My Trip To Busi Cafe

So the UK officially goes back into a month-long lockdown tomorrow. I can’t be the only person who is struggling to process this information. I feel like the last three-month lockdown was years ago now, so much has changed in my life since I was stuck in my little flat with only jogging as an escape. I’ve changed jobs, moved out of the family home, and moved in with my best mate into a cute little flat in east London.

It’ll be interesting to see how London copes with a second lockdown, but it’s going to be hard to watch my favourite independent businesses struggle to cope with another month of no sales.

At University, I was a massive champion of the independent scene; I was fortunate to be studying in a city that supported local and family-run businesses. Everywhere you turned, there would be an independent coffee shop or a family-run the plastic-free shop. It was a beautiful community to be apart of, and I still try to do my bit to support them from London.

Now is probably one of the most critical times for you to do you bit. Just like during the first lockdown I wrote two blogs for my old magazine Amble, four ways to support your local independents and a Post-Covid Coffee Culture both echoed my urge to help locals through this challenging time. So if you want to hear more about my thoughts on this, I recommend clicking the links above and having a bit more readable.

This blog isn’t exactly about supporting independents, but I thought it would be fitting to write about my trip to a new independent coffee shop before lockdown begins.

I first discovered the Busi Cafe on Tiktok, which seems to be the perfect place for finding cool things in London. There are loads of bars and cafes that thrive off having an instagrammable aesthetic, but this one stood out to me. Instead of being wall to wall millennial pink, it was a mixture of block pinks, purples and blues. Something about the place made it feel weirdly futuristic, and the drinks looked bloody gorgeous.

So I decided to surprise my friends with a short little day out to the Busi. The fact it’s only a short walk from Oxford Street made it even better.

When we got there we were surprised to find the place was pretty much empty - two girls were finishing off their drinks and a photo shoot. But they left shortly after we ordered our drinks, so we had the whole location at our mercy.

As an unspoken rule, my friends often buy different drinks when we visit somewhere, mainly so we can all have a sip of each drink but also so I have more photo opportunities.

The drinks were beautiful and elaborate, as you can see from the photos, but you’re 100% paying for the aesthetic and the overpriced furniture. If I wanted to review my experience at Busi honestly, I would say £5.90 for a snazzy coffee would be a little too much. I still cringe at paying that much for a cocktail, let alone a charcoal latte.

If I were to have the option to revisit Busi, I would do it. I never got the chance to try the food, and there was a massive coffee that just filled me with all the emotions.