6 High St, Otford, Sevenoaks TN14 5PQ
There is little to recommend this cafe unless you're a fan of a bit of white powder. And I don't mean snow.
But a bit of serious business first. My intention with this blog is to review independent coffee shops that offer an experience (hopefully positive!) as well as quality cake. And on the cake platter of life, some are winners, some are (unfortunately) losers.
With great benchmarks set (such as Amadine, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, et al), establishments such as Pond View are judged accordingly.
I did feel a little cruel reviewing this place, since they're clearly not trying to impress anyone. I've been here a couple of times, so I did give them a few chances to wow me and this review is not just based on one visit.
But life is too short for bad cake (and bad coffee).
Pond View does what it says on the tin. It provides a view of a pond. On the plus side, the pond has ducks. The main drawback is that the pond and the ducks are usually hidden from view by parked cars. Queue sad face :(
Otford itself is tiny, but has a few interesting antique and junk stores on its minuscule high street. That pretty much sums up the town.
So what about the cafe? It has carpet in the toilet. Say no more.
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| A bit of the white stuff. |
So here goes...
The banana cake is decent and is probably your best bet if you are in the area and in need of sustenance. The lemon drizzle disappointingly lacked drizzle. However, the cakes are made on the premises (kudos to them) and won't break the budget, which is something to consider.
Don't drink the coffee (Ben told me to point out the lack of crema on the Espresso in the picture).
The decor bears a passing resemblance to a waiting room and has few redeeming features (other than the view of the pond). If you had to describe it, "homely" might be appropriate. Just to be clear - not my home. Maybe someone's grandma's.
Everything comes dusted in icing sugar. Yes... THAT white powder.
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
(nb: the 3-cake rating is because there were 3 ducks in the pond on the day I visited)
