Hola Paella

A Spanish delicatessan and cafe in Greenwich.

Dutch waffles

A revisit to My Old Dutch, this time to High Street Kensington for some Dutch waffles with caramel sauce and icecream.

A pot of churros = a happy belly

The Espresso Bar at 98 Euston Road serves pots of churros for £1.90. I had some with a hot chocolate and by the end I was a very contented greasy fingered little camper! There's a small amount of indoor seating as well an outdoor area by the British Library. 

Although churros are a dougnut-like Spanish snack, the Espresso Bar is actually run by Peyton and Byrne, which I wasn't expecting.  My Spanish teacher told me about this place so I assumed it was going to be a Spanish cafe.  Since it's so close to Kings Cross this could be an ideal place to grab a coffee at the start of a long journey up North.

Mouth Watering Deli

L'Eau a La Bouche in London Fields is a cafe/deli that sells French and Italian products.

http://www.labouche.co.uk/

Turkish coffee break

After a long day of touring round the world in London I needed a little pick me up.  So I was pleased to spot this Turkish stall at Borough Market.  

The woman serving me asked me if I would like the coffee to take away or to sit down.  Not seeing any seats available I said I would have it to take away and wait for a seat.  There was a table with a boy sat by himself with 2 free chairs.  The woman suggested I just go sit down with him, to which I replied that his parents might want to sit with him if they were around.  'Oh, that's my son' the woman said before promptly turfing him out of his seat to go sit behind the counter.

Unfortunately a hovering couple immediately bagged the table.  Seeing my sad little face, the woman gave me a free Turkish delight, which was delicious! And I managed to get a seat in the end, sat right by the till.

Spanish coffees

Kings Cross has never really struck me as the nicest area of central London but as my family live up North I'm often passing through the area. So I was pleased as punch to discover Camino, a smart looking Spanish bar/restaurant/cafe just off Pentonvolle Road.

Amongst the kind of coffees you can find in any cafe they serve cafe bombom (espresso with condensed milk) and carajillo (coffee with brandy), two drinks that remind me of my holiday to Alicante last year. What's more they host club nights and I spotted my favourite French DJ Jerome from Sun Bailante was scheduled to play there that evening.

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society has a shop, cafe and gallery on Regent Street.  You can buy all kinds of things there from children's toys to furniture, have a look at the photographs on display, watch a documentary upstairs and then have a drink in the ground floor cafe. I even remember something about a really cold room downstairs which I didn't venture into.

I have to say that I was a bit put out that this shop is so close to my night bus stop and it's still taken me nearly a year and a half to notice it.  I think this must be because I'm usually busy staring at cakes in the cafe right next to the stop.

On the wall of the staircase down to the lower floor there is a display of notable National Geographic figures.

At some point round the shop I noticed there was a sign that said 'No photography' at which point I stopped taking photos.  I'd already taken these two though, and it seemed a shame not to use them.

Bar Prague

After a lot of walking around the Tate Modern in an ill fitting pair of summer shoes, my poor feet were feeling very sore.

Fortunately for me, Bar Prague was waiting up in Shoreditch.  I'd tried to go once before, but arrived at 11.30, not knowing that it doesn't open until 12.  So I wasn't expecting such a wonderful welcome in the form of several fat old armchairs to sink into whilst I read the newspaper and drank a coffee.

This bar/cafe also has artwork on display and a selection of Czech beers (which you might well expect from a Czech place).

Open The Gate

Open The Gate is a an African cultural centre and cafe in Dalston.

The have all kinds of events from film screenings to gigs and they also have a restaurant with a selection of Senegalese food.

I had ackee and saltfish which I've been keen to try since I had some free ackee from work and wasn't sure how to prepare it.

They currently have a photography exhibition until the end of August called Karibuni: Colour and People of Tanzania.

I have a feeling I will be back at Open the Gate at some point during my world tour....


http://openthegate.org.uk/welcome

Little Georgia

Little Georgia is now one of my new favourite places in London. It's only a pity it's so far from where I live as I would love to have it as my 'local.' 

I was the only customer when I arrived, and from doing this blog I've discovered that I much prefer quiet cafes to loud hectic ones. 

I love the decorations in this cafe, the noticeboard of local events and groups and the Georgian/Russian pop music playing in the background.

I was there around morning coffee time but I would go back to try some Georgian food.

Bubbleology!

How could I not stop by Bubbleology during a trip to Soho?

Bubble tea has several different English names, including pearl milk tea and boba tea.  It is originally a drink from Taiwan that ended up being popular in the USA and now over here in the UK.

I had a regular taro bubble tea for £3.25.  I was rather full afterwards and couldn't manage all my dinner (shame on me for going for bubble tea first!).  Taro is a little bit like sweet potato or yam.  

Taro bubble tea reminds me of going to a Pasar Malam on Penang Island with my lovely Couchsurfing host Hong and buying things for 'satu ringgit'.  It's great to be able to have the same drink right here in London.

http://www.bubbleology.co.uk/

Eine Kleine Cafe (I know - pesky cases right?)

So my microtravelling doesn't have rules exactly but one of the things that I am now making a conscious effort to do is avoid big chains.  For example you won't see Starbucks here tagged under USA or La Tasca under Spain.  I suppose some places I visit could end up being a huge chain but 'c'est la vie' as they say in France from time to time.  

In general I'm used to going to 'fast coffee' style places where you pay and then wait for your coffee so I still get surprised when I go to cafes like Kipferl in Islington and they ask what you want and give it to you straight away.     

I was so pleased with this sign being in German that I didn't look across to the directions and ended up in the toilets for Manner.  Oh well.  

There is also a small amount of Austrian/German products on sale.   

Hooray for Austrian cafes!  

http://www.kipferl.co.uk/

Taste of Siam

Taste of Siam is a restaurant, cafe and shop in three premises close to Mornington Crescent tube station.

I popped into the shop on the way past and spotted some familiar brands from Thailand and bought myself grass jelly drink (didn't spot any winter melon drinks though which is one of my favourite flavours).

Great minds think alike!

http://blog.visitlondon.com/worldinlondon/

I stumbled across this blog whilst looking for a cafe to visit this afternoon.  I recognise some of the places they've blogged about - the Scandinavian Kitchen and the Finnish Church for example which are both places I was recommended to visit by colleagues from those countries.

Australian Cafe

Lantana near Goodge Street tube station is an Australian cafe.

So what's an Australian cafe you might ask.  Well to quote from my Aussie friend it's a cafe:
- with lots of personality.
- where you can sit and enjoy your cafe without being hurried out the door by the staff the minute you've finished.

Lantana ticks both these boxes with its quirky artwork and chilled atmosphere.

Iced coffee and Hello Dolly cake

 Vegemite for sale!

 www.lantanacafe.co.uk/

The Nordic Bakery

A little cafe in Soho, the Nordic bakery sells coffees sweet pastries and also a few savoury snacks such as cream cheese on ryebread.

Orders come on a cute little tray - 80p for the cookie and £2.40 for the hot chocolate

 They also sell some Scandinavian produce - jams, crisps and juice - by the counter.

It's quite a small location and I arrived at about 16.00 so it was pretty busy and noisy. All the tables for 2 were full.  There are a few bench style tables that seat 6/8 people so I joined several two couples and another girl by herself on these.  I'm sure it's a bit more relaxing when it's less busy.

According to their website they also have a cafe in Marylebone.

www.nordicbakery.com

Stanfords

Stanfords in Covent Garden is a travel bookshop selling guides, fiction and maps.  It's a great place to spend some idle time browsing and there's a little cafe at the back of the shop.

www.stanfords.co.uk/