A History of Post Production in 10 Coffees

Looking back at some of the most memorable coffees over time.

1. 1997 Windmill Lane: The First Facility Coffee

There’s nothing more exciting and exotic than the first time someone takes your coffee order at a post production facility. At least, that’s how it felt at 16 when I first visited Windmill Lane to edit my very own short film. I had convinced Tim Morris in the car park of Kings Hospital School to lend me some time in Windmill Lane, and now I was lucky enough to sit with Brenda Morrissey, who was sacrificing an evening out with friends (probably not by choice) to help me piece together my little movie. The film, Guilt!, would go on to be featured in the Limerick Fresh Film Festival, and five years later, I would land a job at Windmill Lane myself, kickstarting my career in post.

2. DLIADT Canteen Coffee

My morning routine at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology started with an early commute from Castleknock into town and then the 46A out to Bakers Corner. The day began by switching on the aging Macintosh computer that housed the Avid Media Composer and then heading across campus where I would purchase a single tar-black coffee from the Institute’s canteen.

In my final year, I was surviving on a dwindling budget of €20 per week, as my savings from a summer stint at UCI Cinemas ran dry. That single black coffee—hotter than the Earth’s core and served in a creaky polystyrene cup with a flimsy plastic lid—was my main source of nourishment most days. By the time I’d finished it and had a smoke in the courtyard, 20 to 25 minutes had passed, and I could finally return to the Macintosh, which, if I was lucky, had finished booting up. Only then could the day’s editing begin.

3. Munchies on George’s Dock

It’s amazing how a daily commute can become etched in memory. My route from Connolly Station to Windmill Lane—cutting left into Harbourmaster Place, winding around George’s Dock, and crossing the newly built Sean O’Casey Bridge—will always be synonymous with my time working there. A key part of that commute was stopping most mornings at Munchies café on the corner of the docks for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

4. Patisserie Valerie on Old Compton Street

© Tony Kearns, tonykearnsphotography.com

On my first official day at Prime Focus—my first real job in London—I was taken to Patisserie Valerie on Old Compton Street. The Parisian-style café, its windows lined with dainty cakes and confections, was a shabby-chic reminder of Soho’s layered history. Although well past its heyday, over-franchised, and headed toward a controversial bankruptcy after well reported “accounting irregularities” , it played perfectly to my romanticised nostalgic notions of my new workplace. For my first year in London, no morning felt complete without a takeaway coffee and a croissant from Patisserie Valerie.

5. Nude Café on Soho Square

My induction into third-wave coffee culture—and my transformation into a full-fledged coffee snob—began at Nude Café on the top corner of Soho Square. Most mornings, I arrived just as they opened, and to this day, I believe their flat white was the best that Soho had to offer.

6. My Own Sage Coffee Machine During Covid Lockdown

We all had our small comforts during the long months of lockdown. For me, it was my Sage coffee machine, which let me make a perfect cup for myself each morning during those seemingly endless days at home.

7. The Last Days of the Coffee Bar in De Lane Lea

The best place for people-watching was the first-floor bar in the old De Lane Lea facility on Dean Street. With its large window overlooking the street —The Crown and Two Chairmen pub and the Soho Strip strip club—it was never dull. In 2022, I worked on one of the last productions to pass through the facility before its move away from Dean Street. The increasingly empty halls and the often-deserted coffee bar made for an eerie—if still welcome—memory.

8. The Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton Street

Shops, bars, restaurants, and post-production facilities in London change constantly, yet the Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton Street remains wonderfully untouched by time. Established in 1887, the store’s design has barely changed, with coffee beans and teas still displayed in jars behind a long wooden counter. It’s a joy to visit, a place frozen in time. I buy all my coffee beans there, and they serve an excellent, reasonably priced coffee—still a well-kept secret in a city overflowing with overpriced Starbucks and Costa outlets.

9. Mr. French’s in Dublin

One of my favourite morning treats when working in Dublin last year was my walk to Screen Scene each morning. Starting from Docklands train station, I’d cross Samuel Beckett Bridge, take a right down Lime Street and Earne Street, and just before reaching Pearse Street, I’d stop at Mr. French’s—a wonderful little café hidden in a nook behind the Pádraig Pearse bar.

10. Isaac’s Coffee, Twickenham

Independent coffee shops have become rarer, which is why discovering Isaac’s Coffee Shop in St Margarets, Twickenham was such a delight. Just before Twickenham Studios, the storefront on the main road opposite St. Margarets Station leads down a winding staircase into a cozy basement café. The warm, genuinely enthusiastic staff and their attention to detail stand in stark contrast to the soulless corporate vibe of nearby Gail’s. If you’re choosing Gail’s over Isaac’s, shame on you.