Ricco’s, E17 7LD

Ricco's coffee shop is one of my favourite places in Walthamstow. They have great strong coffee and the decor is a fantastically bonkers mix of Viennese coffee house with North African accents, plus a modern East End/East European vibe.

Located near the bottom of the High Street, I use this coffee shop as an excuse to barrel my way through the market on a Saturday. You won’t find it on Google Maps but head for the ‘SAM 99p’ shop and it’s almost next door. 

Their coffee is strong, like an after dinner coffee which coats your mouth with a smokey flavour. Soya milk was available on my most recent visit, and it was £2 for a soya latte. Bargain. They have a selection of croissants and cakes - carrot cake and chocolate chip muffins were on offer but sadly, not homemade.

Ricco’s has wooden decor throughout – a long bar with grape vines in the paneling  mirrors behind the bar and gold coffee urn– though not actually used for brewing. However, the old fashioned cash register is still used and makes a noisy ring when they cash up your bill. Mock Louis XV chairs, with luminous yellow, pink and green reupholstering dominate the front of the coffee shop, with sofas in the back. 

With all that wood paneling it could be dark and dingy, but the mirrors bring in the light from the floor to ceiling windows at the entrance. Moroccan lamps hang in the windows and in the back. Ricco’s isn't open in the evenings, but I wish it was, so I could see the room lit with spangly coloured glass.

It’s a cheery place, but easy to sit and read a book too. They usually have music on the radio, one person making coffee, and one offering table service.

They have 3 high chairs available, stacked in the back, a few toys and children’s books to keep little ones entertained whilst their parents watch the market traffic outside.

Opening hours seem to be a little haphazard. I usually trot down there on Saturday or Sunday, but they’re not consistently open on Sundays.

Accessibility... level entrance, enough space for wheelchair user to sit at a table inside but probably not enough for a turning circle. Toilet available, but not accessible.

Popular with... Saturday market-goers, parents with children, groups of men who chat freely with the staff, people watchers.