cake my day london: Cafe Map

Dear Reader

I don’t drink coffee. So why am I writing a blog about cafes? How am I even qualified to contemplate this endeavour?

Well, for me the café experience is not merely a one-dimensional quest for the perfect coffee. It is a holistic package where the whole can be greater than the sum of its many parts.

Like starting a new relationship, first comes the excitement of exploring new territory, the frisson of the unknown.

Spotted across a crowded street, the decision to approach starts with first impressions. Before I even set foot in the door, I ask myself “Could this café be the one for me? Is its aesthetic & interior design attractive enough to entice me in? Do I think I will relate to its customer base and ethos?” Many a time I’ve seen a “potential”, only to shy away on closer inspection.

On deciding to make my move I cross the threshold and put out tentative feelers to get to know the café better before committing further. What’s the music like? Is the temperature comfortable? Is it too loud, too quiet?

Yet my decision to commit or walk away ultimately boils down to one key factor: do their cakes appeal to me? I have beat a hasty retreat from otherwise perfectly good cafes on the basis of their meagre and unenticing cake selection. I have lingered for a while in cafes that I know aren’t right for me simply because I was tempted by their sweet array of cakey offerings.

Decision made, I proceed to throw myself whole-heartedly into the experience. I bring out some weekend-appropriate reading material, I arrange my plate and cup of tea just-so, and I dig in with relish.

Whether or not my café relationship turns into a long standing one, or remains a brief and casual affair, comes down to that first bite.

So I hope you enjoy reading about the cafes I’ve discovered in and around London, so that you too can meet the café of your dreams.

Melanie

cake my day london

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