Forno Ragged Café at the Ragged School Museum: Best Pastries, Coffee and Brunch in Mile End

A Morning at Forno Ragged Cafe: Coffee, Bakes, and Good Vibes

Forno Ragged Café has taken over the former café space at the historic Ragged School Museum in East London. The expansion includes a sit-down café inside the museum building and a convenient takeaway hatch facing the Regent’s Canal, making it a great stop for coffee and pastries in the Mile End and Stepney area.

I previously visited the café before Forno took over in October 2025, and the atmosphere is now completely different. The new concept focuses on Italian-inspired pastries, speciality coffee, and a small brunch menu.

The all-day menu includes pastries, tarts, sausage rolls, coffees, speciality drinks, teas, and cold beverages. From 9 am, a small breakfast menu is available featuring toast, porridge, eggs, and focaccia. From 12 pm, larger lunch plates are served. There are also two options available on the kids’ menu.

Instead of dining inside and paying the optional 12.5% service charge, I decided to visit the takeaway hatch next door to grab pastries and coffee to go.

Forno Ragged Café To-Go Hatch

The takeaway hatch offers a selection of pastries, focaccia sandwiches, tiramisu, cupboard staples, and coffee, perfect for a quick stop while walking along the canal.

The pastries were the highlight.

The famous maritozzo (£4.50) is Rome’s iconic pastry. The pillowy brioche bun is filled generously with whipped cream, creating a light but indulgent treat. The sweet cream pairs perfectly with their smooth flat white.

Next was the gianduja bun, another brioche-based pastry. The top is coated with a chocolate layer and sprinkled with salted pieces. Inside, there is a rich filling of chocolate cream with small bites of salted caramel for extra texture.

Forno Ragged Café Information

Address
46–50 Copperfield Road
London E3 4RR

Opening Hours
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Monday – Sunday

Visit the Ragged School Museum

If you are visiting Forno Ragged Café, it is worth exploring the Ragged School Museum before or after your coffee stop.

The museum occupies London’s largest Victorian ragged school, opened by Thomas John Barnardo in 1877. Ragged schools provided free education for some of the poorest children in East London and operated here for over thirty years.

Currently on display is The Forgotten Tale, an immersive installation by artist Clarisse d’Arcimoles. The exhibit recreates a life-size room based on a photograph of a Spitalfields home from 1902.

It is also worth visiting on the first Sunday of the month, when the museum runs a special experience recreating a day in the life of a Victorian classroom.

Ragged School Museum Admission

Full price adult: £5.00
Child: £2.50
Family: £10.00
Concession: £2.50

Opening Hours
Wednesday – Sunday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The Ragged School & Forno Ragged Cafe website. https://raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk/