Fair Shot Café

Why it exists

Founded by Bianca Tavella, Fair Shot opened in Mayfair in 2021 and moved to Slingsby Place in Covent Garden in 2023. Each year it enrols a cohort of young adults with learning disabilities on a hospitality training programme: four days a week in the café and one day at a partner college, supported by a mentor and job coach. The aim is a fair chance at paid work. Trainees work alongside the café team, so service is part of the training and visitors play a small part in it simply by stopping by.

Coffee and food

The focus is specialty coffee, backed by seasonal all-day dishes with a leaning towards brunch. The menu is designed to be inclusive of different dietary requirements, which makes it an easy choice for mixed groups.

In the neighbourhood

Slingsby Place is a quiet pedestrian courtyard just off St Martin's Lane, a calm contrast to the Covent Garden crowds. Seven Dials Market is a short walk north for a wider choice of food, and Dishoom Covent Garden is next door if you're back for dinner. It's handy before a matinee in the West End theatres nearby. Weekday mornings are calmer than weekend brunch.

Highlights

• Social enterprise and registered charity
• Trains young adults with learning disabilities and autism
• Specialty coffee and all-day brunch
• Quiet courtyard setting in The Yards

Good to know

• Open seven days, with shorter hours on Sundays
• Menu designed with a range of dietary needs in mind

Frequently asked questions