London's best Coffee Cup

What I want - is a proper cup ‘o coffee,
Made in a proper copper coffee pot.
I may be off my dot,
But I want a cup ‘o coffee from a proper coffee pot.
Iron coffee pots and tin coffee pots - they’re no use to me.
If I can’t have a proper cup 'o coffee from a proper copper coffee pot - I’ll have a cup ‘a tea.
(Old English Music Hall song)

Nothing is worse than the insult of luke-warm muddy liquid in a leaking paper cup that some people call coffee. London has an array of fantastic coffee houses of varying standards and trudging through the deepest, darkest streets I bring you the best cup of 'Joe' to be found.

Most of these coffee havens are in Soho, providing busy Londoners with their daily buzz, and it's due to the competition that the standards have been raised. The best of the best has to be 'flat white.' on Berwick Street. Stuart from Tonbridge says 'Flat white is one of the very best coffee shops in London, great vibe and perfect coffee skilfully served.' Serving refined artisan style coffee prevalent in Australian and New Zealand cafes, its flavoursome brew has won the place several awards. It's hidden down the busy street but a spectacular find.

Another Soho coffee gem is Bar Italia on Frith Street. LBC listener Elena in a huge fan, "They kept me going when I used to work overnights. Open until all hours they serve great coffee in a friendly manner." It's an 'all night institution', opened in 1923 and was actually the spot where television was first demonstrated by John Logie Baird. It's also in a prime people-watching location, so if you have an afternoon to spare, pop in.

Described as a 'Coffee Mecca', Monmouth Coffee House in Covent Garden has a coffee cult following. They sell speciality roasts and they have a changing roast of the day which keeps people coming back for more. When you place an order - even for filter coffee - the beans are ground to spec and a diminutive individual cup is freshly brewed for you by the barista. Mathew from Highbury says "I love their beans, I love their roast of the day, I love their truffles, I love their ethics, I love their tiny seats and I love their staff - because they love coffee too."

Out of Soho good quality coffee is harder to find. One cafe hidden south of the river is Royal Teas in Greenwich. Don't be fooled by its name, it serves high-quality roasts. Rebecca from Greenwich says "The coffee is really much better at Royal Teas than at any of the big coffee chains, and a lot cheaper."

Pancake Daze

Don't 'flip out' this Pancake day, if tossing isn't your forte try one of these creperies.

Every year on Pancake day I can guarantee I will call my mother and ask her step by step instructions how to create the perfect pancake and every year my kitchen (and last year my cat!) is covered in batter. So this year I say rubbish to the frying pan and will head out to one of the many great Pancake Houses of London.

I've been trying them out in preparation for the day and have whittled down the selection to the best.

My Old Dutch in Chelsea was my first port of call on the pancake hunt. It was on a recommendation that I went here and I was glad I made the effort; Chelsea is a little out of my usual stomping ground. The service as fast and friendly, as it should be in a pancake house, and there was a large selection of savoury treats flipped to order. I'll place a warning here - Pancake Day here will be manic, expect staff to be tossing out in the streets and a packed restaurant. It was last year, so to avoid disappointment book early.

There are variations of pancakes and the French do Crepes. They are thinner and cooked on a flat hot plate rather than in a pan. Cafe Creperie in South Kensington is the superior creperie in London with it's understated no nonsense atmosphere and inspiring menu. It is a small listed building, which is what gives it its character and charm, but does result in you often having to wait for a table.

If you are feeling a little bit pancake fanatic then I would highly recommend The Club Bar and Dining in Soho. The lovely chef's here have thought I a starter, main and dessert choice of pancakes for your taste buds pleasure. We will highly recommend their corn fed chicken, on a tarragon pancake with mushrooms and parmesan sauce. Yep, I dribbled at that too.

American short stack pancakes is how our transatlantic friends favourites and my final choice. Start your day with some of the fattening, filling and smaller version of Shrove Tuesday's delicacy. Eagle Bar Diner in Soho has to be my venue of choice for this. You have the choice of Canadian maple syrup, bacon and Canadian maple syrup, ham and eggs or Blueberries as a topping. This is a fantastic hidden gem and a perfect way to start your Tuesday.