Algerian Coffee Stores: what to order and when to go

Algerian Coffee Stores is a merchant, not a café. That distinction saves you a lot of hovering. It sits at 52 Old Compton Street, red-fronted and old school, selling beans, loose tea, brewing kit and sweets, with takeaway coffee from the counter. There is no seating and no booking. You walk in, you point, you leave happier.

The history, briefly

The shop's own site says it was established in 1887 and is still standing proudly in Soho. Atlas Obscura places it near the Dean Street junction, between the Admiral Duncan pub and the Prowler fetish store, and mentions an original 19th-century wooden counter and jars lining the shelves. It says the shop has come through the Blitz, financial crises and gentrification.

On who started it, accounts differ: an Algerian merchant, remembered by some only as Mr Hassan. We would not pin a name on him. CNN reports that a Belgian owner later sold it to an Englishman in the 1940s, and that his descendants run it today. Co-runner Marisa Crocetta is reported as saying people do not want it glammed up. Wikipedia calls it the oldest coffee shop in London, though older City coffee houses muddy that claim, so call it one of Soho's oldest shops and leave it there.

What to order

Start with the takeaway espresso or a flat white from the board. The Infatuation rates the hot brews to go as excellent. Prices are modest: recent reviewer reports put drinks at roughly £2 to under £2.50, but that is not an official board, so check it on the day.

Then take something home. The range runs to about 80 coffees and 120 teas. On the beans side, Atlas Obscura lists Hawaiian Kona, Ethiopia, Cuba, Kenya, Colombia and Java, up to the pricey Jamaican Blue Mountain. The Infatuation likens the place to an old sweet shop with Blue Mountain beans instead of gobstoppers. Teas run from Japanese genmaicha to Nilgiri and mate. Reviewers also mention Neapolitan coffee makers, teapots, chocolates and vintage-packaged mints. Bean prices are on the board and the website, so look before you commit.

Tell the staff how you brew and what flavours you like, and they will point you to a bag. They can grind to order, so say whether it is for a cafetière, a moka pot or an espresso machine.

When to go

Opening hours, per the shop's site: Monday to Wednesday 10am to 6pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 7pm, closed Sunday. The site has carried notices of early closures, so check before a special trip. There is no published guidance on queues, so this part is our inference: a weekday mid-afternoon should be calmer than a Saturday. The Infatuation warns to expect a queue, and one Tripadvisor reviewer says it moves quickly. Read the wooden board before you reach the front.

How it works

• Walk-in only, no booking and nowhere to sit.
• Reviewers describe card payers ordering first and paying at the counter, with cash taken at the espresso machine. That is from a 2023 review, so follow the staff.
• Online ordering and delivery are available through the site. Click and collect is by arrangement only, so do not turn up before you have heard back.
• Nearest stations: Piccadilly Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Leicester Square.

For after

Walk about two minutes to Bar Italia, 22 Frith Street. Established in 1949 and still run by the Polledri family, it is a classic Soho café for espresso and people-watching, open very late. The Infatuation calls it a café-cum-institution. Take a stool at the window and order an espresso, and you will have done Soho's two great coffee stops in one stroll.