Common Ground

Coming from Beijing’s wasteland of coffee places, this is a Mecca I often travel. Hiking from the subway is a good workout to have an excellent cup-​o-​joe!

I’m a fan. I like the ambiance, and the food ain’t so bad either. But I have deducted 1 star for the following reasons:
For a café that’s a bit farther out of the way, I think Common Ground’s pricing is still pretty expensive. Don’t get me wrong, I kinda like the idea that it’s a bit farther out, it makes the place a bit less mad and crowded, but for that reason, I think the owners would drop the price a little.
I had the smoked salmon open sandwich and a glass of lemongrass tea. Both were delicious! However, for the price that I paid, I think the portions were measly. The smoked salmon sandwich was flavourful and light but I definitely could have had another half portion easily. The lemongrass tea was also very yummy (something that i’ve never tried before) but for the price you pay for a coffee, I don’t think it was worth it. (Esp finding out later how easy this was to make at home!!)
I would recommend this place if you want a place where you can chill out forever. (Maybe that’s the price you pay for not feeling obligated to rush) Sometimes it gets crowded that people sit on the steps outside, and the area surrounding it is quiet and perfect for it. It’s a nice place to bring somebody from out of town and you want to show them a unique place, but for me, it’s not a place I would afford to go regularly :(

I had heard really nice things about Common Ground before I decided to give it a go this afternoon. It’s located in an ultra quiet street right by PMQ and it’s just lovely. It’s rather small which makes it cozy and when the weather is good, as it was today, you can seat outside at the tables or in some wooden seats stairs-​shaped.
The atmosphere was great but I couldn’t find a free seat outside so decided to take a seat at the common table inside. As I was waiting for someone else I looked around and could tell that things are well taken care of here. The girls seating next to me were having an all day breakfast (or so that was my conclusion by looking at the menu and back to their board) and it was very nicely presented. I only had a green tea, which was nice, but I’ll probably try out something else next time as their menu is rather big for a café.
Next door to Common Ground there’s an art jamming place which makes the atmosphere even nicer…
Love this newly found hidden café!

Not being an intellectual /​blogger /​designer, my visit to Common Ground may lower the cultural standard here (LOL, lucky that I’ve brought a Mac so still kinda fit in from appearance…) I’m just joking, it’s a friendly place for everyone. Situating along the inclining staircase linking Caine Road and Hollywood Road (and further down?! I haven’t walked that far…), the place is very quite and relaxing. Indeed with a book in hand it’s a blink the afternoon is gone (I’ve tried, but end up Unilocaling: P) The latte is great, rich and silky. Love it!