London/UK: Hopping from one café to the next!

Hi everyone! Hope everyone had a good weekend. This next blog is dedicated to my good ole' café hopping times. When I went to the US, café hopping didn't quite feel the same because there were barely any cafes around where I lived. To my detriment, I mostly drank Starbucks while I was in New Jersey (which is frankly still better than Starbucks in New Zealand...gross). I loved café hopping in London because there was a lot of decent coffee and I did quite a bit of reading in some of those cafés! Coffee drinking enhanced my productivity - what more can I say? 

The most unsatisfying thing about café hopping was the fact that coffee was and still is quite expensive. The average cost would be about £2.50 ($4.80NZ) or more. I became so sick of converting the British pound back to the NZ dollar, that I gave up and forgot about it. Probably wasn't the wisest thing because coffee became such an expensive habit that I had to stop drinking coffee for about a month. Whoops. 

All cafés below with the exception of the first one are in London. I went to a lot of cafés, so obviously not all of them are included here. Probably because they weren't that memorable to me - so you're not really missing out on those! 

Bill's Café

34-35 Green Street, Cambridge CB2 3JX

On the last day of Michaelmas term, I decided to take a solo trip to Cambridge. Tickets were cheap and I wanted to have a look around where my brother used to live years (years!) back. My lovely flatmate at the time advised me to go to Bill's, where she said she had the best scones she's ever had. My expectations were high and I had no choice but to try them. I wasn't expecting it be so busy considering Cambridge is rather quaint (I feel like that's the most apt way to describe Cambridge really) but it was. I went in for a quick bite to eat and some tea - but ended up wishing that I had ordered something more filling since everyone else's meals around me looked really good. My brother had recommended a random (possibly dodgy) place for spicy potatoes (which they had none of by the time I arrived) so left Cambridge rather hungry. Oh well. I think I ate Burger King at the train station once I came back. Probably shouldn't have admitted that really...

As planned, I ordered the warm scones with Bill's homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream, and a cup of camomile tea. I'm not sure if they were the best I ever had, but I really did enjoy eating them. The scones were cut in half once baked, then toasted, which is something my dad does (well sort of, he doesn't make his own scones unfortunately). The scones were absolutely delicious with the cream and the jam. Never had clotted cream before but it was really good with the scones. Thank goodness we don't have that stuff here in New Zealand. When I think I've consumed too much coffee, I usually drink a cup of tea. So I accompanied the scones with a camomile tea, which was soothing to my cold cold skin.

J+A Café
1-4 Sutton Lane, Clerkenwell, EC1M 5PU (Closest tube station: Barbican)

J+A was not exactly on the way to university, but my friend – another café hopping addict – recommended me this place and it ended up being one of my favourite cafés to go to. Hence, why this might be a bit of long one to read. Sometimes I would go with her, sometimes I would go alone to eat, drink, and do my readings there. The people that work there are nice and friendly, which is always a treat. For lunch, I'd be rather boring by ordering the same thing. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?! I always ordered the steak sandwich - with rocket, red onion, tomato, dijon, and mayo, with a side of potato chips (which was always a different flavour everytime I ordered it). The flavours are what you exactly expect and there's nothing about it that tries to be fancy or different. 

If I was feeling a bit cheeky, sometimes I would order a slice of cake. I seriously don't do my body any favours. The first time I felt cheeky, my friend and I shared a piece of their chocolate guinness cake which was gooood. Well the cake itself was delicious, but the icing I could have done without. I'm very particular about icing and its sweetness. I think I'm not the only cheeky one because J+A also accompanies the cake with whipped cream. Very cheeky indeed. (How many times have I said cheeky in this one paragraph?)

I did try the victoria sponge cake once (I probably have a photo of this but it doesn't want to be found). I think I've come to the conclusion now that I must not be a victoria sponge cake person. It's not bad but the chocolate guinness cake is much better. 

I've also gone to J+A for brunch a few times. The first time I went for the eggs benedict (£6.50). The menu says that it comes with either ham or spinach, but I was actually given both. Heh. I tend to order it for brunch because I would never make it at home – well by 'it', I mean the hollandaise sauce. My favourite part is always cutting through the yolk. When I was a kid, my mum used to fry eggs for me all the time. Not for breakfast, for dinner. With soy sauce and rice. It's considered normal for us. Anyway... for such a long time, I assumed that the yolk was poisonous and would therefore avoid eating the egg yolk. My mum would yell at me, telling me to eat the egg yolk but I never did. I eventually became curious about the taste and despite my assumptions of the yolk being poisonous, I decided to try it. And now it's my favourite part of the egg! 

Random story. Don't get me started on green potato chips...

The one time I went solo for brunch, I decided to order something that I normally wouldn't order. I have those moments every now and then. I ordered the J+A Veggie Breakfast (£7.50) – poached eggs, mushroom, tomato, potato cakes, baked beans + toast. At the time, irish soda bread was the bread of choice. Interesting texture that's for sure. It's a very hearty meal and very filling. I enjoyed it immensely! I used to have this aversion to baked beans when I was a kid because the texture used to gross me out, but I'm glad I don't have such feelings anymore. Heh. 

I'm a big fan of their tea selection. While it's not the ideal price I like to pay for tea, I like the fact that they give you a full pot too since some places such as the above don't do that. The first time I drank coffee at J+A, I wasn't a fan But I gave their flat white another chance, and it wasn't too bad. So either I had a different barista or the barista had an off day the first time!

 

(From top to bottom: flat white, veggie breakfast, chocolate guinness cake, steak sandwich, eggs benedict, tea #345).

Foxcroft & Ginger
3 Berwick Street, Soho, W1F 0DR (Closest tube station: Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square)

While J+A was one of my favourites, I must admit without any bias whatsoever that the antipodean cafés are the best cafés in London. Australians and New Zealanders know how to make good coffee and know how to run good cafés. I like to think it is a result of the café culture that exists in both countries. Foxcroft is frequently so busy that it was always a bit of journey trying to find seats every time I went there, so Foxcroft closely follows behind J+A as my favourite. The decor downstairs is a contrast to the ground floor. It's interesting trying to eat and drink on the pummel horse 'tables', that's for sure. Very interesting.

Of all the coffee I had while I was in London, Foxcroft had my favourite flat white coffee. Their sandwiches change occasionally (£4-£6) and they are really delicious. Their baked goods are also really good too. While the brownie was great, the carrot cake in particular was the favourite determined by my friend and I. As I mentioned before, I'm very picky with icing/frosting/buttercream, but the frosting on top of the cake was light and not too overly sweet. Yum.

Rose Bakery

Dover Street Market (top floor) / 17-18 Dover Street, W1S 4LT (Closest tube station: Green Park)

Rose Bakery was an interesting adventure. My café hopping friend of mine had this place on her list of cafés to go to, so we decided to venture off for a weekend lunch. Rose Bakery seemed like one of those cafés where all the hip, rich, cool folk go. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against those people – it's simply just an observation. Obviously I was way out of my element. The location confused me because I think I took the Market part of Dover Street Market too literally. Whoops.

For the record, I liked everything that I had at Rose Bakery. I liked the lofty portions of greens and enjoyed my quiche. The coffee was decent and the carrot cake was too, though I really disagree with that proportion of icing and I don't think it is as brilliant as everyone makes it out to be. One of our main problems with Rose Bakery was the lack of seating available and the prices. Sure, Rose Bakery was located in a high end area, but £30 for a quiche (or as they call it... 'bacon tart'), a simple frittata, two coffees and a carrot cake (not including service charge) is simply too much. Is it worth paying for a £4.50 carrot cake or nearly £10 for a frittata or tart? I don't necessary think so.

Flat White

17 Berwick St, Soho, W1F 0PT (Closest tube station: Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square)

I read an NZ Herald article before I left for London recommending the best places to find a Kiwi coffee in London, therefore Flat White was one of the very first cafés to go on my list. Flat White is run by a mix of Kiwis and Ozzies and it is incredibly tiny. Very little room to walk around and a cash only premises (sigh). Very popular as there was always a decent queue when my friend and I were there. My flat white was indeed very good, but not as good as Foxcroft & Ginger's. I think Flat White is probably ideal for just coffee as my salad was nothing special. Takeaway more so than drinking in.

Fleet River Bakery
71 Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn WC2A 3JF (Closest tube station: Holborn)

Fleet River was conveniently located next to LSE, so if I didn't want to get food at university or wander off somewhere else in Soho or Covent Garden, I would then go to Fleet River. There is typically a queue that extends to outside the café/bakery, simply because the food and coffee is solid. I don't have many photos from Fleet River Bakery, but I've eaten a variety of dishes and have never had a bad experience with the food or coffee. Their variety of salads are especially good, with salads changing often. Well actually the menu changes pretty regularly as well. I haven't actually had much of their baked sweet goods, but their cream scones are massive. I love a good scone but I find them so impossible to finish! Very filling indeed. It doesn't look like there's much seating, but there's quite a bit downstairs. Service is okay, but could be consistently better.

LSE students can also get a 10% discount if they show their ID card, which I never knew about until after 10 months of living in London..oh joy.

(from L-R: big big scone with cream and jam, pizza with rocket, figs, parma ham and gorgonzola)

Look mum no hands!
49 Old Street, St Luke's, EC1V 9HX (Closest tube station: Barbican or Old Street)

This one was also on my friend's list. I willingly came along because I liked the name. It sounded quirky and no doubt the place is exactly that. Because for awhile I was questioning myself whether is was a bicycle shop that sells some food and coffee or a café with some eccentric bicycle aesthetic. Turns out it is something in between. I wish I took a photo of the decor but you could google that yourself. Some might think it's a bit strange, but I liked the fact that it was a bit different. If this café wasn't out of the way (as in not in the right proximity to university), I would have loved to come here to drink coffee, eat and do a bit of my school work. Both my friend and I brought our work with us for a couple of hours and it's a great place to do a bit of reading or even bring your laptop to chill and do some work since there's quite a bit of space. A particular person I know doesn't quite understand the idea of studying in a café, but it's not for everyone.

I really enjoyed their flat white even though it wasn't as strong (in taste) in comparison to other coffees I've had in London. I wonder if they only put in a single shot? Their range of pies with a side of salad are pretty popular, but amazingly the side of salad is as big as the pie itself! They tend to pile small amounts of all of the salads they have. Maybe some people enjoy that, but I would personally prefer to either pick which salads I want or there be a couple of different ones on the plate as opposed to five different ones. I sound so picky...maybe my parents were right about me after all! Their brownies are pretty devilish though. 

Lantana
13 Charlotte Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 1SN (Closest tube station: Goodge Street)

Lantana, an Aussie owned café, had been on my list for awhile. I had read many favourable reviews, so I knew I had to eventually try it out. This one was all on my own, and I was pretty lucky to avoid any queuing/waiting since quite a few people had to wait for seats while I was dining in. Constantly busy, It's a bit small and tight inside, which seems to be a common theme amongst many of the good cafés in London. 

My flat white was good indeed, but probably not as good as I had imagined from all the reviews I had read.I'm just glad it wasn't terrible. I was in a sandwich mood, which is rather rare since I'm not a huge sandwich person, so I ordered the only sandwich available on their lunch menu: the BRAT (bacon, rocket, avocado and tomato...aptly named then). The sandwich was very delicious but a bit hard to cut into and eat. Wanted to pick it up in my hand but was afraid everything would fall out. Heh. I wish I had ordered a pastry or something sweet from the takeaway area but I was so full! I find sandwiches very filling. It's the same way I feel about rice - can't eat too much of it in one serving. Service was fine, but nothing too memorable.

Next blog: Haven't decided yet! Either Beach Blanket Babylon in Shoreditch or some afternoon tea adventures! :)