St. Ali Cafe- a review

Clerkenwell Road belongs to a hipster area. The kind of place know for its eclectic pubs and boutique shops. You can access the road via Barbican tube stop or if you are up for a walk Chancery Lane.

St. Ali is more than a cafe, it is an oasis along a bleak part of Clerkenwell Road. When I walk past the white tiles into the two storey cafe there is a man with a rockabilly hair style, leather jacket and rolled up jeans sitting across from me. Then sitting in front of me is a man with the largest Johnny Bravo quiff, chinos, blazer and black patent loafers. It all feels so East London.

The cafe is open plan with exposed brick and then hidden behind an open barista bar is a wall made of ferns growing right underneath an enormous sky light. I thought it was an ingenious way to bring the outdoors indoors. Everyone who works there has an Australian accent and a very boho vibe to them. Their coffee is made from an industrial sized machine so they are serious about quality, which here in London is hard to find.

Their menu is limited but there is something for everyone's palette. I chose corn fritters with tomato chutney, poached eggs, wilted spinach and haloumi cheese. All of this cost me 9 pounds 25 and the coffee was only 2 pounds 60. I was in gourmand heaven.

(Sample menu, Ali had the beans and I had the corn fritters)


Now why was I there? To meet Ali. She isn't a saint but she should be considering her employment hell. Like me she is a graduate who is now undertaking her second internship in Frankfurt, Germany because no one wants to employ someone fresh out of University with a law degree. I may not be a maths whizz but if a company pays you 600 euro a month to intern but the rent costs you 500 a month and a transport card costs you 75 you aren't left with enough to feed yourself or socialise. That is unless you are Victoria Beckham and content to live off a diet of air and ice.

However if she doesn't take the internship she is unemployed and will miss an opportunity to gain "experience". I feel what internships teach us is less about the job and more about how undervalued young people are regardless of their intelligence and qualifications. Despite my negativity Ali has inspired me though to start looking overseas at internship opportunities because it seems an amazing way to combine travel with work.