London Review of Books | cake shop café

Everything custom-made to fit for this narrow café site, a sociable addition to the bookshop next door, accessed through a gap in the history section.

London Review Cake Shop

London Review of Books
Bloomsbury WC1

Planning | Detail | Specification | Joinery | Statutory permissions | Services co-ordination | Furniture | Site supervision

All good books shops need a café and at London Review the opportunity arose to take the unit next door and connect the two, adding space to sit, read, talk and an evolving programme of social events.

An exercise in compact design, the narrow site required careful planning with everything designed & made to fit including a highly organised micro-kitchen and storage tucked into every possible space. Birch ply, glass and concrete surfaces have a strong impact and are also durable and easily maintained. And in the tradition of the first coffee shops the communal table is a place for chance meetings and shared conversation.

The Cake Shop café has now celebrated 10 years in operation and continues to thrive despite its tiny footprint; most recently Terry and team have negotiated lock-downs, re-opening and a new retail environment. Good to see a space and a set of components defined by simplicity and function constantly reworked to suit circumstances.

One of several projects with LRB
London Review of Books Publishing workspace

Photography Jonathan PIle