Brockley's original coffee shop, The Broca has been holding down Coulgate Street since 2007 — long before the area's café scene exploded. Founded by Erin and Rob with inspiration from coffee shops in Western Canada and Berlin, this colourful, vibrant spot is all about good coffee, vegan food, and supporting local people. It's the kind of place where the owners still chat with regulars about how the neighbourhood has changed over 18 years of looking out the café windows.
Brockley's first coffee shop since 2007 — colourful, community-driven, and doing vegan pastries and soya flat whites long before it was trendy.
Get there early on weekends — it's small and fills up fast with locals, especially during the morning rush between 9 and 11.
Brockley's original café, still going strong after 19 years
If you want to understand what Brockley was like before the flat whites and sourdough invasion, go to The Broca. Opened in 2007 by Erin and Rob — inspired by coffee shops they'd visited in Western Canada and Berlin — this is the neighbourhood's first proper café, and nearly two decades on, it's still the one with the most soul. The interior is colourful and a bit eclectic, with a warmth that comes from years of regulars passing through the door. It's the kind of place where the owners will happily chat with you about how Coulgate Street has changed while they've been looking out the windows.
The coffee is solid — their soya flat white gets particular love — but the real draw is the vegan food. Think vegan pastries, cakes, and proper sarnies that don't feel like an afterthought. They've been doing plant-based before it was a marketing term, and it shows in the quality. The menu is veggie-friendly throughout, with gluten-free options too. Tripadvisor reviewers rate it 3.9/5, which feels about right — it's not trying to be a destination restaurant, it's a local café that does its thing well.
It's open daily from 7:30 to 4:30, making it perfect for an early morning coffee or a leisurely brunch. They also host local food events — think vegan tastings and pop-ups from local foodies on Friday evenings. If you're in Brockley and want a café with genuine community spirit rather than just good aesthetics, this is your spot.