Before founders even reach the formal pitch stage, their first meeting with a VC is typically over coffee or lunch. We’ve found the cafés and restaurants most beloved by founders and investors in Europe’s top tech hubs — where you could walk out with a both flat white and a term sheet. If we've missed your geo (or favourite hotspot) off the list, please get in touch to add it to our map (below).
Berlin
Klub Kitchen
This hipster eatery is the perfect location for founders and investors — who are mostly all based in Mitte, north of Alexanderplatz — to network. It’s laid-back enough for VCs to show they’re up for some casual chat, and expensive enough to show founders that they have real class. The whole startup scene can be found here on any given day; one founder described it as being like a “mini conference” since, if you go there at lunchtime, you’ll inevitably run into people you know.
Ben Rahim
While this stylish Arabian cafe is located close to Weinmeisterstraße — a classy shopping area where many VCs, such as Lakestar and Earlybird VC, have their offices — Ben Rahim is tucked away down a nearby side street. The coffee here is ostensibly the best in town, though not everybody knows about this place. Somewhere to have a meeting you don’t want others to know about.
London
Söderberg (Soho)
Nestled in Soho near many VC offices, this café lends itself well to an afternoon fika catch-up. The cardamom buns are sweet and the deal talk is sweeter. All the Scandi VCs in London know this place.
Mortimer House Kitchen
This Fitzrovia restaurant is also a members' club and coworking space; several VCs have or have had their offices above it, so you’re more likely than not to bump into an investor. It’s also close to Mayfair and Soho, where many investors have their offices.
Open early on weekdays, it’s perfect for breakfast meetings. Sifted has tucked into many a spiced shakshuka there while discussing the latest industry goss. The cold press juices are also nom.
Ozone Coffee (Shoreditch)
While most of the investors in London are situated central or west, many startups are based east. And their go-to coffee place is Ozone. The food is excellent and there are delicious options for vegans or vegetarians, so no need to check dietaries in advance. If you can get one (reservation encouraged), the back booths are intimate enough to have a fairly private conversation. Our favourite story is of the founder who sat in one of those booths for eight back-to-back meetings with investors — and eight back-to-back flat whites. “I’ve never felt so strung out in my life,” he told us.
Paris
The Hoxton
Located at the heart of Paris’s “Silicon Sentier”, which refers to the surrounding neighbourhood and its concentration of founders and investors, The Hoxton is where La French Tech happens — think 18th-century architecture, elegant decor and a chic glass-walled veranda. VCs mutter to each other over cups of (black, obviously) coffee while zealous entrepreneurs hang around for the day in hope of a chance to pitch. Rumour has it that back in the day, when the money was flowing, founders had a good chance of walking out with a term sheet. Certainly worth spending €6 on a Coke Zero.
Hôtel des Grands Boulevards
Another Parisian VC hotspot where you’ll want to check who’s sitting at neighbouring tables before opening up a draft pitch deck on your laptop. In the courtyard of this imposing, centuries-old hotel, a fancy cocktail bar sits next to the “Grand Restaurant”, with a menu inspired by French and Italian country cooking. But the star of the show is probably The Shed, an intimate terrace perched on the hotel’s rooftop. Luxurious greenery, views of Paris’s roofs and luxury cocktails make for the perfect setting to meet your next investor.
Stockholm
Riche
The well-known restaurant in central Stockholm is known as a place for married people to openly flirt with others when night comes, but in the early working hours and for lunch it's a hotspot for meetings. You won’t just find VCs here, but also other influential people with deep pockets. Make friends at Riche, and you may find yourself a strong angel investor.
Taverna Brillo
At its central location, a stone’s throw from Riche, Taverna Brillo has become a meeting place for coffee or lunch among VCs and startup founders. Being a short walking distance from the coworking hubs Norrsken, Epicenter and Soho House, it has become an expensive but well-liked place in Stockholm.
And an extra shoutout to… all the Soho Houses
This list wouldn’t be complete without a nod to all the Soho Houses across Europe. Started in London, the members’ club now has locations in the European tech hotspots of Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Istanbul and Rome.
It was originally an elite gathering space for creatives, a definition which has since come to include VCs and founders too. You can hate on the snobby mid-century modern aesthetic, but the picantes will always be good, and always the same, no matter where you are.
