Our story

The unit was a dry cleaner before it was a café — narrow, a bit dark, with a good window. Khady Diallo had been pulling shots in other people’s cafés for six years and wanted somewhere that felt less like a shop and more like a front room. In 2017 she signed the lease, bought a secondhand espresso machine, and painted the walls the colour of oat milk.

The idea was simple: take the coffee seriously, and never make anyone feel they need the vocabulary to order it. Single-origin if you want to talk about it, “the usual” if you don’t. The machine she started with is still on the counter. It still needs a firm hand on the group handle.

The pastries began as a favour. A friend, Joan, turned up one morning with a tray of croissants and an opinion about the ones Khady had been buying in. Joan now runs the small kitchen at the back and everything is baked before seven — the almond croissants usually go first.

“A good café is mostly a room where people are glad to see you.”

Khady Diallo

The Sunday open mic started because a regular asked if he could bring his guitar. The Saturday coffee tastings started because Khady can’t help herself. Both are still going. The corner table still wobbles; we’ve stopped apologising for it.

If you’re new to the neighbourhood, come in and say hello. If you’ve been coming for years — you know where the good seat is.