Veni, Vidi, Vergnano

 

Caffe Vergnano, Charing Cross

 

It is with great anticipation that Kiwi Keith and the Big Hairy Celt made the trip South on the Piccadilly line to London’s Charing Cross Road to pay a visit to this branch of the much vaunted Café Vergnano. Would this Italian institution provide an even richer coffee experience than the cluster of antipodean-run coffee houses that have sprung up throughout the London boroughs? The challenge was set.

Upon entering, the light wood panelling made it feel a bit like being trapped inside an IKEA bookshelf, although this was a more pleasant experience than one might expect. Kiwi Keith’s attention was quickly drawn to what he thought was a life-size replica of R2-D2 sitting on the counter. Removing his Ray-Ban’s exposed his misperception; this chrome beauty turned out to be the beautiful Elektra espresso maker. Part objet d’art, part workhorse, it must be beheld to be believed.

Each coffee was served on a little tray with a glass of water – why isn’t all coffee served like this? A sip of water before each sip of coffee makes all the difference to savouring the taste. True to Vergnano’s voiced concern for ‘the poor unsuspecting throat,’ the cappuccino milk was not overheated, giving a clean, sweet taste. The espresso also lived up to its billing, with the sharpness of taste restricted to the middle-to-front sides of the tongue. In terms of personality, the coffee was less sassy and exciting, more solid and dependable.

Vergnano certainly offers a more straightforward alternative to some of the other highly rated London coffee houses. It may lack the considered aesthetics of some of its competitors, but sometimes a safe bet is all you want. Would we go again? Probably, but it wouldn’t warrant a special trip. Saviours of the British coffee scene? Not quite, but it’s certainly good to have them in town.