Sacred

Love their mocha! Very fruity, just wish they had more eats! Anzac biscuit is nothing special, and the marshmallow biscuit is colourful but too sweet

Sacred is basically everything I truly dislike in a coffee shop. Ugh, and I wanted to like it so much more.
I came here to have a meeting with someone for work and right away, I knew I was in the wrong place.
Sacred is tiny, tucked in the back of Stanford’s Book Shop. There are a few tables, but most are incredibly low to the ground and force you to sit on plushy squares like you’re a child back in school.
There’s also no wifi and the signal inside the building is terrible, so there goes any chance of connecting steadily to the Internet (they also tease you with a Standford’s signal, but apparently, it’s for staff only. Obviously. Because who would use wifi in either a coffee shop or a bookshop?)
I could have also sworn that I saw a sign saying that Time Out had included this spot in it’s list of great places to get work done. How? How is that even possible?
Also, to put a lovely cherry on top of a cake, there was a little mouse running around, who kept ducking into holes in the wall and then popping out again. Gross.
The only reason why it rests at two stars instead of one is that the coffee was decent (not amazing, but not terrible either) and the staff are very lovely. We ordered from a bubbly woman and she brought our drinks right over to us. That was nice.
But beyond that, I’d stay away. It was not at all what I was hoping for.

Coffee was overly bitter without much real quality to it. Price was too high for low quality and small size. The ambiance was essentially that of the bookstore, and no wifi (really?! in a London coffee shop?!). I went to have a chat, and that’s certainly not the norm — felt like I was disrupting everyone in there. A tiny little mouse joined our party for most of the time, running around without reprise or notice from staff, yet everyone with a cup of coffee seemed to notice. Don’t get me wrong, it was cute as anything, I would just have rather met him outside is all.
Saving grace is that it’s a quiet atmosphere if you’re genuinely looking for one, and it «gets the job done» of being a coffee shop in a bookstore with real seats to hang out.

I was delighted to find this little cosy space at the back of the bookshop where I could sip a cappuccino and idle away some of my Saturday morning. Coffee was good … Service was a little chaotic but very friendly. A good spot to know about if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden.

What a lovely shop in the back of a great bookstore. Although there’s no wifi here, there are outlets, so if you don’t mind sitting at the bar rather than at a table, this would be a fine spot for some pre-​downloaded reading or writing.

Sacred Café sits in the back of Stanfords, and fires off a pretty mean latte. Not terribly expensive at under £3 for a medium, with nice seating and perfect ambiance right next to all the travel books. It’s a great place to sit and lose yourself planning your next adventure!

Yes another Sacred subtly reveals itself!
I was lucky to discover this one tucked away at the back of this bookshop which I decided to cut through as a way of avoiding the busy Saturday Long Acre, lured in by my weakness for maps which are on display in the window.
All the Sacred usuals, good coffee (for a start!) at around £2.30 for flat whites, lattes, cappuccino etc andI am pleased to see the famous chocolate chip cookies on the counter top too.
In Covent Garden you really are getting spoilt for good coffee choices– remind why I still see Starbucks everywhere?

I got a coffee at the Sacred Carnaby Street shop once — a long time ago — and wasn’t at all impressed. So much so that I’d avoided consuming coffee at any other Sacred outlet, even when it was convenient to me. For example, when a serious cup of coffee could have seen me experiencing my own little hell on earth (Christmas shopping at Westfield) with aplomb rather than tortured, uncaffeinated resignation — I still abstained from patronising Sacred.
So I don’t know what it was that made me decide to stop in to this Sacred, located at the back of Stanfords bookshop’s ground floor. Maybe because it was accessible directly from street level at the Floral Street entrance to Stanfords and I just so happened to be walking by. Maybe I think everyone deserves a second chance.
Actually, I’m lying — it was because Monmouth over in the Seven Dials was closed for a refurb and I was desperate.
Anyway, Sacred occupies a tiny space at the back of Stanfords, and its chairs were all filled with middle-​aged tourists drinking tea. Not a great sign. I persevered. Three young girls attended the espresso machine and till. Also not a great sign. I persevered yet again.
And, honestly, I’m glad I did. The macchiato I ordered was excellent. A strong, naturally sweet pull with any bitterness being tempered by just a cut of perfectly frothed milk — this is how a macchiato should be.
I certainly wouldn’t come here as a coffee-​shop destination. But if the espresso is as consistently excellent as it was the other day, I wouldn’t hesitate to pop by for a takeaway brew from time to time.