Cafe Moka

I recently discovered this quaint looking cafe on Whitman Road as I was cycling past one morning, and I've been eager to visit since. Today, I decided to work from outside my office and invited my neighbour to join me for a coffee at 'Moka'. We were greeted with a smile and when asked for the points, were instructed not to plug in our laptops if we weren't eating lunch. Bizarre treatment of first time customers, but we managed to negotiate an hour. 

Seeing that the cafe was half empty, and the five people sitting around were working on their plugged-in laptops and sipping on what look like cold coffee,  we opted to stay a tad longer . At that point my friend felt hungry and ordered lunch. Despite that we were rudely asked to unplug our laptops and when we mentioned that we've just ordered lunch and others were also sitting with just ONE coffee and plugged in laptops!, the not-so-gentleman snapped, and went on rant accusing us of “sipping on one coffee” and proceeded to tell us that unlike the other customers, we were not regulars!

Whoever is running this place, if it was the “gentleman” serving us, clearly does not know the first thing about customer service, or basic human decency. We are your potential “regular” locals, sir!

 Not anymore! 

Newly refurbished, this lovely local cafe is just by the Wightman Road side entrance to Harringay station. Started by Kevin with help from his mum and friendly cafe assistants, Moka is welcoming and New York-esque in it’s design. It’s a very tastefully completed renovation and houses lovingly restored, comfy retro furniture.

With good breakfast choices as fresh muffins or pastries, and lunch selections of various healthy filled homemade tarts, pastas, freshly filled ciabattas, paninis or mixed salads to choose from. Homemade cakes of note are the lavender shortcake, choc brownies and cherry cookies – all delicious!

I recommend going at different times in the week and weekends to try out the different choices on offer and to soak up the different atmosphere which Moka already generates from busy weekday luncheons to chilled out weekend brunches.

Seats inside are very comfy, but if the weather is good, treat yourself to a seat in the garden at the back. Tasteful design continues throughout including Moroccan style split doors leading to the garden tables and a beautiful herb garden just starting to take shape in fruit boxes. They are positioned wonderfully around the two tables and I encourage you to try the incredibly comfy wooden deckchairs – you’ll be resting your eyes in the sun within minutes! Look out as well for the soft, green blankets provided for those chillier days when it’s still good to enjoy the outdoors, you’ll feel truly looked after and pampered!

Update: Moka now opens on Thurs and Fri evenings for wine and nibbles. Perfect way to end the week.

Love this place - I regularly come for breakfast and it's nice to see a friendly face in the morning (not an easy task given some tetchy customers i'm sure!) !  It's also one of the few places that welcome mums and babes for regular coffee mornings and yet also run fun themes nights such as pizza or curry nights.  Highly recommend it - check it out yourself.

Oh dear. The reviewers who gave this place five stars must have been especially lucky. My visit this weekend was unenjoyable. The staff have a real attitude, especially two of the waitresses, and the food isn't great - quite salty and small portions and it takes ages to come out of the kitchen. Plus, my eggs came out tepid, so I sent them back to be warmed up, and they came back tepid again! To compensate, I got given a whole £2 off of my bill. You can imagine my delight. 

In short, this is a horrible place that's up its own bottom. If you're in the area do yourself a favour and head to somewhere like Boulangerie Bon Matin or Hot Pepper Jelly instead.

YES! Wightman road has just got a whole lot better! Really lovely cafe, great service and exceptionally tasty food.

Such a brilliant cafe in a slight void of good places. The owner cooks all the cakes, tarts, etc. every morning, and they’re delicious. And it’s really well decorated, making it a great place to grab a tasty bite, a good tea/coffee and just read the paper or meet a mate.

This is a fantastic new cafe that’s quickly become a huge asset to the area. The decor is lovely: really tasteful and calming, and there’s a great little garden at the back. Keven, the owner, is really friendly and is clearly passionate about his new venture.

Even though I live on the other side of the tracks I’ll take a walk over to cafe Moka when I can to sample the great coffee, generous sandwiches and pastries and soak up the laid-back vibe: there is free wifi too, so it’s a great place to stop off if you’re remote working.