21 Swan Street, West Malling ME19 6JU
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Swan-Street-Cafe
@swanstreetcafe
West Malling is a quintessential picture-book town in the lovely Kent countryside. The high street has a couple of pubs, some antique shops, a few galleries, a smattering of little boutiques, all of which make for a pleasant stroll.
Swan Street café is tucked in a side street off the main road. It’s an attractive café from the street, with stylish black chairs set out on the footpath under a chic black awning.
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The well-put-together décor continues inside – large windows that capture the sun, chunky wooden tables and chairs, funky bright yellow lights.
The cake selection was disappointingly small on my visit, as was the slice of banana cinnamon cake I was served. My cake was tasty, but I would have liked the slice to be a little larger… I am greedy like that.
Ben ordered a brownie which never arrived… he decided on balance that this was probably a good thing for his cycling diet, so didn’t pursue it. He settled for an espresso ("OK but not great") that was served with a big spoon in a big cup. Placed on its big plate, next to my big teapot and my big mug, my cake looked small.
The ratio of tea-pot size to milk-jug size didn’t quite work, but it was not taxing to get a top-up of milk.
On the whole, I found the service a little lack-lustre. Too many people behind the counter not doing enough and not doing the little they were doing fast enough either.
It was a shame that the counter was left cluttered with used milk jugs, cleaning products and screwed up paper towels. There’s a reason why chemicals are visually separated from food in supermarkets, and the same rules apply to eating establishments.
I can’t say it was a bad experience at Swan Street Café, but it was merely a tad disappointing given the strong first impression.
But as a close friend of mine said to me “Cafes aren’t like Pokémon… you don’t have to love them all”.
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
159 Lower Clapton Road
London, E5 0QX
https://www.facebook.com/CandelaClapton
Candela is not strictly a cafe - it's a Latin American restaurant and bar. But they serve some cakes, and that counts for a lot on this blog. Actually, it counts for everything on this blog... no cake, no review.
I like what they've done with the place. It's a great model for cafe owners on a budget to follow.
They've not tried to hide the cracks or pretty it up too much... the concrete ceiling has chunks missing and looks pretty rough by anyone's standards. The chunky wooden floorboards have a rustic appeal - if you drop something and it falls between the cracks, it's lost to you forever. The bar area is simple, and well stocked with drinks, and the cocktail
list looks fun and not too serious.
I was impressed with the effort they've put into decorating the chairs; these were lacquered with various artwork to add some colour and spark to what otherwise could have been boring pieces of furniture.
On the whole, the effect is casual, but cool, laid back but with style.
The staff are extremely friendly and welcomed us at the door with warm smiles (I forgot for a moment that I was in London, home of the perpetual scowl!).
I opted for a slice of an intriguing (and scrumptious) banana/pear/chocolate cake.
Ben's opinion: "Good, clean coffee".
Sadly, I was unable to persuade Ben to try the raspberry/chocolate/cardamon cake, and I regret not ordering a slice of this as well. Never mind... I guess that means I'll have to go back for another visit. It's a hard life.
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
61 Cheltenham Road
Nunhead SE15 3AF
https://www.facebook.com/TheDishandtheSpoon
Twitter: @DishSE15
Cafes like The Dish and the Spoon frustrate me. It has so much untapped potential, and would require little effort to elevate it from an "OK place to take your kids" to "Wow! What a fantastic place to hang out".
If I were a teacher (which I'm not) I'd give this cafe a C. Must try harder.
Starting with its positives, it has a nice shop front. Can't complain about its street appeal.
The cafe has loads of space, so you don't feel as if you've been crammed into a pokey closet. A counter stretches across the front window where you can sit and enjoy the sun, which is fantastic when it's too chilly for outside dining.
The food counter is not unattractive, and they have a small but sufficient selection of cakes. I chose the carrot cake, it was very good. Ben selected a banana loaf, which was served toasted with butter and jam. Can't complain.
Now for the disappointing stuff.
It's all well and good to have a huge cafe space, but don't waste it by not having enough seating. Go to a local salvage shop, by some recycled pieces and double your capacity!
The decor... I barely noticed it, other than to notice that there wasn't a lot to notice. It's boring and safe. Nothing to inspire or set this place apart. I'd love for the owner to put more of her personal stamp on it. Something. Anything. A small caveat - avoid the kiddy theme unless you want this to be a kiddy cafe (oops... I think this is what they are aiming for!).
No music... no atmosphere, unless you count the sound of children squalling. Get thee a sound system!
Service... teach your staff that plonking down plates and cups unceremoniously in front customers is just rude.
Ben declared the coffee "average", and said he wouldn't go back.
And finally...
Have you ever been to someone's house, been offered a drink, and then
seen the dirty state of their cups, complete with built up brown residue
courtesy of the generations of people who have come before you and
sipped from the same cup?
Let's face it, we've all been there And we've all politely declined the drink, remembered an urgent errand and make our getaway.
So to cut to the chase... boring white mug plonked down. Not entirely clean on the outside. Drank my tea. Observed interior of the mug. Felt sick.
Mugs are not expensive to replace. If you can't afford to replace your dirty kitchen ware, then bleach it. Buy a bucket, fill it with warm water, add bleach, add cups & plates, soak overnight, put through the dishwasher.
Simples!
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
391 Roman Road
London E3 5QS
https://www.facebook.com/zealandroadcoffeeshop
This cafe works to a standard formula which I've seen a lot of lately in small pop-up style cafes on a tight budget.
Small space + minimal decor + simple offering + funky staff = quirky local cafe.
There are not a lot of cakes on display, but I enjoyed my chocolate & orange concoction, although the mix could have been smoother. I think they focus more on foody food than cakes.
I was, and still remain, perplexed at the number of staff working (3), given how tiny the cafe is. But they work at a veeeeeryyyy sloooowwwww pace.
It took forever for them to clean the previous occupant's mess off our table, and we ended up clearing half of it ourselves.
Was it great? No.
Was it awful? No.
It was fine. Ben enjoyed his coffee and felt the barista took care with it (maybe that's why they have 3 people working behind the counter!).
If I lived around the corner, I would probably pop in regularly. Not much else I can say.
CakeMyDayLondon Rating
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