Reviews of Earthsea

Friendly staff, great service and lovely courtyard at rear.

I think that the comments and response so far don't paint a fair picture of Sobo so I wanted to put an impartial view as someone who used to go in Martin's days and still goes to Sobo. I think its easily the nicest place to sit, read, and work locally. Its not as noisy, its got nice music, and its got a nice ambiance. The coffee is good and reasonably priced- £2 for cappachino that's good-tasting is, I think, a bargain especially if you need a few over a few hours work. I haven't eaten there much but the jacket potato & tuna I had was more than good & plentiful. I am just an ordinary customer and I'm writing this in the hope that people are encouraged to visit and give it another try as I'd hate to see the place in trouble as I enjoy going there. The new owner is- despite the response below- really happy and friendly and greets you like an old friend. This is a local and quite elegant coffee shop on a street with not many other good choices until you get to Bermondsey Street itself so I encourage you to support it.Thanks.

I AM THE NEW owner of the cafe, i have been reading your comments about sobo, i would like to answer some questions,
the coffee is still the same coffee(for those who does not want to beleive can come and have a look at it),
the art work is still from the same galery and will be changed every month as i have changed them today, everything i done so far to go an extra mile did not work so i have removed all of them, now the sobo is the sobo as it used to be,
if i were you i would go to the cafe and would tell this to the owner so that he can do something about it but you all choose to advertise ur commets online,

i think people should be open to new thing this is what the life is about and i now see that you guys used to see old things and just want to see what you think of. you would not want to see new thing would you?

i read a comment about the chocolte that i put in the fridge, someone goes now it look kebebish, i am just wondering where would you want me to put the chocolate(kitkat)they should be kept in the fridge, i think you do not know about this so read some health ans safety booklets :)

i think these are the not the real reasons , the real reason is that you used to see the old owner and are not ready to see another one,

of couse when a business change hands this obvisly effect the business , every of you knows this better than me because you guys are in the business more than i do as this is the only first one for me ,i think everything would be easier if you told me what you were not happy with rather than complaining about everything and wasting your time online,

Visiting Sobo is usually a high point of my week. In the past, we have spent up to 25 pounds on a single visit and not batted an eyelid at the price.

Unfortunately, with the change of ownership and the drop in quality, that won't be the case anymore. I don't feel as I did going to the old Sobo and I will not be going back or taking my family for coffee when they visit.

I am not going to list each of the annoyances because that would be a bit petty. However there has been a really noticeable quality drop in service layout and set up. I hope for the new owners' sake they understand that short term gain and cutting corners will not always lead to return trade.

It seems better to me for Sobo to concentrate on a core menu with staple products and a small sub menu of high quality specials, rather than having a large menu with poorly executed items.

Poor things - I hope they can get it right. What a shame.

There probably aren't many people who like soya lattes as much as I do (and I'm not vegan, I just like the taste of soya milk) but having had soya lattes all over London (and Australia, where they're more popular), I have the say this place does the best I have ever had.

And they're consistently good, too, with a silky creamy head that no other cafe's soya lattes have been able to match.

Same applies to their cappuccino - proper, stiff foam, just as it should be.

My partner and I had breakfast there recently. It's much businer than it used to be and the clientele is better heeled.
The breakfast was appaling! My scrambled eggs were yellow liquid with lumps (sent back to be cooked properly), my partners porridge was microwaved and watery and made him feel very ill afterwards. It's disappointing as Sobo has a nice vibe and decent coffee. Being busy should not be an excuse for letting standards drop.