Lemon Monkey

This place had potential but the owner, manager whoever she was very rude. So rude that cost her a business. closed now. Hopefully she will learn how to treat customers from now on.

Nice enough café and service was good when I went in a few weeks ago.

Really great place with quality products!

This is a great little café come fine food shop, but unfortunately the service is pretty poor. Come on ladies, how hard is it to crack a smile and be convivial?
I came here a couple of years ago, not long after it opened, and remember having a lovely chat with the lady owner. However, she didnt appear to be here on this occasion, but probably should be as the current crop of servers are going to scare away the customers!
Service aside, it’s a pleasant place to stop by for a drink and something to eat. I had a pear and ginger juice which was tasty, refreshing, and good value for money at £1.80. I didn’t have anything to eat on this occasion but the cakey smells emanating from the counter were making my mouth water!
They have a great selection of cheeses, cured meats, chutneys, drinks etc for sale. Plus free wifi if you’re brave enough to request the password!

Really cute inside. Coffee is pretty good and croissants are pretty good as well. Nice to visit rather than hitting up Starbucks, and they have a decent variety on the food menu, but not my top coffee joint.

If you’re coming from, say, London Bridge, then get off of the 149, cross the street and get on in there!
I’m a fan of the espresso drinks, made with care (sometimes takes for days to get to your table), and the biscuits. One could gorge on cakes, too. There’s seating in the back room, and some in the front amid olive oil and other products for sale that one could find cheaper at the local supermarket, but hey, it’s all about the ambiance, ain’t it?
Don’t let the kooky awning fool you. This place isn’t selling SE Asian bath products. You DO want to go in for a bevvie and a sit down. Only, maybe don’t sit at an outside table cuz you may be unlucky enough to sit next to smokers.

I make a point of coming here when I am in the area as it has some really good products.
Think some improvements could be made. You do see people having tea and cakes, but never the wine, which you can also enjoy on the premises.

The sandwich selection was a bit limited in the meat department (I do love a good meaty sandwich) but this isn’t pret and I’m sure they wouldn’t want to be.
There is a great selection of homemade cakes, freshly pressed juices, organic teas and coffee galore — not just to eat and drink but to buy and take away too. The melt I had was a tasty treat and the guiness cake was good.
One wall is packed full of produce you may want to treat yourself to while you are sitting in this cosy (yet far more spacious than you are led to believe when you look through the door) little Stoke Newington café.

A French styled Café in the north of London. Prices are a bit over the average but it is affordable. Nice to be if you around Stoke Newington.
Lovely interieur with interesting art exhibitions and some performance activities from time to time.

The Chorizo stew i had here was perfect on a chilly saturday afternoon involving moochy pooching around the shoppy whoops. Ooh this was flipping tasty, accompanied by a bread roll to dip in. The chorizo was soo darn tender! A delicious lunch indeed. Oh and a fantastic pear juice!

Lemon Monkey, your downbeat and minimalist atmosphere is immediately welcoming. Your area just at the front devoted to grocery items combined with the cured meats hanging around lend you gourmet credentials. I admit that the whole vibe you have going on is peculiarly comfortable and disarming. I happily sat chatting and eating at one of your beaten wooden tables in one of your mismatched chairs with my companions for what seemed like at least an hour.
But my cumin gouda sandwich wasn’t anything I couldn’t have thrown together in my own kitchen, what with it being two bits of a baguette with slices of cheese and artichokes inside of it. And I’m far from a gourmand. (Perhaps that’s the problem?) In any event, at its £6.50 price point, I’d say that it was just all right.
Also, how about being a little more friendly at the counter. Handing over £6.50 for a glorified cheese sandwich would have been a bit easier if you had at least been grateful for my business.

Errrr I feel like I shouldn’t even review this place cos everyone else seems to love it so much. For me, it was only alright, like.
Maybe I’m a spoilt little foodie snob, but it didn’t exactly rock my world. Don’t bother saying it is because I am a vegetarian and its sexy cured meat selection is wasted on me, I like to see a nice slab of meat as much as the next animal lover.
The deli/​restaurant vibe can always feel a bit off because some people come in to browse and buy food and this is distracting when you want a quiet, dining atmosphere.
I found the itsy bitsy sandwich selection far too sparse, the tea pots too small and the staff far from friendly. I did love the retro cookbook collection, especially since I spied some of my mother’s favourites on the shelves. They also have a stuffed toy monkey cabinet, but that’s no reason to frequent an establishment, is it?
Sure, check it out if you are in the area but don’t make a special visit or you could be disappointed.

Went in, sat down, asked for a menu.
5 mins later: menu arrived
Placed our order at the front of a queue of 3 couples in a ¹⁄₃ full café.
5 mins later: gormless staff nervously look in our direction
5 mins later: waitress brings over the wrong drinks but eventually gives them to the couple who were behind us in the queue
5 mins later: waitress brings over styrofoam cups and asks whether we wanted these to takeaway. We didn’t.
1 min later: we got our money back
All we ordered was a cup of tea and a cappucino.
Used to be my favourite coffee place on/​around Church St but has gone downhill since the recent refurb.

This strange little shop come café sells an impressive selection of cheeses and cured meats. Do not expect a chip buttie in this joint as Lemon Monkey is probably the healthiest brother hanging from the tree. The teas are excellent, the juices like pear and ginger are heavenly and the food although healthy doesn’t detract from being very tasty.
Sitting in the back area either at the long table or on the leather sofa is a great quiet spot for exploiting the free wi fi. My only gripe is the menu isn’t the most extensive but still worth checking out for a quiet healthy lunch.

Hellllllooooooooooo Portland Oregon! It’s good to be home.
…Wait, I’m still in London? Shut the front door.
I swear, walking into this shabby chic coffee house I am instantly transported back to NE Portland: The smells, the sounds, the furniture, the soundtrack, the chalkboard menu, the free wi-​fi, it’s all spot on… and I am home again.
A small community coffee house like this is the soundtrack to my happiness and Lord knows I love being happy. Find me sitting in the back room sipping on rooibos, typing away, and analyzing the hodge-​podge furniture and wallpaper samples.

I like the fact that I can walk into this café and immediately feel at home. From the walls lined with deli goods to the free wifi — Lemon Monkey is a home from home.
This place is most definitely a stand out café in the area, not only because they have happy helpful servers, but also because they aren’t exactly on Church Street so miss a few of the ‘London Tourists’.
If you have a few hours to kill, want to catch up with friends, like reading in cafes, enjoy freshly made food at reasonable prices and more… this place could be your dream too.

A great addition to Stoke Newington High Street, Lemon Monkey lives up to the quirkiness of its name. Whilst having a drink and snack in here I was able to stock up on a couple of Christmas presents. The helpful staff made suggestions for a hamper and wrapped everything in a basket, whilst I enjoyed the reasonably priced snack.
The café also stocks a range of bric-​à-​brac (mainly kitchenware) which provided further stocking fillers, I’m a big fan of the multi-​purpose café, somewhere to eat, drink, buy cheese, wine and interesting kictchenware.

I feel quite guilty at how long I spent in The Lemon Monkey yesterday. I went in for a sandwich and a cup of tea and after three hours and four more drinks I had to force myself to leave.
It’s easy to underestimate this place from the outside as it just looks like another Stoke Newington deli with a couple of tables by the window. Once you’re inside however, you’ll notice a chalkboard listing the day’s sandwiches and pastries and an extensive drink selection. I ordered the ‘Porchetta’ ham special and it was absolutely delicious, served on a wooden chopping board with very little fuss. While the tables at the front are nice enough, make sure you find the hidden seating area through the doorway at the back. Comfy sofa’s and free Wi-​Fi make it a really nice place to relax. The staff work with a fairly ambivalent attitude so don’t expect them to mess around with small talk. This actually works in quite well with the general atmosphere of the place though as you don’t feel rushed or pressured to buy anything else (hence me hanging out all day!)
As I ate I noticed their list of ‘December Events’ which included wine tastings and film screenings. Clearly I’d judged The Lemon Monkey badly when I thought it was just another deli; its food, atmosphere and events like these prove it is trying hard to be much more.

I really didn’t want to like Lemon Monkey, because I’d always walk past and see smug men in tweed typing on expensive laptops whilst sipping their latte pensively. One day i bit the bullet, decided to stop being a hater and ventured in.
Serving a large range of coffee, tea, cakes and sandwiches the thing that sold me to the place was their shelves and shelves full of exciting treats. I dream of the day when I’ll have a pantry full of expensive preserves, chocolate, biscuits, pickles and coca. Well i could find it ALL in here and more! I felt compelled to buy things i’d never heard of and certainly didn’t need!
A really nice local business (that’s only ever so slightly smug), they have a great seating area up the stairs at the back of the café with sofas and cushions. They also have free wifi, so who can blame the tweeds for hanging out there!

New opening on Stoke Newington High Street. If you want to share a big table with different people who can eat their breakfast or their salads or simply have a coffee, you’ll be gladly surprised.
Find delicious marmelade, bread better than the french baguette.
For those who knows the Pain quotidien there the same ambiance, very simple but perfect anytime of the week end.
The staff is very friendly as they really want to make you feel comfortable and be sure that you enjoyed your meal or snack.
Prices are on an average basis for the area with the pain au chocolat at £1,30 and salads at £4 /​5.