I was introduced to Workshop’s brunch when I met Giulia from Mondomulia way back at Easter. I’ve been recommending them to friends left, right and centre since so I thought it was about time I did a write up.

You’ll find them on the buzzing Clerkenwell Road, look out for an unassuming but sleek black exterior (perfectly placed bicycle not guaranteed).

Enter and you’ll find one half of all the coffee action taking centre stage, the brew bar.

There are a mixture of small and large tables surrounding it. But as a highly rated brunch destination it was full, so we were ushered upstairs where there were a few chairs left.

Whilst it doesn’t have quite the same buzz, it’s still spacious and pretty good looking.

We placed our orders and got chatting about blogging, photography and coffee.

Then our orders arrived. For me a cappuccino and the most impressive banana bread, toasted with date & orange jam, espresso mascarpone, hazelnuts.

*Drools*

Giulia went for pourover coffee with french toast, brioche, poached rhubarb, orange mascarpone, hazelnuts.

Although we both had something sweet the savoury menu sounded equally mouth-wateringly good. After we’d chatted, snapped a few photos and enjoyed our brunch we decided to head downstairs for another coffee.

And to watch the baristas in action.

Great conversation, a tasty brunch and one of my favourite coffee beans in London. I think I need to go back for more.

Have you tried and enjoyed Workshop Coffee yet?

I got chatting to one of the editors, Guy Simpson, as you’d expect a coffee enthusiast.  He went through some of the highlights of the book, the new (and in some cases unusual) cafes added to the colourful 2013 version.

I was impressed. 130 independent coffee venues, split into all the different areas of London with a handy fold out map at the back.

Each cafe has a short review, a rating, the roaster, the coffee machine and grinder they use, the coffee prices, together with all the information you need to help you decide whether it’s worth a visit.

Their review of Association Coffee was pretty spot on.

The best addition to this version has to be the coffee knowledge section. I’ve been keen to know a bit more about the drink I enjoy so much and this section explains more about the coffee origins, small batch roasting, how to recognise different tastes (cupping to the pros) and a bit about brewing coffee at home. Hopefully after reading it a couple of times I’ll be able to remember enough so that I can understand more about each cup of coffee that reaches my tastebuds.

If you’re a coffee lover keen to know more about coffee this is a great book. It’d make a pretty good gift too. It’s £9.99 and you can buy it on the site, Amazon and in Waterstones. I think you can also pick up copies in some of the cafes features in the book.

They also launched an iPhone app, you can download that here.

Do you like a good London guide book? Or do you prefer to use the internet and mobile apps?

Allegra Publishers kindly gave me a complimentary copy, as ever all opinions are my own.

1. Story Deli - I’ve heard good things about their pizzas over in East London. With a thin base and a tasty layer of toppings, I reckon it could be the perfect portion for lunch.

2. J&A Cafe - Giulia from Mondomulia mentioned this cafe when I asked her for recommendations for an early dinner around Clerkenwell. I didn’t get to make it but it looks like it has a great lunch menu!

3. Maroush Gardens - A great Lebanese restaurant on Edgware Road that’s a bit of a favourite with my team at work. We have the lunchbox menu and you get so much food!

4. KERB – A street food market that pops up at Kings Cross and down in the City throughout the week. I read their tweets every day from my desk and my sandwich often looks a lot less appealing.

5. Balthazar Boulangerie - Getting a table at Balthazar can be a bit tricky, but did you know they have a bakery offering homemade pastries, salads, soups and sandwiches for take away throughout the day? I didn’t! Thanks to a tip off from Good For Lunch it seems you can get a quick taste of this New York arrival more easily.

Do you have a favourite lunch location? I would love to get your recommendations.

So on the sunny Friday before last, after I’d enjoyed a visit to Association Coffee, I went to see it for myself. After a little wander and a couple of shops, I stepped out of the lift at the roof terrace on the 6th floor to this:

Pretty stunning don’t you think! Especially for a freebie! You can enjoy the scenery, eat your lunch on one of the benches and of course take a few snaps!

I’m pretty sure he was capturing the glamorous Shard, it’s hard to avoid it and from this view point definitely stood out from the crowd. Of course I had to add another picture to my own collection.

You can’t see all of the city’s iconic buildings from One New Change, but you’re high enough that on a clear day you can see for miles. It was easy spending a good while enjoying the sights, the spring breeze, watching the world go by.

I took a little Vine video to give you a better idea of the view. Be warned with only 6 seconds to spare on Vine it moves a little quickly (it may also be worth having the sound off as it was pretty windy!).

I definitely recommend checking this view out on a dry day. And if you want to enjoy it for a little longer you can grab cocktails and some tapas at Madison, I recommended it to my sister and she really enjoyed watching the sun set there.

Do you have a favourite place where you can steal a city view for free?

A few hours drive out of the city, a pit stop for dinner and a hunt for a Friday beer (for me and Ben, not the driver), and we were in rural Britain. I felt myself relax immediately, you really can’t beat the fresh air and clear starry skies of the countryside.

A good night’s sleep and we awoke to glorious sunshine and a day exploring the coast ahead of us. We started with the small Dorset market town of Bridport. A picturesque place, full of pretty houses and shops, surrounded by rolling green hills.

Apparently every weekend they have a market that lines the streets. As it was the bank holiday the whole town was full of stalls offering goods, lots of antiques, hand made homeware and fresh food. They also had a brass band playing which added a buzz to a beautifully relaxing morning wandering around.

After we’d satisfied our hunger with lunch at Beach and Barnicott, a great choice for locally sourced food, we headed out to the coast.

I love being by the sea, it’s the most relaxing place in the world, I was SO excited about getting down to Charmouth Beach. Even though it wasn’t quite hot enough to sunbathe or dip our toes in the sea, it was a beautiful sight to take in.

Blue skies up above and an ocean stretching out in front of us as far as the eye could see. Not to mention colourful beach huts and green topped cliffs full of people flying kites and enjoying the sunshine. It really made me realise just how pretty Britain can be. It’s easy to forget there are places like this when you’re surrounded by the smog of the city and constantly feel envious of anyone who makes a trip overseas.

As part of the Jurassic Coast you can walk along the hill tops for miles, or you can stay down below and dig for fossils.  We kept it relaxed and just went for short stroll. With lungs full of fresh air and legs nicely stretched I slept well that night.

 The next day we had a leisurely morning at home drinking tea and eating Eric’s freshly baked bread. Then we spent the afternoon at Totnes, a small market town along the River Dart.

Full of signs of its past, where 16th and 17th century town houses climb up the steep high street. As it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed which did make it seem like a bit of a ghost town but meant we could wander around in peace.

Lots of colour and nature all around us, and such a contrast to London!

Lucinda’s parents knew I needed another coastal fix before I left to go back to city life, so we went to the seaside resort Dawlish on our way home.

Isn’t it beautiful when the sun glistens of the water like that?

We ate ice creams by the shore, taking in the lovely scenery.

The beach wasn’t as lovely as Charmouth but it still had a charm of its own in the light of the sunshine.

After a few days of relaxing and enjoying getting to be by the sea, I felt recovered and ready to go back to the city life. The trip really did do me the world of good and I was full of renewed love for our fair isle.

If you want to make the trip yourself, you can drive down in about 3 to 4 hours (depending on traffic) or you can get down there by train in about three hours. Either way I do recommend you have a car for exploring by day, there are buses to get you around and down to the coast but they’re quite infrequent.

You can read more about where I explored on my last visit to Devon here.

Do you like to escape the city? Do you have any favourite city escapes in the UK?

P.S. More photos of the trip will be posted on Facebook. I got pretty snap happy.

1. Sip cocktails from a by gone era at Coq D’Argent - On the menu at this D&D restaurant you’ll find three cocktails with a decadent flavour of the past. The Mother in Law (aromatic bitters, Amer Picon, orange Curaçao, maraschino liqueur and simple syrup), Rhubarb Sour (Chase Rhubarb liqueur shaken with Russian Standard platinum vodka, homemade rhubarb purée, lemon juice and bitters) and Plum Royal (Umechu Japanese plum wine with Tio Pepe, lemon juice, apricot brandy and finished with Champagne).

2. Dance the night away to jazz music at The Candlelight Club -  1920s outfits, cocktails and an unknown venue take you back in time for a great alternative night out. I really enjoyed The Candlelight Club last year (I wrote about it here) and highly recommend getting a group of friends together, glamming up and dancing to the live Jazz band all night long.

3. Enjoy the luxury of Bob Bob Ricard - Great Gatsby is all about opulence and Bob Bob Ricard is a place you can enjoy it. Order champagne at just the touch of the button and soak up the sophisticated atmosphere. 

4. Head to Harrods for their Great Gatsby Cocktail Bar – One of the city’s most iconic stores has transformed its Tasting Room and Wine Shop into an opulent art-deco pop-up experience. Attend one of their events and learn how to mix classic cocktails from the era.

5. Watch the film in style at the Electric Cinema  - A classic cinema where you can enjoy Baz Luhrmann’s latest film in comfort and for £35pp get an Afternoon Tea and cocktail.  It might be more expensive than a trip to the Odeon but it’s a pretty good way to enjoy what will hopefully be a great film.

Are you looking forward to seeing Great Gatsby?

Finally a day’s holiday free of plans arrived on Friday. It was sunny, I needed a good dose of caffeine, in an area I don’t often explore. Perfect.

A tube journey to Bank and a little detour around the City’s iconic sights later, and I found it. Chic and sophisticated so perfect for the area, but with an inviting friendly atmosphere for non-City types too.

I thought it had a New York vibe as it reminded me of some of the Cafes photographed by the brilliant Alice Gao, but their Barista, Ben, said it had more of a Melbourne style.

I ordered a cappuccino and a slab of their chocolate cake, then took a seat. The long wait was worth it. A smooth coffee and delicious dose of chocolate arrived in a few minutes.

They serve Square Mile and Has Bean here, offering both a regular espresso and a seasonal guest espresso alternative. You can also get specially selected tea.

The sweet treats and savoury options (which sold out quickly at lunch!) are from a range of high quality local suppliers, many of whom I’m sure you’d have heard of and enjoyed.

I tried not to demolish it all too quickly and happily watched the busy business world go by without being involved in it.

In a short lunchtime lull I got chatting to Ben and Christian whilst they produced their finely crafted coffees.

We got into a discussion about the cafes they like to visit at the weekend, of course adding a handful of new places to my visit-list (Protein, Embassy East and Prufrock, to name a few!). Thanks guys!

Great coffee, delicious food, knowledgeable and friendly Baristas. A City find worth finding an excuse to visit!

Do you have a favourite place for coffee during the week?

You can find Association Coffee on Creechchurch Lane. They’re open Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5pm.

Tucked down Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, the lovely literary part of London (blue plaque central!), you’ll find this restaurant offering well-priced meals. Burgers and shakes taking centre stage of course!

Enter and you’ll get what I’m going a British canteen-style restaurant.

White tables for two, booths for groups, classic blue and white tiles, quite small in size but big enough to be called a restaurant.

We arrived about 6pm and got a table without any trouble. We eyed up the menu which, amongst a selection beef burgers, included chicken burgers, veggie burgers, chicken wings, Big Apple Hot Dogs, and chilli con carne (full menu here). Tempted by other offers, I couldn’t resist the cheese burger and a side of fries.

They’re done medium rare unless you ask for an alternative, I ordered medium well done (here’s how it came out). Lyndsay ordered medium rare and was happy with her choice. Good buns that didn’t fall apart in your hands and actually kept it all together, no sauce oozing out of the sides. I thought there was a good burger, bun, cheese, sauce ratio too. I’ll admit I’m no expert so I you may want to read Burger Me’s review here.

We ordered beer for our meal but couldn’t resist a shake, so we had a Bourbonbutter shake as a sort of dessert.

Sweet peanut buttered bourbon goodness. A great way to finish off a tasty meal. We did agree it was best shared though, even with a sweet tooth like mine I would have struggled to finish one on my own.

We were there for a couple of hours catching up and enjoying our meal, a steady flow of diners came in and out but no queues formed outside (it was a Tuesday night so it may be different later in the week and at weekends.)

Great service and a bill of just £20 each for burgers, fries, beers and an alcoholic shake, plus tips.

Do you like a good burger? Which is your favourite burger restaurant?

P.S. I discovered Burger & Shake via Hot Dinners, a great website to find out about all the latest restaurant openings in London.

1. Sip on delicious cocktails – No work on Monday means there are at least three evenings to find an excuse to pop out for a cocktail hour or two. I’d either return to one of my favourites or tick off one of the many places on my must-visit list (Bob Bob Ricard, Mark’s Bar, The Zetter Townhouse, Shaker & Co, Sketch, 69 Colebrooke Row, Reason & Mankind, the list goes on…).

2. Turn off your morning alarm – Go on do it right now, it will feel pretty good! The city is going no where so have a lie in, maybe even spend a day just relaxing and going no further than your local area.

3. Enjoy a good brunch – Brunch is a pretty good partner to bank holiday drinking. Depending on how many drinks were consumed the night before I’d go for one of these hotspots or somewhere local (Tota and Graveney and Meadow are getting pretty good reviews from my friends.)

4. Satisfy my coffee cravings – One extra day to the weekend means more opportunities to enjoy coffee in an independent cafe I haven’t been to before. I got a copy of The London Coffee Guide last week so I have a whole new list of places to check out!

5. Take a trip to a market – There are SO many markets that pop up at the weekend. Alongside London favourites (Maltby Street, Brockley, Broadway, Netil, Columbia Road), the bank holiday weekend sees the return of the North London Vintage Market and the Real Food Festival out on South Bank.

6. Take a good long walk around the city – London is a great place to walk around (especially when the sun is shining) and it’s such a cheap way to spend the day. I’ve got the Regent’s Canal walk on my must-do-soon list!

7. See a great exhibition – We’re spoilt for choice for exhibitions in London. The Londonist is a great reference for the latest exhibitions at the main museums and galleries. My choice would be the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House.

8. Have a movie marathon – I love a good movie marathon, whether that’s a bunch of DVDs at home or a trip to one of London’s lovely cinemas (the Rooftop Film Club launched this week and there’s a great line up!) A relaxed evening with friends, plenty of chocolate and my new addiction – M&S’s sweet & salty popcorn.

9. Enjoy cooking a good meal or baking a great cake – A longer weekend means more time to put together a tasty meal or treat you don’t have the energy to make during the week. Grab some tasty ingredients (maybe at the market!) and try something new. Smitten Kitchen, What Katie Ate and Spoon Fork Bacon are great food blogs if you need inspiration.

10. Read a good book – I’ve struggled to keep up my commute read aim of a book a month. My day job involves a lot of reading and writing, ironically when it gets busy I struggle to turn the pages of a book even if it’s good! So I’d take the time to pick up a new read, soak up the sunshine or curl up on the sofa (Under your skin sounds like a great follow up to Gone Girl!)

What do you have planned for the bank holiday? Will you be doing anything from this list?

Before I daydream about what may lie ahead, here’s a few snapshots of the city from April.

Blossom is such a cheerful sight, especially in the light of clear blue skies and beaming sunshine. It makes getting up at sunrise more manageable and gives you a reason to make sure you get out of the office at lunch. On the hottest day of the year so far (at that point) I had a lovely afternoon wandering around Kew Gardens. It was so nice that we wished we had packed a picnic and had a bottle of Pimms.

Despite the extra sunshine I spent time indoors getting an injection of fashion, culture and history. Dior at Harrods was stunning and a great example of the sartorial insights we can enjoy for free! I got a snippet of London history at the Museum of London, part of a great cheap day out. I also enjoyed the splendour of The British Museum and explored the Pompeii exhibition.

Plenty of coffee was enjoyed, of course! White Mulberries at St Katharine Docks was definitely a highlight, a sunny day, great coffee and a pretty dockside location. I had a lovely brunch with Guilia at Workshop Coffee (review is still to come!!). I discovered Borough Bar, the nearest independent cafe to my office, which made for a great caffeine-fuelled morning. I returned to Workshop Coffee in Marylebone too! The month ended on a high at the London Coffee Festival for the launch of the London Coffee Guide (more to come next week!).

It’s unlikely a month would go by without cake and cocktails! There were Friday night drinks at B-Soho. I spied a new Pimms in Waitrose on a particularly warm day (have you tried it yet?! I resisted the purchase but I have to try it!) I satisfied my sweet tooth with salted caramel brownies (recipe here) and delicious macarons from Ladurée.

Finally a round up of my favourite London snaps of the month. You can’t get much more iconic than St Paul’s and a traditional red bus, but I think The Shard is trying to elbow its way in. Postman’s Park was a random lovely find whilst wandering around the City. Don’t you think these last two snaps highlight the difference between Shoreditch (bottom left) and Soho (bottom right)?

How was your April? What did you enjoy and where did you go? Are you feeling optimistic about May??

You can follow my daily snapshots of the city @thiscitylifeldn on Instagram.