Toast

Hal’s exterior looks more like a Saloon or the entrance to a peep show rather than the airy café it actually is, so I’ve always walked on by without stopping for a coffee (although I have always noticed its red paintwork and introverted shutter doors).
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find it light, airy and uncluttered when I swung in for a Latte today. After passing by some happy looking builders for a lunch I decided I was significantly stressed enough to warrant treating myself to a cake, which was massive and only 85 pence. Hallelujah!
My latte was frothy and tasty! I didn’t even need sugar, which is indicative of a top class coffee. The Empire Biscuit went down well, and also went all over my top, but that’s to do with me being rather a messy eater rather than the cake being crumbly. The commotion I cause while eating defies science, but anyway… I was also relieved to see that Hal’s have a small collection of laptops, and since I bloody forgot my phone when I left the house this morning I desperately needed to get in touch with someone I was meant to meet. Thank God it was only a pound for half an hour!
There was one woman running this place today and she was really friendly and efficient. She seemed to enjoy her work and I quite envied her working alone in that environment, as working in more corporate coffee houses can strip you of your liberties. The latte was Starbucks standard (nicer, in fact) and over a pound cheaper as well. So even though Hal’s looks a bit like these bong smoking dens you get dotted around Camden, on the inside it’s simply lovely!

Despite its rather odd «is it a café, mini cab office or xxx store» exterior, Hal’s is a nice wee place. More of a wee café than a coffee shop, this place does the usual lunch time/​breakfast snacks at really rather reasonable prices.
With a pretty small seating area it can help but be intimate and with the rather odd addition of internet access on a bank of computers Hal’s suffers slightly for a bit of a split personality. But hey, times are tight and business is business so why not?
In fairness to Hal’s its probably the most reasonable of all the coffee shops in this area, whether this is by design or necessity is neither here not there, it is what it is.
I like it, its distinctly un trendy in a part of town that is dragging itself into trendsville more and more each day… go Hal go!