londonelicious: a london restaurant blog

Bakery: Loafing

Loafing
Corner of Lauriston Rd and Victoria Park Road
E9
Tel: Unknown!

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, June 29th

The Victim: Johanna

The Damage: £2

The Background: Johanna is being her awesome self and helping me out with a special project somewhat related to my blog. See, I need a good photograph of myself. And Johanna takes great pictures.

We meet up out front the Turkish deli (Elbows?) in Victoria Park, and  there's a new farmer's market underway right there on the pavement. The usual suspects are all present...the German Deli, Neal's Yard, The Isle of Wight tomato guys. There's a nice little village-y feel and everyone seems to know each other, an odd feeling in London and one that makes me want to move to Victoria Park immediately, despite the crummy transport options. Johanna has me wander among the stalls so she can grab some candid snaps and I try not to feel too self-conscious.

We spend some time in and around the new bakery on the corner, Loafing, which just opened up two weeks ago. It's very cute and clean and bright. We buy two little fairy cakes and people start to wonder what we're doing with all this photo-taking. Somewhere in between, I let the butcher at The Ginger Pig shamelessly flirt with me. Apparently, his name is Borat, which is unfortunate.

The Verdict: Isn't it always so? In the end, it was the first picture of me that Johanna took that I chose. Maybe I'll let you see it sometime. Maybe...

Cupcakes: Peyton & Byrne

Peyton and Byrne at Heals
196 Tottenham Court Road
W1T 7LQ

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 31

The Victim: I bought 'em. Julie, Anna, Feathers, Jen ate them.

The Damage: £20 for 10 cupcakes

The Background: We've got tickets for Sex & The City, of course. And it's Anna's birthday. So I thought it would be nice to buy some birthday cupcakes and eat them in the dark. And hopefully not get caught.

The Cupcakes: It IS dark. And I can't tell what sort of cupcake I have. Strawberry, maybe? It is super super sweet. So much so that I can't finish it. But it's so dark that I can't really see the box and the bag the cupcakes came in. So I shut up and watch the movie with a warm (in a bad way), melty gooey strawberry cupcake in my hand. And then I eventually finish it.

The Verdict: Eh. Hummingbird and Crumbs and Doilies do it better. Everyone else seems to like the Peyton & Byrne cupcakes though. So maybe it's just me. Or maybe no one has the cupcake experience that I do.

Bath: The Pump Room

Pump Room
Stall Street
Bath
BA1 1LZ
Tel: 01225 444477

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, April 27th

The Victims: Aunt Ursula & Uncle George

The Damage: £25 or thereabouts

The Background: Our feet HURT. I knew the Roman baths were big, but I had no idea HOW big. We've been in the baths in Bath ALL DAY. I am tired. Weary. And in need of some tea and cake.

We wander all around Bath in search of tea and cake and end up back where we started, at the baths. The Pump Room is attached to the Roman baths and we settle in for some tea.

Service is swift and efficient (they are closing in 45 minutes) and my carrot cake is really and truly lovely. It's got an orange twist to it which is unexpected and delicious.

Uncle George gets the trio of pastries and we are jealous momentarily until once again distracted by how wonderful the carrot cake is.

All throughout, there's a live orchestra playing. It is all so very peaceful and mellow.

We leave refreshed, but we are happy to never see another Corinthian column again as long as we all shall live.

The Verdict: The Pump Room in Bath is excellent for a place that could easily be a tourist trap.

Tea: Postcard Teas

Postcard Teas
9 Dering St
W1S 1AG
Mayfair
Tel: 020 7629 3654

Date of Last Visit: Friday, April 25, 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £4.50 for two cups of tea and a slice of cake.

The Background: I am having a day of me. I haven't done much. Went to the gym. Went to John Lewis. Popped into Postcard Teas.

I heard about Postcard Teas from a very knowledgeable guy on Chowhound. He spends most weekend afternoons here, and I can see why. I was more than a little stressed on Friday, but once I walked into Postcard Teas, I got that feeling I get (maybe you know it) when I pass through security into duty free in Heathrow. I call that the "oasis of calm" That's how I felt at Postcard Teas.

I have a slice of chocolate cake, which is made by somebody's daughter. I ask the proprietor to pick me out two very different teas, and I spend a nice hour chatting with strangers and generally unplugging from the world. (Now on the downside, I really don't know what type of tea I had first. My second tea was a Golden Assam, I believe.)

The Verdict: Please go here. At £1.50 a cup, I have to wonder how they're making their money. (Although I saw more then a few customers come in to order tea in large quantities.) I want them to survive. 

Don't forget to vote...Who was the best guest blogger while I was away last week? Was it Douglas from Intoxicating Prose with his review of Galvin at Windows? Or was it Bombay Beauty with his review of Italian Giusto? Or Jon from Oishii Oishii with his review of Japanese restaurant Matsuri? Use the cool little voting widget from Poll Daddy

Pastries: Kipferl

Kipferl
70 Long Lane
EC1A 9EJ
Tel: 020 77962229

Date of Last Visit: It was a Monday in April.

The Victim: I was alone.

The Damage: £22 for the cake, plus a coffee.

As always, I wonder why it is I do the things I do. One morning, I woke up and thought, "I'd really like some Linzertorte." Who thinks these things? Me, apparently.

So off I went, in the rain, in search of Linzertorte. Kipferl, London's only Austrian delicatessen, was happy to oblige. £22 later, I started off for work, Austrian cake in tow. In the rain. But I possess a very very large umbrella.

The Linzertorte disappeared immediately. Before I could even help myself to a second slice. Or take a picture. It's the type of cake that's good for breakfast. And good with coffee. It has a little jam in it. This particular specimen was a little burnt around the edges, but no one seemed to mind very much.

On the downside, the store was very very warm. And it's not overly large.

The Verdict: I'll be back

Don't forget...

Pastries: Sweet

Sweet
64 Exmouth Market
EC1R 4QP
Tel: 020 7713 6777

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, 13 April 2008

The Victim: Me, myself, and I

The Damage: £5.40

The Background: Do your brain cells die as you get older? Does stress just zap your memory? All I can tell you is that there is something wrong with my mind. Every weekend, without fail, I wake up and think, "Hmmm...I should go have a coffee somewhere. Read the paper. Catch up on world events." And I think "But where should I go? There's nothing around here. Hmmm...I suppose I'll have to go to Coffee@. But I'm a little tired of their pastries." And then I go to Coffee@ and I have a croissant or something and I think, "Boy, am I tired of these pastries."

But it occured to me this morning lying in bed--as my brain was functioning--that actually, there is a patisserie in Exmouth Market. A good one! Sweet. (Both the exclamation and the shop!) And I went. And one veggie and cheese croissant later (along with a lemon tart for the road) I was very happy.

The Verdict: I'll be back.

P.S. Don't forget...you have until midnight on Friday, April 18th to submit your GUEST LONDON RESTAUARANT REVIEW for my fantastic contest.

If you're a blogger, this is a great way to get some extra traffic to your blog. If you've always wanted to try blogging, this is a nice, no-risk, no commitment sort of way to give it a shot.

E-mail your review to kristainlondon at gmail dot com. 

Bakery: Gail's

Gail's
64 Hampstead High Street
NW3 1QH
Tel: 020 7794 5700

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 29

The Victim: Me, Myself, and I

The Damage: Less than £3?

The Background: Julie and I have plans for lunch and manicures and pedicures. Unfortunately, the previous evening, we'd been out at The Washington. Let's just say that a few people I know had trouble getting up the next morning. Lunch plans foiled! So I'm in Hampstead, starving. But then I see Gail's. And I have a good feeling.

The Food: I order a brioche with goat cheese and peppers. It's fantastic. Also, the staff is GREAT. Super friendly and on-the-ball. There are a few tables...not many. It seems to cater mostly to people like me...in and out. This is a good place. Hampstead is a good place. After my manicure, I spend the rest of the afternoon looking at property in Hampstead on Globrix, my new favorite property Web site. And I feel very poor.

The Verdict: I'll be back.

Hummingbird Bakery Cupcakes

Hummingbird Bakery
47 Old Brompton Road
SW7 3JP
Tel: 020 7584 0055

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 22 2008

The Victims: Sarah, Rachel, Arielle

The  Background: When we arrive at Hummingbird, the queue is out the door. But we manage a table anyhow and Sarah lines up for some cupcakes. The place is manic. People are in and out and in and out. While we're waiting, someone uses the loo and accidentally pulls the emergency cord, so for the next five minutes, this ear-piercing tone can be heard throughout Hummingbird. The staff must be immune to this, because they ignore it. This is one of the most annoying things I've ever experienced.

We quickly eat what we can of our cupcakes--I've had so much sugar, I feel sick and the high pitched continuous tone is not helping--and we leave.

The Verdict: Not a place to hang out. But I thought the carrot cake cupcake was the strongest cupcake I'd had all day. The cream cheese frosting was great. And the carrot cake was rich and dense and had all sorts of interesting things in it. All that being said, there are a lot of signs in the loo telling you NOT to do things, and this sorta bothers me. ("Please don't pull the emergency cord" was one of them.) I can understand why they need all those signs, but they seem slightly passive aggressive to me. I wish I had taken a photo.

Buttercup Cake Shop Cupcakes

Buttercup Cake Shop
16 St. Albans Grove
W8 5BP

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 22

The Victims: Sarah, Rachel, and Arielle, all of us on a little bit of a sugar high.

The Background: After polishing off our Crumbs & Doilies cupcakes in the car, we make our way to Buttercup in London's South Kensington. It's tucked into a sidestreet, and Rachel wants you to know that the parking is crap. It's a sweet little shop with two little tables. We order three big steaming mugs of tea and an assortment of cupcakes.

The Cakes: My favorite is the peanut butter and chocolate cake...the icing is just right. Just peanuty enough, not cloying. I have trouble with the vanilla cake...the icing is so sweet, my teeth ache.

In comparison to the Crumbs & Doilies cakes, the cakes at Buttercup look a little amateurish. Part of me says that's part of their attraction, but the other part of me says I could probably do better myself.

I start to get a headache from all this sugar...and we're not done yet...

Crumbs & Doilies Cupcakes

Crumbs & Doilies Cupcakes
Partridges Food Market
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 22nd 2008

The Victims: Sarah, Rachel, and a very chatty Arielle.

The Background: We are on a mission. A London cupcake mission. (Or a fairy cake mission, whatever you prefer.)  Our mission will become clearer over my next two posts.

We start out at Crumbs & Doilies, over at the Partridges Food Market on the Kings Road. It's a bitterly cold and weird day, and ice crystals periodically rain down from the sky. I am mad at myself for not bringing a sweater.

My heart warms though at the sight of these little goldeny sunshine cakes. I have a little lemon cupcake, topped by a tiny gumdrop lemon wedge. Rachel swears by the chocolatey Guinness cake. The icing is sweet, but not too sweet. We are very happy, if not freezing cold.

The Verdict: The Cupcake & Doillie cakes are good. The icing is really great...not overly cloyingly sweet. The decorations are perfectly done. The cake itself is a tad on the dry side (these were probably made in advance), with the exception of the Guinness cake. I will be back.