Dose is a micro-dose, with seating for about a dozen bodies, but it was still a bit of a shock to see it nearly full at 10.30am. The clientele is diverse, ranging through suits, the Clerkenwell cool crowd and staff from nearby St Bart’s. Some very tempting food includes imaginative sandwiches, as in organic ciabatta with dry-cured bacon, grilled halloumi and spiced avocado. Sweet things also beckon – the cheesecake is a killer – and there’s also own-made muesli and yoghurt fruit compotes.
Tea, taken very seriously here, is offered either hot or cold. A cold lemongrass was expertly brewed and had exactly the right (tiny) amount of sugar added. Coffee beans come from Square Mile, but there’s a changing selection of guest espresso. On our visit it was a single-estate washed Colombian, which was sensationally good: deep berry flavours and velvety-smooth. Had the crema been a little more sprightly, this would have been a candidate for espresso of the year. A small complaint in the context of a mega-dose of quality.