Abuelo

You're on Southampton Street in the thick of Covent Garden, and instead of wandering into another touristy trap, you've found Abuelo—a Spanish café that takes itself seriously without being a complete snob about it. The space has that lived-in warmth of a place that knows what it's doing: good coffee, decent food, the kind of spot where regulars nod at each other. It's busy during the morning rush but never feels rammed, and the staff actually seem to care whether your cortado is made properly. The pastries rotate, there's decent Spanish ham on toast, and everything costs what it should without the Covent Garden markup you'd expect round here.