Bond Street Coffee opened in the North Laine in 2014, as a partnership between Chris Campbell-Barr and Bradley and Amelia of Horsham Coffee Roaster, who already supplied the café that stood there. They spent much of their savings on a Synesso espresso machine. Chris had learnt his coffee in Brighton cafés from 2011, and in 2022 he took over Bond Street on his own.

From the start the café served single origins rather than a house blend, usually two or three at a time, so that the same drink can be ordered with different coffees. Chris began roasting for his cafés in 2017, and the roasting grew into Freda Coffee, a one-person roastery named after his Nan that launched as a brand in 2025. He slot-roasts on Horsham Coffee Roaster’s equipment, packs orders in Worthing and works behind the bar with the coffees he has roasted. All the coffee at Bond Street is now Freda’s, and the café is “effectively the home of Freda”.

The two house espressos, Black Dog and Black Rain, are both seasonal single origins: Black Rain is roasted a little darker and more traditional, Black Dog lighter, with more room for acidity. The current Black Dog comes from two farms in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, and Black Rain from Rwandan smallholders around Kigali, with other seasonal coffees on filter. The cake counter has become entirely vegan over the years, though dairy milk is still served. There is no Wi-Fi, a choice made when the room started to feel like an office, so that the café stays full of conversation.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Freda Coffee