This list of well-known coffeehouse chains shows how many coffeehouses there are around the world and how much money they make. This list doesn’t include the many companies that run coffee shops inside stores, like bookstores and department stores, or restaurants or convenience stores that also serve coffee. In this article, you will learn about the best coffee shop chains you can find in the UK.
Coffee Chains in the UK
There has been a lot of talk about brewed tea leaves in the United Kingdom for many years now. It’s still a big part of many people’s lives, and it’s a big part of our country’s history.
Whether you live in the city or are just visiting, these places are likely to be well-known for their comfort and amenities, as well as their food. Settle in with a good book, catch up with a friend, or work from home on your laptop while you drink a tasty handcrafted drink.
These coffee shops, of course, also make it easy to get a cup of coffee on the go. Many of them are in train depots or gas stations. When you travel across the UK, you won’t have to worry about where you’ll get your fix.
Below are the different coffee chains in the UK, you can get quality made coffee to relax your nerves.
#1. Wild Bean Cafe
When you’re on the road, good food and coffee can be hard to find. Wild Bean Cafe wants to give quality and convenience to UK travellers. Check out their espresso drinks, coffee, and food items when you go on a road trip next time. During your trip, enjoy a hot flat white.
#2. Puccino’s
In the UK and around the world, Puccino’s Coffee says that it serves more than 5.5 million espresso shots each year at its many stores. Espresso drinks from Italy and fair-trade coffee are on the menu there. They even have some delis that serve more substantial food.
#3. Pret A Manger
Ready to Eat is the name of this restaurant and coffee shop. They have a lot of ready-made sandwiches and wraps for people who want to eat something on the go. People can get a quick bite to eat there, too. They also serve organic coffee and espresso. People who work at Pret A Manger are very concerned about using organic and humanely raised ingredients in their food.
#4. M&S Cafe inside Marks & Spencer
You can shop for clothes and food at Marks and Spencer at the same time. There are also cafes inside the stores. M&S Cafe is where you can have a flat white or espresso while you shop for everything from clothes and makeup to home goods.
If you want to make beer at home, there are a lot of kitchen tools and storage solutions that will help.
#5. Muffin Break.
A lot of people think Muffin Break is about muffins, but it also has a lot of good espresso drinks and lunch food options. They are so sure that their coffee is better than other people’s that they don’t put any flavourings in it.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, try the classic frappe or a fruit smoothie. They do have some sweet seasonal treats, like the salted caramel latte and a lot of different baked goods that they have right now.
#6. Costa Coffee
For the best coffee shops in Britain, Costa Coffee is the top choice. It has the most locations and is still going strong.
Starbucks isn’t the only place to get your favourite coffee and espresso drinks. This place also has a wide variety of seasonal food and drinks, like caramel fudge hot chocolate and salted caramel cappuccino. Then, in the summer, try their blended tropical fruit cooler for a cool drink to help you beat the summer heat.
#7. Greggs
This bakery and coffee shop likes to keep things simple. These sausage rolls, doughnuts, and other baked goods have been around since the 1950s. They also serve espresso drinks. Greggs is a big bakery shop in the UK. It is the biggest of its kind in the country, too. They have more than 1,600 stores across the country, and they have also opened stores in Northern Ireland.
#8. Coffee Republic
Coffee Republic has a copper-covered bar where you can get a hot or iced espresso drink. You’ll want to come back again and again for more. Try the espresso con Panna, which is a double shot of espresso topped with a scoop of whipped cream that is made from scratch. For people who like Italian-style espresso classics, Coffee Republic is the place for them to go.
Now let us go over to see the coffee shop chains in the UK.
Coffee Shop Chains UK
That doesn’t mean that Brits don’t also like a cup of coffee. Here’s a list of some of the best-known and most popular coffee shop chains in the UK. Many of them are only open for takeout at the moment because of rules about social distancing. Below is the list of the coffee shop chains in the UK.
#1. Costa Coffee
Bruno and Sergio Costa started Costa Coffee in London in 1971. It is now the world’s second-largest coffee shop chain, after Starbucks. In the UK, it’s the clear leader with more than 2,500 stores, many of which are in hospitals, gas stations, and universities. People shouldn’t be surprised if the chain grows even more popular in the years to come. In 2019, the chain was bought by The Coca-Cola Company.
#2. Caffè Nero
Nero’s, as it is known, has almost 700 stores in the UK. It is the third-largest chain of coffee shops in the country. It’s named after the Italian word for “black coffee.” It calls itself “the Italian coffee company,” and it makes everything from espresso to cappuccino very strong, as well as other types of coffee. Also, it has a popular loyalty card that gives customers a free tenth coffee when they get nine stamps. This is another reason people like it.
#3. Pret a Manger
Around 45 of Pret’s 450 UK stores have been permanently closed because of a drop in lunchtime business. Lockdowns and a lot of people working from home have hit Pret hard. Jeffery Hyman, the founder of Pret, started the company in London in 1983. Pret has responded with a dinner delivery menu and a coffee subscription that is cheaper than most other subscriptions. For just £20 ($27.50) a month, you can get up to five hot drinks a day from any Pret and not pay extra for them. The deal is great for people who love coffee and live near a branch.
#4. Monmouth Coffee
Monmouth is a brand that stands for high quality. They sell their beans to many independent cafes and also to people who like to grind their own beans at home. But when you’re in London, you can get a filter coffee or latte from one of the three south London stores of Monmouth Coffee, which sells coffee and tea. At the weekends, the branch in the world-famous Borough Market has lines that go all the way around the block.
#5. Gail’s Bakery
This is the bakery that was started by Gail Mejia and Tom Molnar. Gail’s Bakery opened its first store in 2005 on Hampstead High Street. Because of its great bread, tasty sweets, and great coffee, it now has more than 60 stores in London and the surrounding area. During the first COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020, Gail’s was praised for giving 2,400 meals to hospitals near its bakeries every week.
#6. AMT Coffee
Alistair, Allan, and Angus McCallum-Toppin started AMT in 1991. The company now has coffee kiosks at more than 50 airports, train stations, and hospitals across the country. Over the years, this chain has become known for its progressive ways. It was the first national coffee company in the UK to use 100% bio-compostable cups and lids, 100% fair trade coffee, and 100% organic milk in its drinks. On the other hand, it’s also known for making really tasty milkshakes.
#7. Patisserie Valerie
Patisserie Valerie is a pastry shop. Valerie started out as a single bakery and coffee house in London’s Soho neighbourhood in 1926. It was run by husband and wife, Theophile Vermeirsch and Esther Van Gyseghem, who were married at the time. It grew to nine branches across the city in the ’80s and ’90s, before being bought by new owners in 2006 and becoming a chain with nearly 200 stores across the country.
#8. Grind
Across the city, there are 10 locations of this London coffeehouse chain. They are all in high-traffic places like Covent Garden, Soho, and Shoreditch. Their coffee shop is a cool place to get your first cup of coffee in the morning. If you’re in the mood for something stronger, they also make an excellent espresso martini. Anglophenia’s Kate Arnell went to the Shoreditch branch a few years ago as part of a short film about the coffee culture in east London.
Best Coffee Chains UK
#1. Bar Italia, Soho
In London, this is as close as you can get to having a real Italian coffee drink. Since 1949, it has been run by the same family. It serves rocket-fuel espresso, and the apron-clad waiters shrug a lot when they see people from the Middle East. It’s open from 7 am to 3 am, so you can have a cup of coffee and then have a Negroni. Grab a table outside and watch the people on Frith Street – they’re as colourful as the red-and-green neon Bar Italia sign that’s above.
#2. Kaffeine, Fitzrovia
There aren’t many coffee shops like this in London, but Kaffeine is the closest thing you’ll find. There are red brick walls and tables made out of boxes in this buzzing place. You can find artisan sandwiches, creative salads, and freshly baked sweets on the counters. The banana bread, which is toasted and slathered in butter, is a must. Most good Kiwi cafes serve it. The coffee, on the other hand, is strong, smooth, and always good. So popular that you might have to share a table with someone else, but don’t be alarmed – the crowd here is always friendly.
#3. Monmouth Coffee, Seven Dials
The first Monmouth Coffee shop in Seven Dials, on pretty Monmouth Street, opened in 1978, long before most people thought about making their own coffee. She and Randolph Hodgson, the founder of Neal’s Yard Dairy, are the power couple in Covent Garden. Anita Leroy is one-half of the duo. The staff is very well-trained about the different tastes of the beans, so they can help you find the right cup of coffee.
#4. Algerian Coffee Stores, Soho
This coffee shop in Soho isn’t really a coffee shop at all. It’s more like a full-blown coffee institution. It opened in 1887. You can buy the ingredients for your own coffee at this store. They also have a coffee machine in the middle of their small shop that makes some of the best and most affordable coffee in town for a low price.
#5. Workshop Coffee, Fitzrovia.
The coffee, not the shop, is the thing here. The goal of the Workshop is to make the best coffee possible each year. When we signed up for its delivery service, we became addicted to coffee because we got a new bag of coffee every month. Central London is one of a few Workshops in London, and it’s a little more of a stop-and-go kind of place. There’s a communal space in the back, with benches around it and a library feel to it.
#6. %Arabica, Covent Garden
High-end Japanese coffee shop that looks like a high-end store has come to the UK. It opened in Covent Garden and Broadway Market in East London at the same time. With bone-white counters, exposed brick, and a custom-made Slayer Espresso coffee machine as the star of the show, this is a very stylish and clean place. When it comes to coffee, it’s as important as the look.
#7. Omotesando Koffee, Fitzrovia
You won’t find many third-wave coffee shops in Fitzrovia. This one is different. When Eiichi Kunitomo opened his first cafe in Tokyo in 2011, it was just him and his coffee. Now, there are more than a dozen of his cafes around Tokyo. It has since spread to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore. For the first time, it has also spread to Europe. In central London, the minimalist space has to be one of the most peaceful places to get a cup of coffee or tea.
#8. Kiss the Hippo, Fitzrovia
Is this the world’s most caring coffee shop? Is this the world’s most caring coffee shop? Since opening its first store in Richmond a few years ago, Kiss the Hippo has gone from strength to strength. Directly from farmers, the beans are bought. The café supports a number of charities, including the Rainforest Trust UK and the National Literacy Trust. It also works with the Just a Drop clean water foundation, which helps people who don’t have access to clean water.
#9. Lever & Bloom, Bloomsbury
When it rains or shines, this bright red coffee cart is always on Byng Place in Bloomsbury. But even though you have to take your food home, Lever & Bloom has all the charm of your favourite neighbourhood cafe. When customers come to Mounir’s coffee shop, he knows their names and what they want. His business partner, Elena, makes pastries that are so popular that they sell out.
Coffee Chains UK FAQ
What is the best coffee shop in UK?
This list entails the best coffee shop in the UK:
- #1. Bar Italia, Soho
- #2. Kaffeine, Fitzrovia
- #3. Monmouth Coffee, Seven Dials
- #4. Algerian Coffee Stores, Soho
- #5. Workshop Coffee, Fitzrovia.
- #6. %Arabica, Covent Garden
- #7. Omotesando Koffee, Fitzrovia
- #8. Kiss the Hippo, Fitzrovia
- #9. Lever & Bloom, Bloomsbury
How many coffee chains are there in the UK?
Here are some of the coffee chain shops in the UK:
- #1. Wild Bean Cafe
- #2. Puccino’s
- #3. Pret A Manger
- #4. M&S Cafe inside Marks & Spencer
- #5. Muffin Break
- #6. Costa Coffe
- #7. Greggs
- #8. Coffee Republic
