Month: July 2026

First Impressions

I finally made it to Farha, London. I had actually known about Farha, which means joy in Arabic, for a long time, having followed their story before they finally opened towards the end of last year. So, when I had the opportunity to visit London again this summer, I was really looking forward to it but also praying deeply that the queues would not be too long. 

Why? Well, the images I had seen on Instagram showed queues of 40 to 45 minutes and sometimes even an hour. Why? read on.

First of all, Farha have really made a name for themselves because not only are they serving good coffee, but their delectable, enticing and beautifully designed pastries will definitely get your lips, and your saliva, going. I actually visited on Father’s Day in London with my daughter, and having met the owner, Umar, previously before it opened, it was good to finally see him in his own shop.

The shop itself is beautifully designed and reminded me of my famous quote, “the drink of the escapist”. As you enter Farha, you could easily feel as if you are somewhere in North Africa, and in fact some of the design borrows from Morocco. It really does transport you somewhere else.

Pastries

As you enter, you are greeted with a delectable array of pastries. Choose one? 

I already knew which one I wanted anyway, having followed them on Instagram for a few months and so when it came for me to pick, I definitely wanted their famous banana brûlée praline. 

Also in season was their mango cheesecake pastry, which I simply could not resist. 

And because it was still the start of breakfast, we decided to try their famous egg shakshuka pastry roll too. We grabbed two of those.

We sat down at the back, which was good because we had a bit of space to take in the sights and all the different parts of this wonderfully decorated coffee shop. After we had just finished the shakshuka egg roll, Umar came over to visit us and asked if we wanted anything else. 

Well, how could I resist? He brought another pastry for us to try, the pear saffron one, which we could not finish because we were already too full, so we decided to take that home.

Everything in the shop, especially the pastries, is very artistically designed by their talented pastry chefs. So of course, I wanted to take pictures using one of the studio options on my iPhone (see above). Coffee blogger habits, I guess.

The Coffee

I started off with a cortado using their house blend… hints of milk chocolate.

After our savoury and sweet pastry course, I decided to finish off with a filter coffee using a Kenyan coffee. I always have a weak spot for Kenyan naturals, and this one did not disappoint. 

I washed that down with my favourite pastry, the banana brûlée praline (okay how many times am I going to mention this, sigh) BUT Yum!

Before we left, Umar was so kind to offer us some more drinks. I weakened at the knees and decided to have an iced coffee, as it was quite a warm day for London, about 28C. My daughter went for one of their special cold iced teas. We walked around a bit, took a few more pictures and then decided to head on to our next Father’s Day venue.

Expansion Plans

As we were seated towards the back, Umar showed us around the space where all the pastries are lined up for the rest of the day, and then he explained some of their expansion plans. 

So far, quite a few high-end coffee shops have apparently been coming to visit them. I will not name them here, to be discreet, but word has clearly gone around London that the pastries at this coffee shop are delectable. Tourist already make the 30-minute trip from West London to pop by, buy a few pasties and then head back.

In the future, Omar and his team plan to start serving breakfast and brunch, and perhaps light meals for lunch too. They are also looking to expand the specialty coffee side of things, so perhaps a proper brew bar may be on the cards. Now that would be exciting.

Final Thoughts

All in all, although Farha is located in Leytonstone, it is not that far if you are already in the West End. It is about a 15-minute journey from Oxford Circus and around a five-minute walk from the station. And trust me, you will not be disappointed.

It’s not easy to find great pastries and good coffee in one location but kudos to Farha for making that happen.

You will be transported into a different world, where your taste buds will thank you not just for the coffee, but definitely for the delectably artistic and tasty pastries too. I am already looking forward to my next visit, and I continue to wish Farha, Umar and his team all the best in their next phase God willing.

Find them here Farha, 42 High Road Leyton, London E15 2BP and note that they’re only open from Wednesday to Sundays.