Le Chandelier (SE22 8HX)

161 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8HX
www.lechandelier.co.uk/

For this visit, Ben and I were accompanied by our friends Anne-Marie and Ed. I'd been to Le Chandelier before (but before I started this blog), so was keen to re-visit and take the obligatory photos and re-sampling of cake. 

There's always a risk in taking friends to a place you've enjoyed before, just on the off chance that it doesn't come off quite as well as it did the first time around. We've all been there. 

So I rolled the dice... and lost.

Oh dear.

First things first. Le Chandelier is in in a fantastic location on the ever chic Lordship Lane. It's a lovely high street, and has all manner of nice goings on going on (including a small market off one of the side streets on Saturdays). 

The cafe's decor can't be faulted. It's truly lovely, and the display of cakes and patisseries at the front counter is stunning. 

The cakes themselves are delicious. I had the red velvet, and my only criticism is that the icing was slightly too sweet even for me (which is saying something).

So far, so good. 

I think had we just stuck to ordering cake we would have been OK. But we made the mistake of ordering "proper food" as well. 

Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the food either... although Anne-Marie's large berry pancakes came in at an eye watering £13.00. For that price we were all expecting a smorgasbord of berries of all colours and types heaped in a large mound on top of a skyscraper of pancakes. Unfortunately she was served what looked to be about 8 blueberries and a tiny hamster-sized dish of maple syrup.  

What really let Le Chandelier down on this occasion was the abysmal service. We waited over an hour for our food to arrive. When we questioned the (rather rude) waiter, we were met with a glare and interrogated about whether we'd ordered a "slow dish". 

"Did you order the chicken??" he asked us rather sternly. "No" we replied in unison. Our waiter shrugged, mystified. To his credit, he did offer to give us another round of drinks on the house, which we gladly accepted.

We then occupied ourselves for a good few minutes debating the enigma of the chicken dish.

Finally our food arrived, and poor Anne-Marie ended up with bacon pancakes, not berry pancakes. 

The (rather rude) waitress thought fit to debate with Anne-Marie about whether she'd ordered the bacon ones. I'm pretty sure Anne-Marie knew what she'd ordered, since she doesn't even like bacon.  

Everyone was so put off by this stage that I was the only one willing to have a slice of cake... expensive cake too, at £4.20. 

 
So when all is said and done, I have really mixed feelings about Le Chandelier. 

On the plus side, I do like the decor (10/10), and the cakes are wonderful (9/10). But it's expensive (4/10). 

For the price we paid, I expected excellent service, and we just didn't get it (3/10). 

I can't see myself going back after this experience.

CakeMyDayLondon Rating

Slipped Discs’ Brown Sugar (CM12 9AX)

57-59 High St, Billericay, Essex  
http://www.slipped-discs.co.uk/

When Ben suggested we visit this record store cum café, I had visions in my head of a John Cusack-High Fidelity-esque grungy underground urban hangout. I loved the name too. 

What we got instead was a very civilised music shop in a historic town on a pretty high street with a funky little café tucked in a conservatory out the back. 

The décor is bold and plush with bright artwork adorning the walls, and vividly painted and upholstered chairs. It was a cold day and I picked a table in a sweet spot near the heater. The aspect was light and airy thanks to several skylights in the ceiling. 

The cake selection wasn’t extensive, but they had carrot cake so I was all set. Ben had an apple nut cake… he usually leans towards apple anything. The cakes were good, with a hint of spiciness to the carrot. 

The coffee was OK, and I managed to get 3 cups of tea out of my single pot. On ordering we had to wait at the counter and carried our food to the table ourselves, which is a little out of step with how the cafe felt and looked.

Café pickings in the surrounding area are quite slim, with the generic three (Starbucks, Costa and Nero) featuring heavily. So it’s refreshing to come across an independent concept café that’s doing well in a little town.

So put your back into it and get yourself a lil’ bit of brown sugar. 

CakeMyDayLondon Rating

The Pantry Coffee Shop (TN7 4JG)

Old Crown Farm, Hartfield, East Sussex TN7 4JG

As well as being  a keen cyclist, Ben’s always on the lookout for café opportunities during his excursions through Kent. Combine that with my love of country drives (any excuse will do), and thus we found ourselves in the little hamlet of Hartfield in East Sussex visiting The Pantry. 

The café is set slightly off the main road, so it’s easy to miss. The surrounding countryside is very picturesque (a drive on to Ashdown Forrest is recomended), although sadly lacking in animals (there’s no farm attached to this farm shop). 

  

Unfortunately we missed the farmer’s market, but there is a small selection of produce available through the farm-shop part of the café, as well as some clothing and handbags made by local artisans. 

There’s a good range of cakes on offer. BIG cakes. So big that I was unable to finish mine and had to offload a third of it onto a very willing Ben. It will not come as a surprise that I had the carrot cake. I find it hard to resist. It’s almost a food staple for me. My only criticism is that the icing was a little crystalline and could have been a bit smoother. Otherwise, the taste was great.

Ben enjoyed his lemon drizzle, and managed to finish the entire enormous slice all on his own and judged the coffee to be "good".

The atmosphere is typical “farm café”. Understated and a little bland, lacking in a defined personality. It’s reasonably comfortable and very clean but lacks a certain je ne sais quoi that would separate it from the crowd.

Needs more animals. 

CakeMyDayLondon Rating

Le Parc Delicatessen (N16 0UL)

191 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0UL 

http://www.leparcdeli.co.uk/

I really wanted to go back to The Parlour for another slice of their red velvet cake, but all seats were taken and no amount of glaring at the customers would make them leave. Truth be told, I glared at no-one… instead, I hung my head in resignation, shoulders slumped, and shuffled out the door in defeat. 

But joy of joys… after a short stroll up the road, I spotted a red velvet cake, like manna from heaven, on display at Le Parc Delicatessen. 

I borrowed this picture from the internet. I promise to give it back.

The café doubles as a gourmet deli, with the store area at the front, and seating at the back as well as having a surprising wine cellar and tasting area in the basement (plus another couple of tables). 

Overall it’s a small space, but cosy and nice on a miserable winter’s day. Its location is a slight disadvantage, being right at the end of the “golden mile” of shops, and therefore at risk of being overlooked in favour of more prominently located shops and cafes. 

The style is a little hotchpotch and rustic, with no discernible theme to it other than “deli”. There isn’t anything wrong with it per se, and it’s really just a matter of personal preference. I prefer cafes with defined themes or quirks, as this helps them to stand out from the crowd.

But there can be no arguing with the cake. It was red, it was velvety, it had buttercream icing. The cake delivered on all fronts. Ben had a banana nut slice and pronounced it as “very good” and the coffee was done well.

Of all the Stokie cafes I wouldn’t rank Le Parc at the top, but it’s a safe back up plan for a rainy day. 

CakeMyDayLondon Rating