Abuelo Marylebone

The salted vanilla cream matcha arrives with the cream filling close to half the cup, and it sets the tone for a room where the coffee, the brunch and the joinery all come from one idea.

Latin American coffee, Australian brunch

Abuelo Marylebone is a designed London café rather than a generic brunch stop. It combines modern Australian hospitality with Latin American specialty coffee, using rated, award-winning single-origin beans grown sustainably and bought to support Latin American growing communities. Food is produce-led in the same way, with Australian-style brunch dishes given the house twist. The brand is architect owned and designed, and this branch is run by a mother-and-daughter team.

The sourcing story widens from there. Abuelo names small producers including Estate Dairy, Happy Bee Honey and Windrush Valley Goat Dairy, and takes natural wines from independent growers. The result works as coffee bar, brunch room, wine spot and design-led local café at once: casual by the brand’s own description, but precise underneath, with Latin American coffee culture, Australian brunch habits, natural wine and close attention to materials.

A 1970s room built on site

The room is the other reason to come. The design leans on a 1970s reference: rice paper lanterns, timber-panelled walls, red quarry tiles, vintage chairs and mid-century light fittings from the Netherlands. Apart from the lighting and the seating, the furniture was designed and built on site, including three huge dining tables with upside-down stacked legs, which makes the communal furniture part of the identity rather than a purchase.

The counter is a patchwork of marbles and stones chosen from off-cuts that would otherwise have been waste. Abuelo calls the effect calm and simple; from the other side of the door it reads as warm tones, paper lanterns and vintage seating. Service is not formal or fussy. It is a small, local-style café for brunch and coffee earlier, then wine, Tayer and Elementary cocktails, sharing plates and a DJ on Saturday nights.

Order the salted vanilla cream matcha first

Start with the salted vanilla cream matcha. The house is generous with the cream, which fills close to half the cup and adds a subtle sweetness and a thicker texture once it is stirred through. Matcha is central to the drinks list, sitting beside the Latin American coffee rather than behind it.

For food, the clearest brunch order is the Spanish tortilla topped with caramelised onions, spicy mayo and fresh labneh, salty and sweet at once and filling enough to carry the meal. The lighter route is the bit-of-everything plate: vanilla fig and miso house jam, comte cheese, whipped butter, a soft boiled egg and fresh sourdough. For something sweet afterwards, the carrot cake is the named highlight, presented with the same care as the room around it.