Rua Coffee Bar

Rua is a multi-roaster coffee bar under the railway arches in Holloway, north London. The house espresso is a Brazilian coffee from Lucid Coffee Roasters in Belfast, whose bags also stock the shelves, and other roasters rotate alongside it. Rua runs coffee events with roasters: a coffee social and discussion with Chester from LIFT Coffee Roasters, a Halloween cupping of coffees from Catalyst, Lucid and Fluir, and a “Trust the Process” cupping hosted by Meg and Ruby from the team. In summer the menu adds a cold brew slushie and a cold brew tonic.

The kitchen is known for its breakfast burritos, served on weekends and bank holidays only: chipotle sausage, beef birria with adobo-marinated shredded beef, and a black bean mole with toasted sesame beans. They are made until they sell out, with no reservations and no orders for collection at a set time. The counter also carries Rua’s cookies, among them a French chocolate cookie with sea salt and a cake batter cookie, along with chocolate knots and cinnamon buns.

The room has space to sit for a while, a book exchange and a lot of dinosaurs. Rua also hosts a run club, a 5km loop for all abilities that starts and finishes at the bar, with coffee and pastries afterwards, and evenings such as pumpkin carving with cocktails from Bar Gemist.

Photograph: Rua Coffee Bar