Caravan Coffee Review
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Editor's Note
I have eaten at the King's Cross Caravan more times than I have visited some friends. The combination of good coffee and a menu that actually competes with proper restaurants makes it dangerously easy to spend an entire afternoon there.
What struck me on my first visit, and still holds, is that the coffee does not feel like an accessory to the food or vice versa. Both operate at a level where either could stand alone. That is rare in London, and it is the reason Caravan keeps pulling people back.
James Bellis, Health and Wellness Editor at Balance Journal
The Brand
Caravan Coffee Roasters was founded in 2010 by three New Zealanders - Laura Harper-Hinton, Miles Kirby, and Chris Mayger - who met working in restaurants back in New Zealand. The first Caravan opened on Exmouth Market in early 2010, combining a restaurant with an on-site roastery.
The concept was straightforward: serve food that draws on global flavours, roast coffee to a high speciality standard, and do both under the same roof. It was not the first roaster-restaurant in London, but Caravan's execution set a benchmark that most competitors still have not matched.
The King's Cross location followed in 2012, occupying a prime spot on Granary Square. A Bankside location added another postcode to the portfolio. The roastery itself now lives at Lamb Works, an 8,500 square foot redeveloped Victorian warehouse on North Road in Islington, housing an eco-friendly Loring Smart Roaster, a quality control lab, a coffee school, and the company's head offices.
That investment in infrastructure tells you where Caravan's ambitions sit. This is not a cafe that grew into a roastery. It is a hospitality group that treats coffee as a core pillar of the business, not a margin line.
The Coffee
Caravan sources from farms and cooperatives across the coffee belt and roasts on their Loring Smart Roaster, which is notable for its energy efficiency and clean roast profiles. The Loring produces less smoke and more consistent temperature control than traditional drum roasters, which translates into a cleaner cup.
The Market Blend is the everyday espresso offering. In the cup, it delivers toffee and roasted hazelnut on the nose, a balanced, medium body with brown sugar sweetness and a gentle acidity, and a smooth finish that fades cleanly. It is not a coffee that demands attention. It is a coffee that delivers quiet consistency, cup after cup.
Their single origin offerings rotate seasonally and are available both in the restaurants and through their online shop. A natural-processed Brazilian brought peanut brittle and dried cherry with a heavy, syrupy body. A washed Guatemalan offered orange blossom and milk chocolate with a lighter, more delicate structure. Both were roasted to a medium level that preserved origin character without sacrificing body.
Caravan also produces a range of cold brew and ready-to-drink coffee products, reflecting the brand's ability to operate across multiple formats without losing quality.
Pricing sits at £8 to £12 for 250g, which is competitive for the quality level, especially given the Loring roasting infrastructure behind each batch.
The Experience
The King's Cross location on Granary Square is the one most people visit first. It is large, open, and positioned alongside the canal, which makes it a natural stopping point for anyone walking through the regenerated King's Cross area. The menu is globally influenced, and the brunch service draws serious crowds on weekends.
The Bankside location is smaller and slightly more intimate, with a similar menu and the same coffee programme. Both restaurants serve the full range of espresso and filter options alongside the food.
The atmosphere is bustling. This is not a quiet-corner-with-a-book kind of place. It is a social space, designed for groups and long meals. If you want stillness with your flat white, look elsewhere. If you want energy, good food, and coffee that holds its own against the kitchen, Caravan delivers.
Who It Is For
Caravan is for the coffee drinker who wants the full hospitality experience. If you care about food as much as coffee, this is one of the strongest all-round offerings in London. It is also well-suited to anyone looking to buy beans from a roaster with serious production infrastructure. The Loring roastery, the quality lab, and the coffee school suggest a level of investment that smaller operations cannot match.
Final Thoughts
Caravan Coffee Roasters has built something that most London coffee brands have not: a hospitality group where the coffee and the food carry equal weight. The roasting is solid, the sourcing is transparent, and the restaurants are genuinely good places to eat, not just drink.
If you are looking for a roaster that does one thing brilliantly, there are more focused options on this list. If you want the complete package, with coffee, food, and atmosphere all working at a high level, Caravan is difficult to beat.
Part of our guide to the best coffee roasters London and best coffee roasters UK.
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