A review of Amandine

Image from amandine-cafe.tumblr.com

176 Victoria Park Road, Victoria Park Village, Hackney, E9 7HD

If you're looking for somewhere to slow down the pace and escape the crowds on a sunny day in Victoria Park, then Amandine could just be the perfect spot. Slightly away from the main strip, it's a short walk around the corner from Lauriston Road and well worth the few extra yards.

As well as being dog friendly, they have a lovely outside seating area to the back of the cafe so we made the most of the sunshine by taking a table in the garden.

Image from facebook.com/Amandine-Café

The menu only appeared to be up on the chalk board inside, and was written in such small writing that I struggled to read the detail of what I was ordering. However, I am coming to realise that foregoing my contact lenses is probably not the most sensible of lifestyle choices so can't really complain.

With sandwiches, salads, soups and daily specials there's plenty of choice, and lots of sweet treats to tempt your taste buds too. The fridge was stacked with cold drinks which hit the spot on a hot day, so I'll have to return for coffee and cake later in the year in order to give a balanced review of all that's on offer (I'm sure I can handle that...).

We had toasted ciabattas and a salad:

The food was really tasty and generously proportioned, the staff friendly and attentive (although we ordered separately they clocked we were sitting together so brought the food out at the same time). I'm sure a little gem like this gets busy at times, but for us it was a haven of calm in the chaos of an East London summer and I'll definitely be back for more. 

Amandine is on Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler. 

A review of acanteen

 45 New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0ND

*New pictures added February 2012

Tucked away from the main hubbub of the town centre, this masterfully created piece of cafe culture seems quite at odds with the rest of this otherwise chain-saturated cityscape. If lucky enough to happen across it (or to have a well informed acquaintance generous enough to tell you where it is) you will be pleasantly surprised by its sprightly atmosphere enriched by a varied customer base and young, energetic staff. 

The feel of acanteen is quite antipodean, whether intentionally or not, and having visited a number of cafes in our other hemisphere I am always taken aback to find their distinctive character captured somewhere you’d least expect it. 

The name – acanteen – fits the establishment perfectly as its well worn wooden tables and chairs (some clearly rescued from a church at some point) do not detract from the overall clinical ambience synonymous with the word ‘canteen’. 

An eclectic mix of breakfast classics and unusual salads including roasted butternut squash, chilli and pomegranate as well as more substantial club sandwiches make this the perfect haunt for any time of day.  The large selection of cakes, pastries and muffins also adorning the counter top make it very difficult to avoid accidentally ordering something sweet to go with your mid morning latte.

I love the food here – it’s affordable, delicious and the menu’s varied enough for you not to get bored. I also love the feel of the place. It’s warm, welcoming and the communal seating arrangements encourage customers to dine amongst strangers – something which always gets me excited. Even in busy periods, the atmosphere is of convivial chaos, not full blown pandemonium. 

When ordering I was told up front which parts of the menu where unavailable and informed that there was a wait for food. This approach instantly put me at ease as I could make the decision whether to stay or go and not get riled waiting for my food as I was satisfied in the knowledge that it would turn up eventually. 

My only bug bear with this place is that the menu is often obscured by a long and impatient queue of people which you must navigate carefully to access the holy text. It’s also often quite hot – but now I’m clutching at straws. This place is awesome – I will and do go back again and again. 

Check out their website, or find them on Facebook. 

A review of 5 on Church St*

Church Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire

At only three months old, 5 on Church Street is still sufficiently ‘underground’ for me to feel quite smug about discovering it before it hits the ‘mainstream,’ as a cafe of this awesomeness inevitably will. That said, it seems that enough people have already heard about 5 on Church Street by word of mouth or happened across it whilst on an afternoon stroll to make the dining room reassuringly bustling on a Saturday afternoon.

Reminding me what a small world we live in (well those of us living in East Herts/ West Essex anyway), it turns out that the friendly chap taking our order and chatting to me at the till is in fact a school friend’s housemate. However, as I didn’t know this when I first visited, you can still consider this review to be in the spirit of independence you have hopefully come to know and trust. 

On first entering, the ‘deli wall’ provides an interesting distraction and allows you to loiter inconspicuously eyeing up the produce on offer for long enough to work out if there’s a table going free. Once you’ve negotiated the small children and wine-sipping middle England to find your table, you find yourself faced with a menu which is wholesome, hearty and just what the doctor ordered on a grey day in February - breakfasts, roti wraps, jacket potatoes and pizzas sitting comfortably alongside creatively envisaged salads and cake selection. 

I had the ‘mini grill English’ – a smaller version of the ‘full grilled big English’ – which was more than enough to fill me up for brunch. I had my egg poached as I find this is usually a good test of a chef’s prowess and was pleasantly surprised when it turned up cooked to perfection. I thought the addition of a potato cake to an otherwise typical English breakfast was a nice touch too. My cafe accomplice had the corned beef hash which was expertly seasoned and generously proportioned – a triumph all round. 

Corned beef hash

I enjoyed the wide selection of teas (provided by Teapigs), choosing the caffeine-free Rooibos over my usual latte. However, although the espresso in my partner’s cappuccino tasted great, the milk was a little bit soggy – next time stiffer foam would win me over as most coffee lovers prefer their cappuccino ‘dry’. 

I’m so pleased to have a new pet cafe to eat away a Saturday hangover or for a special treat on a day off and I’m looking forward to sampling the other delights on the menu in a future evening visit. Seeing as they’ve reached such a high standard after only being open a short time, I can’t wait to see what this place can do and how it will adapt as the seasons change. 

You can find 5 on Church Street on Facebook here. 

*5 on Church Street renamed Saint’s Kitchen - now closed down (April 2012) :(

A review of South Street Pantry

70 South Street, Bishops Stortford, United Kingdom, CM23 3AZ

In a part of the world otherwise bereft of characterful places in which to eat breakfast or while away a Sunday afternoon, South Street Pantry is a welcome tonic. Many a day off or weekend has been wasted for a lack of suitable eating houses in and around my home town and many have ended up supping on soggy chips at the local watering hole.

Although a tentative exploration of this small market town recently brought other promising establishments to light which I will review in due course, it was reassuringly refreshing to be recommended this place by a friend and find it lived up to all expectations. Intimate, kitsch, quaint, with awesome food, and in Bishops Stortford – never?!

The attention to which the decor has been paid is not lost on me, and I especially like the feature wall of mismatched wallpaper. This business is clearly a labour of love – as you would expect from a family business. Run by a mother – son combo with Nana’s Jam thrown in for good measure this cafe shows the kind on entrepreneurial spirit so often borne out of a recession.

The counter at the front of the cafe is loaded with exquisite looking cakes, muffins and other treats so that any innocent bystander could easily find themself inadvertently drawn into the warm embrace of that familiar ritual of ordering tea and cake.  With a small but more than adequate menu, Delicious has really got to the heart of customer demand by providing classic breakfast and afternoon tea options alongside more hearty lunchtime fare including soups, sandwiches and ploughman’s.

 I had the American pancakes which were generously proportioned, light, fluffy and went well with the syrup and fruit compote provided. A little extra compote next time, however, would be well received. I dragged my boyfriend along with me in the spirit of research and he had the goat’s cheese and red onion quiche which he remarked was, “probably the best quiche I’ve ever had.” This honour – I should point out – is no mean feat given that he is of the Jamie Oliver inspired generation of home chefs who consider their tastes superior to the likes of you and I.

Despite the abundance of small, screaming children (it was a Saturday afternoon after all) I would definitely come back to South Street Pantry for two reasons: 1. The food is awesome. And 2. I’m so excited and impressed that a cafe which would not be out of place on a trendy London high street has decided to set up shop in an otherwise unremarkable town. “Good quality cafes for the masses” I hear you cry...

You can find South Street Pantry online here and on Facebook.

A review of Cafe Mio

Order numbers on wooden spoons - inspired.

85 High St, Epping, CM16 4BH.

As this cafe is the one I am on most intimate terms with, I feel it is probably where I should begin. Eventually, I hope to review cafes from all over the UK and the world. So, dear reader, do not panic. I will not expose to you to the deepest depths of Essex for long. 

I worked at Cafe Mio in Epping for four months during the summer of 2007. I’d spent my time since finishing my A-levels working in telesales and then travelling around Australia and New Zealand so needed a job to tide me over until I started university (Nottingham, if you’re interested). Thinking I had found myself an easy summer job, I was almost immediately taken aback by the passion of both the owner and manager in maintaining excellent standards of customer service and refreshment provision.

It was here that I first learnt to appreciate that to treat a coffee bean with respect is to provide a more superior standard of cappuccino. It was here that the mystery behind frothing milk into a warm, glossy, hug in a mug was revealed to me. And it was here that I began to fully appreciate the real truth and value behind getting to know your customers, as well as that age old adage “the customer is always right”. 

In life, we are so often anonymous. Sometimes this can be convenient. But at times this anonymity can make you feel isolated, alone, adrift. Of all the lessons I learnt that summer, the one I still hold most dear is the role that cafes can play in the social networks of the communities they inhabit. By getting to know our ‘regulars’ – their tastes, habits, little idiosyncrasies – both I and they felt a greater connection to this otherwise functional space. 

The ‘regulars’ would come in and order the same drink or meal and feel like they belonged. For people without a sense of belonging in the wider community the cafe offered a haven where they could be recognised, valued, remembered. Although the attention to detail required to ensure each ‘regular’ felt that little bit special often exhausted me, the satisfaction in making their day that little bit more meaningful has stayed with me. 

Of all the things Cafe Mio represents to me now, compassion is the one that sticks. In creating a space that is welcoming and inclusive, Cafe Mio is a triumph.