Istanbul coffee and bakery brand Cup of Joy to open first UK café in Marylebone this July

Cup of Joy, the Istanbul-based specialty coffee and bakery brand, will open its first UK café in Marylebone this July. The new venue, located on Blandford Street, will offer coffee, house-made food and bakery treats, with all-day dining drawing on the brand’s popular formula overseas.

Founded in 2013 in the Bosphorus-side neighbourhood of Bebek, Cup of Joy was among the businesses that established Istanbul’s modern speciality coffee scene, reinterpreting the country’s traditions for a younger generation. The brand currently operates eight locations across Turkey, with the Marylebone site representing its first international outpost.

Food will form a significant part of the offering, with a seasonal menu using ingredients sourced from suppliers including Natoora and Marylebone Farmers Market. The cooking draws on subtle Eastern Mediterranean influences, presenting breakfast options such as the Aegean Morning (a sesame bagel topped with matured feta, heirloom tomatoes, olives, fresh thyme and house-made pistou), Turkish Eggs served with sourdough pan-roasted flatbreads and Aleppo pepper butter, and Pistachio Porridge, cooked with coconut milk and pistachio cream and finished with a pistachio crumble.

For lunch there are house-made toasties, tartines and savoury scones available to eat in or take away, alongside salads such as the Watermelon and Feta with flaxseed, cucumber, fennel, mint, walnut, coffee lime vinaigrette and bagel crisps.

Sweet options include Baba Au Tea, a version of the classic baba dessert with poppy seed sponge, orange rooibos syrup and whipped cream, as well as refined sugar-free Raw Bars made from whole ingredients in pistachio, hazelnut and cashew varieties.

Coffee will remain central, with a sourcing approach focused on freshness, traceability and responsible production that selects growers according to their origin, harvest conditions and processing methods. The brand’s house blend combines Arabica beans from El Salvador, Brazil and Colombia, supplying notes of dark chocolate, orange and hazelnut, alongside a rotating selection of coffees from around the world.

The café will display handmade ceramics by co-founder and self-taught ceramicist Gökçe Kalyoncu. Its space was designed by Benni Allan of EBBA Architects, who travelled to Istanbul on several occasions to visit the brand’s cafés and both sides of the wider city to gain inspiration for the project. The design reflects elements of Istanbul alongside the contemporary character of its new London surroundings.

Food Desk

Cup of Joy is scheduled to open in July 2026 at 28 Blandford Street, London W1U 4BZ. For further information and updates, visit the café’s website here.