Franze & Evans (E2 7DL)

101 Redchurch St, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, E2 7DL

http://www.franzeevans.com/

Located in the heart of East London action, Franze & Evans has an up-market feel and is very busy all the time. We were fortunate to get a table outside, probably because it was raining and no one else was prepared to brave the elements. Their loss.

This is a terrible picture and really doesn't do the cake justice. Oh well, I guess I'll have to go back and have more cake so I can take a better photo. 

There was a delectable selection of cakes on offer, and I chose the delicious lemon courgette cake. 

I'm a fussy eater and I will only eat courgette (or most vegetables if truth be told) when it is combined with sugar and icing, so this cake was perfect for me. 

Also, I'm pretty sure it counted towards the recommended five-a-day servings of fruit and veg.

I will definitely go back for more next time I need a veggie hit, maybe on another rainy day.  

CakeMyDayLondon Rating

The Hackney Pearl (E9 5LX)

11 Prince Edward Rd, Hackney Wick, London E9 5LX

http://www.thehackneypearl.com/

The brownies. The brownies. The brownies.

I almost finished writing this review after I wrote the above, but felt that a little more substance was needed. Plus, I reasoned that a few more paragraphs would allow me the opportunity to mention the brownies again.

I love this place, not least because it’s one of the few cafes in the area that has plenty of free car parking available on Saturdays. 

There is little pretense at the Hackney Pearl. The tables and chairs remind me of my school days in the 70s and 80s (probably because they are). It’s rustic, it’s shabby. But really, it’s so cool. I feel cooler every time I come here, just mingling with the young urban crowd.

This picture, oddly enough, is devoid of brownies. But hopefully you can use your imagination to visualise what a brownie looks like. 

The staff can sometimes be a little on the vague side (pretty things but a bit vacant), the music can be a bit hit and miss. The cakes are not so cakey but more slicey (think banana slice, carrot cake slice), but honestly, all I care about is whether or not the brownies are available. 

The brownies are divine. These are not your run-of-the-mill street market crumbly sort, but are instead made of rich and smooth melt-in-your-mouth (and in your hand) chocolate ganache. 

After munching my way through one of these babies I make sure to limit my sugar consumption for the remainder of the day. 

I’ve never been tempted to have two brownies on the trot, for fear of falling into a diabetic coma.

So do yourself a favour. Go to the Pearl. Have a brownie. You’re worth it. 

CakeMyDayLondon Rating

seeking and finding: how my quest began

The café scene was a staple of my weekends in Australia, both as a social outlet, but also as a way to chill out and relax after the long working week. But after I moved to London in 2007 I found myself in an unfamiliar city with a different lifestyle approach that centred around either drinking in pubs all day (not my cup of tea, pun intended), or going to generic coffee chains serving flavourless cardboard food and dirty dishwater-esque beverages, à la Starbucks. Urgh.

Thus, my café experiences were limited to trips abroad. I sat in the sunshine at outdoor cafés in historic squares in cities and towns all over Europe, lamenting the lack of such places in London. I lounged around drinking mint tea in northern Africa (and even enjoyed the mint tea served to me with warm milk in Tunisia… something evidently got lost in translation there). I even discovered (miraculously) quirky bespoke, chainless café offerings in the US.

But the London café scene was closed to me, only punctuated by my husband’s occasional experiments in imbibing terrible coffee out of desperation in the capital (unless he was in proximity of the renowned Monmouth or Flat White).

Then slowly, the Capital opened itself up to me. I don’t know what changed… were there good cafés present all along and was I just not attuned to them? Or did a café revolution take place? Perhaps a combination of both.

I think the financial crisis and UK recession contributed in part to the growth of the London café scene. With people working longer hours for less money in an unstable job market, many sought out an alternative lifestyle and revenue source; small-footprint hospitality is always a popular choice for a first time business with reasonably low start-up costs, often funded by severance pay-outs. Customers too had less disposable income to spend on expensive dinners, but still desired the social aspects of “going out”; downsizing expenditure by going to cafés is a cheaper, yet often just as emotionally satisfying, option than fine dining.

And maybe Londonites finally “got it” when it comes to coffee. Burnt milk and dirty grinds just don’t cut it. If you’re going to spend your hard earned money on something it had better be good.

Thus I commenced my voyage of discovery of London’s cafes, buoyed by the prospect of a delicious slice of cake at the end of the journey. I live around the eastern side of London, so most of my visits are concentrated around my local areas. I like the grittiness and rawness of the East End, the lack of pretense, people's willingness to experiment with new ideas. These are the places and the people who make the city a vibrant place to live and work.

So please leave the likes of Starbucks to those who don’t care about taste or quality, and support small local business who pay their taxes in this country and really need your patronage.