This place is great for meeting in many ways -good range of hot drinks, reasonable sweet and savoury food, wifi-- and bad in others. It's usually pretty busy, and it is in Foyles which honestly, I find a bit dangerous. So many books! The prices aren't the cheapest, but the food is pretty hearty, and the location is very useful.
If you go there towards the end of the evening, sandwiches are down to half-price.
Fascinating book shop for any book lover ! Tonnes of books ! Delightful atmosphere - not like the regular shop with books, but great spirit . And amazing cafe on top floor , where you can dive in straight into reading your chosen book.
Always calm and quiet, but enough hussle and bustle that you know you're in london. Plenty of nooks and crannies to sit and relax with a book, or go to the upstairs cafe for a coffee and cake.
They have regularly scheduled events and talks going on here too that seem quite organised and brings a pleasant a polite crowd.
Great central London secret spot to do some work on your own (although the wifi is wobbly) or meet a friend for a catchup - the cakes are all homemade and extremely tasty, and the music is always, always excellent. Best place to take a real music lover, too - good vinyl to buy.
In the last decade I have visited 9 times from 2010-2018, with 2011 being the only year I did not go to England. Always enjoy the vinyl, used and new, found a shellac record a few years ago and the used and new CDs are also worth checking out. Where other stores have more used records and CDs to offer they are not as fine as the selection found at Roy's Music in Foyle's. It is difficult to find a used record or CD with the name of a previous owner which I would not personally object to, or in very bad shape which too many shops routinely offer and which I do not enjoy. I have yet to see a used CD with discoloured jewel case at Ray's Music in Foyle's. Also the concept of moving the music store into the book store was a clever move. I believe the old address was 180 Shaftesbury Avenue.
Lover of jazz? Lover of books? Culture eater in general? Foyles as always has it all! And going! Very helpful staff, quite a nice ambiance and of course you can dig in the books for hours and hours and the jazz? You'll end up loosing track of time! Put an alarm if you gotta be in the office on Monday! Amazing!
It took me a while but I finally made it again to Ray's Jazz at Foyles. My last visit in 2006 and this last one will probably be my last. I was there on June 19th and sweated my way from the tube station and found their shop. I was delighted at the jazz selection available. As usual in the UK the prices were slightly eye-watering but there was air selection of second-hand compact discs and there appeared to be good selection of vinyl as well but I couldn't buy any as I had to transport whatever I bought back to new Zealand so I made do with CDs. Good to find the latest Lyttelton 'Dusting Off the Archives'. No one around but some nice Stan Getz playing. Worth a look-probably the last jazz shop in London now-the last of a long line and easy worth finding.
Lovely place to read or have a cup of tea, but other reviewers are right - the wifi is a bit shonky here. Luckily, they do a decent apple cake.
Great range of best jazz CDs available from knowledgeable staff. A must visit music room in an attractive environment.
Great vibes for getting work done (if you can find a seat!), and delicious food and drinks.
Make a reservation
Order online
Find the best restaurant in London
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes