Sicilian Avenue is a beautiful pedestrianised arcade tucked away in Holborn which has just undergone a major restoration into a shopping and eating destination.
Hackney roastery Flying Horse Coffee, which has cafes in Shoreditch, White City and Notting Hill, became the first to open there on Monday (December 1).
It is now serving up premium roasted beans alongside breakfast and brunch items ranging from pastries, to toasties and bagels.
They will be joined in spring by Matchado, which offers matcha teas and sweet baked treats such as gluten free matcha brownies, dorayaki pancakes, and cheesecakes.
The café uses ceremonial-grade matcha and premium hojicha hand-sourced from family tea farms across Japan with every drink hand-whisked for smoothness and balance so Londoners can discover the Japanese way of enjoying the perfect cup.
Also opening early next year is Backworks massage studio, offering fully clothed seated back head, neck and shoulder treatments for busy workers and shoppers.
They are already operating successfully from Camden Passage in Angel – another historic pedestrian street packed with independent traders.
The Grade II listed shopping arcade was built between 1906 and1910 in distinctive Italianate Baroque style with ornate marble colonnades and gold leaf and terracotta details.
It has been used as a film location for the likes of Slow Horses, Wonder Woman and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and developers hope that revitalising it will create a favourite new destination for workers tourists, students and residents.
There are 70,000sq ft of renovated offices sitting above 17,500 sq ft of shops and cafes along with al fresco seating for peace and calm away from the busy Holborn traffic.
Philip Way, owner and founder of Flying Horse Coffee, said: “It’s our most beautiful setting yet to open in.
“We’ve taken our time to respect its heritage down to details like matching the colour of our coffee machine with the Grade II-listed oriel window frames. These details matter to the experience and lifestyle we’re creating for our customers – we want them to feel that they’re in a special place, because they are!”
Douglas Anderson, Co-founder of BACKWORKS, added: ‘Sicilian Avenue captures the experience we want for our clients. Its beautiful oriel windows allow for more natural light, and its culturally inspiring location is perfectly in line with our vision: quiet, yet lively and making wellbeing accessible – like grabbing your morning coffee.
“Our mission is to offer an alternative to lengthy, expensive massage treatments that require booking weeks in advance. Sometimes you just need that 15 minutes of dedicated time-out without thinking about work or worries in a peaceful space.”
And MATCHADO Founder Hiromi Matsunobu, said: “It’s wonderful to open in such a heritage-rich location. For this opening, I’ve created a new baked treat exclusively for guests at Sicilian Avenue — our Matcha Florentine.
“Inspired in part by the fascinating architecture of Italian marble and classical details, it pairs crunchy almonds and rich caramel with high-quality matcha. I can’t wait to share it.”
