Editor’s Picks: London’s Best Tea and Cake Spots with teapigsBy Angelica Malin
1. Best for Red Velvet Cake: Bloom, Fulham
What: Bloom in Fulham is a neighbourhood rendez-vous, open from early morning until late evening for breakfast, all day dining, dinner, afternoon tea, cocktails and wine. If you’ve got a hankering for avocado on toast, a heady tipple or a slab of chocolate cake, Bloom is the answer.
Eat and Drink: We don’t come to Bloom for brunch, we come here for cake. All of their sweet treats are homemade and baked on site, and they change from week to week. Think white chocolate and almond cake, maple and pecan cake, coffee cake, and their outstanding red velvet. Their cakes are best eaten with a chai latte, or if tea is your thing – try it with a cup of teapigs to give your day a boost. There’s tons of teapigs teas to choose from, and their Big 5 smoothie made with pineapple, mango, kiwi and strawberry is fruity and delicious.
Where: 399 Fulham Palace Rd, Fulham, London SW6 6TA
2. Best for Apple Tart: Laveli, Throughout London
What: Originally from Slovakia, Veronika and Libor are husband and wife owners of Laveli Bakery. The bakery baked some of the finest breads in West London, made from scratch everyday. Forget your piped supermarket scents, Laveli Bakery is warm and fragrant, with wonderful service and a big ol’ loaves to take home. Perfect.
Eat and Drink: Along with their cakes (try the lemon tart with meringue), they also serve a decent brunch. We’re talking about home-made granola with Greek yoghurt, omelettes with Wiltshire ham and cheese, and French toast served with apple compote. You have to get a cup of tea to go with your brunch – we think the teapigs rhubarb & ginger tea is the perfect match for their delicious French toast. If you’re cruising round the West London area, pop in with a good book, order and tea and dive straight into a slice of their warming apple tart.
Where: Locations here
3. Best for Doughnuts: Crosstown Doughnuts, Shoreditch and Beyond
What: Crosstown Shoreditch is our favourite Crosstown outlet. Mainly because you can grab a table at the back, kick back and give their doughnuts all the attention they so rightly deserve. Crosstown have made a name for themselves due to their chewy, glorious sourdough bases that are topped with a range of weird and wonderful ingredients.
Eat and Drink: Doughnuts galore. Our top picks are the chai doughnut featuring a chai custard filling, chai glaze and chopped pistachios; glazed cinnamon scroll smothered with cinnamon sugar throughout, and topped off with their famous tonka vanilla bean glaze and dulce de leche with a banana glaze. We’re no doughnut pairing expert – but their chilli chocolate doughnut goes down a treat with a freshly brewed teapigs camomile tea.
Where: 157 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SB
4. Best for French Cake: Oree Boulangeries
What: Bringing a taste of the boulangeries and patisseries of rural France to London, Orée offers freshly baked viennoiserie, artisan bread and fine patisserie, alongside a selection of breakfast dishes, and salads. And keeping up with the time, Oree also bakes gluten-free breads, tarts and cakes.
Eat and Drink: Their croissants are warm, flaky, buttery delights, and we’d by lying to you if we said we’ve taken a few home with us. Try the financiers (a small French almond cake), or the Kugelhofs (marble cake), and their white chocolate and pistachio escargot is everything you’d expect it to be: gooey, sweet and chocolatey. Try the almond cake with a cup of new teapigs Snooze tea for the ultimate warm, embracing hug in a mug.
Where: 277 Fulham Rd, London SW10 9NY
5. Best for Brownies: Outsider Tart, Chiswick
What: A couple of professional guys moved from New York to live and work in London – but discovered that good, wholesome cupcakes, sweet pies and fresh tarts were really hard to come by. Outsiders as they both are, they set about rectifying the situation by turning a favourite hobby into an award-winning business. Outsider Tart is an authentic American bake shop and cafe which is devoted to all things sweet and yummy.
Eat and Drink: Outsider Tart sell a wide selection of sweet and savoury goods, which are made fresh on the premises every day using the best quality ingredients. Think: peanut butter whoopie pies, cupcakes and all the best sponge cakes – perfect with a cup of teapigs herbal tea. Their carrot cake is perfectly moist, and goes down too easily with a cup of tea. They also do a spiced pecan cake, need we say more?
Where: 83 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick, London W4 2EF
6. Best for Handmade Cake: Hummingbird Bakery, Throughout London
What: The Hummingbird Bakery hand-make American style cupcakes, cakes, pies and brownies with serious style and flair. They’re also well known for baking unbelievable cheesecake and pies. Drop into one of their many locations across London and don’t forget to buy one of their famous red velvet cupcakes – known all throughout London, their Red Velvet is happiness in cake form.
Eat and Drink: Take a first-class ticket to heaven with a slice of their sensational chocolate salted caramel cake – it’s utterly divine. And with any good slab of chocolate cake, you need a good cuppa with it. A pot of finely brewed teapigs earl grey tea with this bad boy is hard to beat.
Where: Locations across London
7. Best for Classic Bakes: Cafe in the Crypt, Piccadilly
What: Cafe in the Crypt is unlike any other tearoom housed in a church. For starters, their teas don’t resemble dirty dish water – and their cakes are far better than any found at the local bake sale. Cafe in the Crypt is a gem of a place; the staff are super friendly, there’s smashing cakes on offer, and their tea collection is quite something.
Eat and Drink: Their cakes change regularly, but expect carrot cake, brownies, classic Vicki sponge, and coffee and walnut cake. Escape the throngs of tourists, and while away the afternoon with a cup of tea, and a slice of their lemon drizzle cake.
Where: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
8. Best for Banana Bread: Eat Keen, Westminster
What: Taste the Mediterranean way of life at this lovely spot in Westminster. KEEN offers vibrant, fresh, feel good food that is internationally inspired and locally sourced. Come here for homemade banana bread with a lovely cup of teapigs tea.
Eat and Drink: Hearty soups, spiced tagines, crunchy salads, crispy flatbreads… Transport your taste buds from the shores of Italy to the mountains of Greece. Try the homemade beef lasagne and salmon quinoa salad; there’s breakfast, lunch and dinner to go, too, with great coffee.
Where: 3 Artillery Row, Westminster, London SW1P 1RH
9. Best for Local Vibes: Caffettino
What: Expect Mediterranean food and gourmet coffee in a mellow cafe with full-length windows and pavement tables at this lovely Battersea spot. The concept of Caffettino is simple: to create a unique space where everything is made from scratch daily.
Eat and Drink: Their menu is based on daily-changing ingredients, so one day may not be the same as the next. They use seasonal and authentic products, choosing organic when possible placing an emphasis on British and European products first. Our favourite treat are the homemade apricot danish – perfect with a cup of teapigs Rhubarb & Ginger tea.
Where: 230-232 Battersea Park Rd, London SW11 4ND
10. Best for Carrot Cake: Papillon Cafe, Northfields
What: Papillon opened in 2010 in the heart of Northfields – they wanted to have a local hub where families and friends could come together to drink a cuppa and eat fresh food without having to spend a fortune. Nothing too pretentious or fancy, just a welcoming cafe where you can relax, chat and eat. We love.
Eat and Drink: This is the place to come for homemade cake and home-cooked food; they bake delicious cakes, tarts and gateaux and a variety of viennoiserie. Our personal favourites are the carrot, walnut and cinnamon cake, and the incredible homemade scones with clotted cream and jam. For something special, try their black forest gateaux cake.
Where: 147 Northfields Avenue Greater London W13 9QT
Photo credit: restaurant’s own
Sponsored post in assocation with teapigs – follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These teas will be available to buy from 20th February at www.teapigs.co.uk at an RRP of £3.99 per pack.
