Anderson & Co (SE15 4DH)

139 Bellenden Road
Peckham SE15 4DH
http://www.andersonandcompany.co.uk

Following hot on the heels of our visit to Petitou, Ben and I decided to return to Peckham and sample the delights of another cool cafe just around the corner.

Anderson & Co is a bit like the Tardis; small on the outside, but surprisingly large on the inside.



The shop front is unassuming, with a counter along one wall topped with goodies and seating opposite.

The first room opens up into a second, narrow room, with a galley kitchen and more seating. But the piece de resistance is the gorgeous little foliage-filled courtyard out the back. This has plenty of space for diners, and is fully covered (always a bonus given the UK's unpredictable weather).



On the day we visited it started to rain, but we remained snug and dry, listening to the gentle drumming of rain falling on the roof. All in all, the setting was extremely relaxing and reminded me a little of a Moroccan Riad.



A decent selection of cakes and pastries was on offer, despite the lateness of our visit. I opted for a vividly coloured slice of the red velvet cake. While it was tasty, I found it to be a tad on the dry side, but this could have been due to it being close to the end of the day and not as fresh as it would have been in the morning.



My tea came in a giant pot, yielding 2.5 cupfuls of the good stuff. Ben enjoyed his coffee, pronouncing it "very good".

I must say that I've enjoyed my recent exploration of Peckham's cafes and I can't wait to see what other gems I find in the area.

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Caballo Bicycle (E5 0LP)

32 Chatsworth Rd
London E5 0LP
https://www.facebook.com/CaballoBikes

As the wife of a keen cyclist, I'm regularly being dragged to check out the new trend in cycle cafes that seems to be popping up across London in recent years. 

Cyclists from my experience tend to be obsessed with their weight and being healthy, but are also always up for a good slice of cake and a coffee. 

Having discovered Chatsworth Road in recent weeks when we visited Cooper & Wolf just down the road (the secret is out folks!), we came back for more of the good stuff and headed for Caballo which is a cafe-cum-bike workshop.

 

The workshop (at the back of the store) seems targeted to the hipster fixie types, and the front is taken up with a food counter and seating (which extends outside onto the street). 

There is free wifi and, at the time of our visit, we were treated to a music selection of smooth old skool rave tracks which took us back to our clubbing years in the 1990's and reminded us of how old we are. 

Chatsworth Road is frequented by an eclectic melange of trend setters, and Caballo's clientele fit right into the mix. 

The rustic and unpretentious interior of the cafe compliments the scene perfectly. 

My only suggestion would be for the owners to re-upholster the cushions on the huge leather Chesterfield sofa, as it's in such poor condition (mostly exposed foam) that people probably don't want to sit on it and hence it's a wasted seating opportunity. 

The cake selection on our visit was limited, so I had the only one on offer (carrot). It was good... not outstanding or particularly memorable, but enjoyable just the same. 

The serving of tea was generous, and Ben declared the coffee as "excellent". 

Just before we were about to leave, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour ensued, rendering us unable to leave until it subsided. This imprisonment was not such a bad thing, as it allowed Ben to partake of another coffee. 

And of course we're going to come back to Chatsworth Road in future, since there are numerous cafe options available (and a revisit to Caballo would be most welcome too).

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The Honey Pot (TN14 7TD)

4 High Street
Shoreham TN14 7TD

This tiny tea room is nestled in Shoreham, the most adorable little village imaginable, deep in the heart of the Kent countryside. The cafe doubles as a gift shop, and is staffed by the friendliest and most attentive ladies you'll ever meet.

It is utterly charming from the outside, with cheery yellow trim, whitewashed walls and potted flowers on display.
 
It's clearly a popular hotspot, as we had to wait for a table to become available, and customers continued to flock through the door throughout our visit. 

Service is a little slow, but I guess there has to be a balance between a relaxed country cafe pace vs customer throughput. 

The decor inside is a bit twee, but quite sweet in a granny-ish sort of way.

There is a broad selection of cakes available as well as scones for afternoon tea. 

I opted for the carrot cake, but I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed. It was dry and lacked taste. I wasn't a fan and I didn't enjoy it. 

Ben's warm apple pie was a hit however.

I didn't even have to ask Ben for his opinion on the coffee... I could tell it was awful by the look on his face. Actually, I could tell by its colour that it was going to be horrid… and I don’t even drink the stuff.

To be honest, I wasn't surprised, and I thought it was a pretty rookie mistake to have ordered it in the first place. He should have stuck with tea, as this was perfectly fine and came in a generously proportioned pot.

While we might be driving past again in the future on one of our country outings, I don't think we'll be stopping here again.

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Cooper & Wolf (E5 0LA)

145 Chatsworth Road
Clapton E5 0LA
http://www.cooperandwolf.co.uk/

There's a certain thrill in discovering something new, so I was particularly excited to stumble upon the heretofore unknown (to me) Chatsworth Road. 

It's a bit like Stoke Newington Church Street before it became Stoke Newington Church Street. It has all the advantages of an up and coming area that is still on the up. 

Chatsworth Road is filled with an eclectic mix of shops (serving the old guard as well as the new breed), loads of cafes, and also features a street market on Saturdays. Best of all, parking is free!

Cooper & Wolf is down the far end of Chatsworth Road, away from the main strip of shops. 

It's worth the walk. 

I was captivated immediately... it had me at "Hello". It sits on a corner, facing a leafy park and has outdoor seating. There is cool graffiti on the neighbouring wall outside. 

The inside is even better! Lots of artwork, an old piano covered in pot plants, a book exchange shelf, quirky knick-knacks on display, seating along the front window overlooking the park, lots of seating inside (slightly crammed in, but it all adds to the atmosphere) and free wi-fi. I mean, you could quite happily live here.
 
 

The first time we visited I was rather disconcerted to be greeted cheerily by a friendly waitress, but I've come to accept that the staff are happy people. I tend not to like overly happy people, but I made an exception on this occasion.
 
 

There is a decent cake selection; I think they buy from the same people who supply Candela. After all, a pear-banana-chocolate cake is a rare combination and too much of a coincidence!

Loved the cake. Loved the coffee. Hell, I even loved the tea. 

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

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