The Common E2

Walk down Old Bethnal Green Road and you'll spot The Common by the queue of locals already settled in with flat whites and sourdough. It's the kind of place where they actually care about their coffee—expect single-origin beans and baristas who know what they're doing—but without the pretention that can make some E2 spots unbearable. The space feels lived-in rather than designed, all stripped brick and communal tables that somehow manage to feel both busy and genuinely welcoming. Come for breakfast (their eggs are excellent), stay for the lunch specials and the fact that everyone from the neighbourhood seems to know the staff's names.