Ricky Gervais may have made it seem cosy and familiar, but the horrors of the office are all too real. Whether trying to avoid the boss and his crap jokes, becoming the butt of office gossip, or engaging in the annual battle over the office thermostat, office life can be a living hell.
Since the advent of mobile computing and superfast wifi, however, the idea of the ‘workplace’ is beginning to change. Everywhere, office workers are throwing off their chains and saying no. NO to rush hour commuting, NO to office politics and NO to non existent work life balance.
Yep, the age of remote working is upon us, and the possibilities for the average worker are practically limitless. Finding the right place to set up your laptop can be difficult, however, so here’s City Countdown’s guide to the 10 best places to work remotely in London. You’re welcome!
Alternatively, if you are looking for somewhere to get cosy, here’s our list of the 10 cosiest places in London for winter 2020.
10. The Café at the Royal Opera House
The interior of the Royal Opera House is one of London’s greatest secrets. Following a multi million pound rebuilding project, the venue has been opened up to the general public with a series of world class public spaces available for eating, drinking or just hanging out.
The best of these spaces is undoubtedly the top floor public spaces, with a lovely café, restaurant and a rooftop terrace overlooking bustling Covent Garden. Better still, keeping with the “best kept secret” thing, these spaces are often blissfully quiet. Enjoy – but keep it to yourself.
Pros: feel the history
Cons: It gets busy around performance times
9. Ole and Steen
You’ll probably spend the day stuffing buns into your face, but you certainly won’t regret visiting this chain of sleek Danish bakeries.
Ole and Steen seems to have now replaced Starbucks as the cool ‘go to’ coffee shop, and with the great selection of cakes and buns, a range of moreish looking brunch options, and some top quality teas and coffees, it’s not difficult to see why.
In addition, the soft leather seating is warm and comfortable, the service is friendly and welcoming, and the wifi is free. What’s not to like?!
Pros: cakes, cakes,cakes!
Cons: you’ll put on a couple of stone
8. Fora Workspace
These guys really know how to do remote working. The company’s workspaces have absolutely everything you could ever need to work remotely and their venues are warm, cosy and impressively green.
Pros: all mod cons
Cons: you have to pay for a desk
7. The Royal Festival Hall
Well, its not nicknamed London’s living room for nothing, you know. The Royal Festival Hall is one of London’s most welcoming spaces and with lots of floors, desks and tables, it’s a remote worker’s paradise.
Pros: location, location, location
Cons: cultural distractions aplenty
6. The Lobby at the Ace Hotel
Does anybody work in an office in Shoreditch anymore?! The lobby at the Ace Hotel is another popular sport for remote workers. It’s not hard to see why, either. The venue is full of cosy corners to get comfortable, including an inviting reception area, several chill out zones with oversized sofas, and a coffee shop & bar. There is also a dedicated area for laptop users.
Pros: Great food, drink, coffee and cocktails
Cons: Your friends will call you a hipster
5. The Standard
This buzzy King’s Cross hotel is a great place to hang out, period, but if you fancy getting some work done, then there are few better places to do it.
The 1970’s style Library bar has an array of tables and chairs, and if you’re really lucky, you might even bag one of the chairs near the fireplace.
Pros: you will feel sexy and hip
Cons: you might get distracted oggling all the other sexy and hip people
4. The Lobby at the Stratford, London
The one problem with working at the Stratford is that you might not want to leave the venue once the working day is done. East London is blessed with a plethora of remote working locations, but if you live anywhere near E20, then there really is only one option.
For those of you who don’t know, the Stratford is the uber cool new hotel and living space from the man behind the Renaissance hotel in King’s Cross. The Lobby at the venue is one of the most stylish and welcoming spaces in the capital, and with a cool mezzanine space above, the venue is perfect for remote working.
There’s a range of comfy seating, cosy furnishings and fixtures and a massive fireplace in the centre of the room. And with the Stratford Brasserie open throughout the day, all your food and drink needs are taken care of too. Sorted, as they say in East London.
Pros: Great food, drink, interiors and service
Cons: the venue is a tad hard to find
3. Work From_Hoxton
If you’ve ever visited a branch of The Hoxton hotel, then you won’t be the least bit surprised to learn that the chain feature heavily in our top ten lists.
Work From_ is the group’s remote working option, and like absolutely everything the chain do, the Hoxton’s co working initiative is absolutely top notch. From the cosy yet stylish interiors, to the fully featured office spaces, to those handy little touches – like the fully stocked kitchen – the team at the Hoxton have thought about absolutely everything you could possibly want from a co-working space. The Southwark branch of Working From_ even includes a couple of showers on the top floor – just in case your working day leaves you particularly hot and bothered! Indeed, the only problem with Working From_ is – once you’ve tried it – you just won’t want to go home!
Pros: you’ve got all the services of a hotel on hand, if you need them.
Cons: we’ll get back to you on that one.
2. Megan’s
Megan’s have the atmosphere and sense of community of a friendly neighbourhood restaurant, but the chain also have the sophistication and elegance of a big brand. The company have eight restaurants in London and they are all chic, stylish and wonderfully human (and dog) friendly. Each restaurant has a cosy lounge area with a variety of comfortable seating, good lighting and great wifi.
Pros: you can bring your four legged friend
Cons: gets busy at the weekends
1.The Lobby at the Hoxton Hotel
The lobby at the Hoxton Hotel, Shoreditch (otherwise known as City Countdown Headquarters) is a mobile worker’s paradise, full of comfy seating, cosy corners, fireplaces and delicious food and drinks. You’ll have to battle the hipsters for the best seats, but it will definitely be worth it.
Pros: it’s the cosiest place in London
Cons: we are still thinking about that one…
