whole environment looked super spick and span. No chance of parking. Few minutes walk from Faringdon tube. Splendid indeed.

One Friday afternoon we had a lovely tea/coffee and cake stop here. I loved the interior - wished we could have stayed longer - good drinks and extra big slices of cake because it was the end of the day! The staff are very friendly and helpful and it's good value.

Went with a friend for lunch and we get surprised with loads of options for all type of tastes, sandwiches, soup, salads, today's specials and hot options. The food was tasty and nice I've eat the roast chicken with side salad which gives you the options of choose or have all of the 3 different salads. After we order coffee which is one of the best coffees I Ever tried. The staff are very friendly I had a great time in this place. Definitely will be back

I went to The Bench Cafe over my lunch hour. I was worried i'd be late to work as it was busy, but i had amazing food, and it was super quick. well recommended. Very friendly atmosphere, can't wait for next visit.

Conocí a un amigo allí para el almuerzo. El servicio fue excelente y la comida y el vino excelentes. Terminó siendo un almuerzo prolongado y todo el personal fue amable y atento.Sin duda lo recomendaría y volveré a visitar la próxima vez que esté en la zona.

I came for breakfast. They don’t know how to poach an egg. The mushroom was dry and dead. Altogether disgusting. And we paid £21 for the privilege

Came in here to meet a craftsman regarding a commission. Ordered a tea but had to send the cup back as it was filthy. Was the server sorry or apologetic? Not at all.

Good place, better than Costa, Starbucks or any of those. Aprox same prices. Very friendly staff. Very nice jewellery as well

Needed to eat and work and stumbled on Bench. Service really friendly, wifi excellent, coffee great. Great pastries and good toast with avocado, eggs etc. Great find.

Tuve un delicioso recién hecho, caliente, también bagel halloumi rellena con champiñones y algunos cohetes. Mi amigo tenía el brécol y sopa de stilton, que también estaba recién hecho y ella realmente disfruté.

Los orfebres centro en que este café está ubicado ahora es el montaje eventos regulares y como consecuencia este lugar es un hervidero de actividad. Tenía que asistir a una charla por la tarde y en la ruta de Fleet Street parecía dentro de varios restaurantes para comer". El "aperitivo" Después de cinco o así, nos dirigimos directamente al banco. El lugar era realmente excitante, pero el servicio era rápido. Pedí un chili y limón salmón con ensalada. Elegí mis ensaladas y me dijeron que tardarían 10 minutos. Me dieron una botella de un número en una bandera y la media llegó a mi mesa elegidas dentro de 10 minutos. El sol brillaba y yo nos sentamos fuera, con amigos que tenía. La comida fue un 1 y el menú 'pero imaginativo. conse Un lugar para comer sano - gran ensaladas!

La comida, y lo más importante, gustos excepcional. Es elegante y hay un menú bien diseñado, sin embargo, el personal es grosero y mirando como si no quieren. La señorita que me atendió en el hasta hoy se negó a sonrisa y no decir 'por favor' o 'gracias' como ella realizó la transacción. Ella también entonces, ES!¡¡gritaba cuando me repartir un número de mesa, en vez de explicar que necesitaba elegir una mesa y sentarse con la botella que tenía me dio. Es una pena que gente como esta se permite a los clientes y malestar con él.

A great venue for a meeting. Not too noisy not too busy - just right. Tables well spaced staff very friendly and accommodating. Would use this place again. Food was lovely served very quickly and great quality too. As a personal thing I don't like the fact the food is on open display and not behind a "sneeze guard". A small adjustment here would render the cafe perfect in my eyes.Recommended!

This is based in the Goldsmiths' Centre near Farringdon Station. The area has office blocks and Hatton Garden is nearby. When it first opened, I thought it was expensive, but having settled down the fare has become more attractive and the prices don't seem so high. There are tables outside for fine weather. I had a pleasant light lunch here when visiting an exhibition and attending a lecture. In an area when a great many of the lunchtime eating places in the area are very busy, this is a pleasant haven.

The staff were really friendly and incredibly diligent. The coffee was good. The food looked great, all piled up. However, I felt a bit cheated by the place. Looking for somewhere to work, and seeing that it was pretty much styled like a creative workspace coffee shop, I was a bit miffed that I couldn't plug my laptop in anywhere or use the wi fi. I went in and there was no music on, further making me think I could work here, only to have some really loud dance songs come on halfway through my coffee. I felt further misled by the food, with the chefs vaguely visible in the background I felt like I might be getting something quality (Going by the price at least) but it really did feel tacky. I really got a strange vibe from this place, like a fox in fake feathers, or a grandparent trying to be 'down with the kids'. I ended up going to an absolutely incredible coffee shop closer to the station. This place might be a bit quieter for meetings though.

We stumbled upon this place whilst looking some where different to eat instead of a Leon, Starbucks etc.What a place, if you don't do anything else in this place get your laughing gear around a pulled pork sausage roll! Simply put this is one of the best things I have tasted.It is perfectly complimented with the superb fresh salads on offer.I can highly recommend this place for a quick cheeky bite that has a festival of flavours.

I frequently visit Cowcross Street for work and this is the place I always visit when I am there. It is a very pleasant place to meet colleagues before meetings and for a quick sandwich at lunchtime. The food is better than fine but not outstanding. It's not very crowded which is always nice and they have tables and free wifi so you can do some work and its bright and the staff are friendly. Also the loos at the Goldsmith's Centre are very clean and nice which is important.

Costs are up, quality is down. Menu is much worse than it was, they've rearranged the design inside for no apparent reason (doesn't look like the picture any more) it's heartless. Food is out on the counter now, not kept behind glass (which was more cleanly). Basically they've made an amazing cafe average or below average. Madness.

Working around the corner from the Bench I go there fairly regularly, They have just had yet another change of Caterers and although it's the same menu, the quality has gone, they seem to exchanged the quality the old caterers introduced, for cheaper cuts and alternatives that are nowhere near as good. oh well one to knock of the list for lunchtimes.

Lovely cafe that has a great outdoor space and is open for breakfast and lunch.Good service and very competitively priced for the area.Highly recommended.

Stopped by here and enjoyed a delicious coffee, the service provided was excellent - with Rob the manager a very warm and welcoming character.I didn't have time to eat but the food look delicious (as well as reasonable prices) and will be returning very soon to sample everything on the menu!A very lovely courtyard area for dining outside when the sun is out and also welcoming inside for coffees/lunch/meetings/hanging out.

Pop in during my days while working in the building to use the internet, have lunch or meetings, good food and fresh, on this particular occasion I had the 4 selection salad which was lovely and at a good price of how much was on my plate and a smoothy which was just as good. Very quick service and polite and friendly staff. Usually pop in for a tea and very happy to re-fil your milk jug unlike some places. Great atmosphere in the cafe, even more so now its sunny and the outside is brought inside with the doors open to the patio. The decoration in the cafe is lovely mixing the jewellery world and the food world together in sweet display boxes hung on the walls and love the rustic feel with the wood boxes holding the menus to the wooden tables with the comfy sofas.

Tucked away behind the busy rows of pubs & eateries on Cowcross St, the Bench Cafe is an unpretentious, laid-back "canteen" serving tasty food at a very reasonable price. Service was friendly and prompt. I had a burger with extra toppings (well presented, well-cooked, tasty) and a large bottle of Peroni for just £15.As it was a bit chilly, the patio wasn't full but later in the year it should be a hit as it catches the midday/early afternoon sun.The kind of place I'm glad is hidden from view of the worker-hordes - well worth a revisit this summer.

The Bench Cafe is effectively the in-house canteen for the newly built wing of Goldsmith's College, one of London's famous craft guilds. It is in a lovely light airy space with a private outdoor terrace, in an oasis set back from the frantic chain-fast-food-mayhem that is Farringdon at lunchtime. The menu is not extensive but the food is varied, fresh, delicious, and surprisingly cheap. I've been for lunch and breakfast a dozen times, and even when it's full it doesn't feel like it. The new building has been very well designed, and the decor in the Bench Cafe reflects the College's concern for developing craftsmanship . As a result the atmosphere more reminiscent of a private dining room than a commercial cafe.

Went to the Bench with friends from work - great atmosphere for lunchtime and really good, reasonably priced food too!