Liberty & Attendant Coffee

My plan for today was simple.

Start at Oxford Circus and follow a carefully mapped-out walking route through Soho.

That plan lasted about fifteen minutes.

The first stop was Liberty, one of London's most famous department stores. The building itself completely stole the show. With its black-and-white Tudor façade, timber beams and leaded windows, it looks as though Shakespeare himself might have stopped by to pick up a new quill.

I loved it.

From there, I was supposed to continue to Carnaby Street.

But then I remembered...

Wasn't there a rather unusual coffee shop somewhere nearby?

A quick look at my map confirmed it, and just like that, my carefully planned route went out the window.

I'm very glad it did.

Attendant Coffee occupies one of the most unique spaces I've ever seen—a beautifully restored Victorian gentlemen's public toilet. You enter from street level before descending a staircase into what feels like an underground tunnel.

The original porcelain urinals are still there.

Thankfully, they're no longer serving their original purpose. Instead, they've been transformed into the seating area.

Only in London.

The cappuccino was excellent, I picked up another bag of beans for the collection, and I left with a big grin on my face.

Sometimes the best travel experiences begin with a spontaneous detour.Read more