Fortnum Pop Up

 Stacie Stewart popping up at Fortnum & Mason.

Keep Mum Sweet

Guest Spot

Happy Mother's Day at the Beach Cafe, Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk.

8 Layer Pop Up

Guest Spot

Pop up Karantania Deli cafe at Westfield Stratford spotted by Tony McVerry - the 8 Layer cake and Pasta baked Muffins look interesting.  Karantania pop up at market stalls all over the place  http://karantaniadeli.co.uk/

Tree Trunk Table

Poser table at Tap in Wardour Street.

The Future?

At the end of our London Cafe Tours we are often asked what is the future for cafe design if now it is all about the industrial, retro, natural, recycled, comfortably worn look.  I asked the knowledgeable boss of Matthew Algie coffee's Irish business Lachlan MacGillivray his thoughts and he quoted two examples:

Baker D ChiricoMelbourne Bakery Starbucks Tokyo 

Third Floor Espresso

 Banana bread presentation plus upsell toasted and served with honey and cream cheese at 3FE, Dublin

 3FE in Dublin is serious about coffee - see why 3rd Floor Espresso is called what it is at http://www.3fe.com/about/our-story/ and how the owner Colin Harmon went from investment banker to one of the best Baristas in the world.

The slot in the table for the menu card was a neat, simple idea.

Coffee tasting menu 

Ace Display

Ottolenghi's flagship cafe in Islington - still No 1.

Certificate of Excellence

We noticed several cafes in Dublin proudly showing their Tripadvisor rating alongside their menus.  KC Peaches is a wholefoods shop and cafe and is worth visiting.

Recharge

Guest Spot

Mobiles running out of charge are a problem for most of us.  Clever Westfield shopping centre who provide 30 minutes free charging so we stay and shop.  An idea for cafe operators who want to look after every special interest group?  Thank-you to Tony of Esquires Coffee Houses, Ireland for the contribution.

Hanging Herbs

Boskke Upside-down herb growing pots look like a great way of enhancing cafe ambiance and your local sourcing.

If you attended the HTA's Garden Centre Catering Conference yesterday, welcome to the Great Cafes Blog especially written for professional cafe operators.  Sign up to receive the blog by e-mail - we put up a photo of something new and interesting every working day.

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Nuts & Coffee

 Athens-based Carpo has opened on Piccadilly with a huge variety of nuts amongst the coffee and chocolate

 Romanian Hippophaes caught our eye.  Apparently it is a superfood.

Plus the Chinese dried Goji berries

 They roast and salt (in the cement mixer looking kit) on the premises

Decidedly Dodgy

Definitely not for the kids. Shortbread Jammy Dodgers at Konditor & Cook.

YOLO = You Only Live Once.  DILF you will have to look up for yourself.

The New Pubs

London Evening Standard yesterday "Cafes are the new pubs" talking about places where you can actually meet a friend without being intimidated and where you can hear yourself speak.  You can't argue that pubs are closing and cafes are growing.  The Standard list their top 50 cafes at: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/bars/londons-50-best-cafes-8509145.html

A Truly Fresh Sandwich

Bravo to Company of Cooks for being able to say that their sandwich bread is baked today.  Not even Pret can say that.

Hotting Up

The coffee price war continues with Giraffe restaurants offering take-out lattes and cappuccinos at 50p until 10.30am Monday to Friday.

Scaffolding & Steps

 Scaffolding stools and tables at 3FE cafe in Dublin

 Step up seats at Clement & Pekoe, Dublin

Gluten Free

Esquires Coffee Houses in Dublin are serious about attracting the gluten-free market.

Charming Intelligent Staff

Metro Cafe in Dublin grabs attention, praises its staff and is one of the best 'staff wanted' signs we have seen.

Counter Treats

Lemon & Polenta Gugelhupf - a gugelhupf is a bundt cake - at The Counter cafe at the Delaunay.

 Hazelnut Crunch

Apple Poppy Seed cake

Real Food

Guest Spot

Congratulations to the Real Food Cafe, Tyndrum for their ace fish & chips - They have just been awarded 'Winners of the Best Independent Food Service Outlet' in the National Fish & Chip Awards.  The owner Sarah is also switched on to the benefits of great cakes, publicity and mugs by Moonpig.com.

Goodbye & Hello

The Breakfast Club's topical comment.

Cosmic Hearts

"A fudgey chocolate hazelnut cake enrobed in marzipan and chocolate fondant, decked out in spacey bling, and inscribed with 'Take Me to the Moon and Back' for a cosmic Valentine's Day"  at Konditor & Cook.

Cuore (Heart) at Princi

Finishing Touches

EAT, the take-away sandwich operator, has a cake table at its new Fleet Street branch.  The lines continue to blur between cafe and take-away.

Happy Hours

POD's £1 latte, cappuccino and flat white promotion from 10-12 and after 3pm is different from the usual filter coffee promotions.

Coffee with Mastic

Kahve Dünyasi has cafes throughout Turkey and have opened up on Piccadilly.  Coffee with Mastic may suffer in the translation - mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree.

There are some interesting cakes and pastries - chocolate pizza and mozaic cake for example -  in addition to the UK staples. 

 The chocolate spoon is a fun touch.

Eye Contact

Guest Spot

 Thank-you Lisa Looker from Haskins Garden Centres for these eye-catching photos of Greenwich's pop up cafe The Movement (MVMNT), constructed from containers and located by Greenwich DLR station.

Fruit Cake

Blackberry & Poire William Pear cake at Benugo

Orange & Plum cakes at Peyton & Byrne

S'more

Ottolenghi's S'mores - biscuit, marshmallow and chocolate.  The US version of a Wagon Wheel. They are a traditional night-time campfire treat popular in north America consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.