Afternoon Tease, Cambridge, UK

Just a quick post for now, alerting folk to the opening of a new cafe in Cambridge. It still doesn't seem like that long ago that I was enjoying Jo Kruczynska's food as one half of the Plate Lickers supperclub team. And now she has her own cafe!

Located on King's Street in the centre of Cambridge, I popped into the eponymous Afternoon Tease when it had only been open for a week or so. However, everything was already working like a well-honed machine, and I was soon ensconced by a table with a cup of tea and a chocolate brownie. The cafe isn't huge inside, but makes the most of the available space, and most importantly (on the basis of my first visit) serves excellent hot drinks and cakes. I am full of admiration for Ms Afternoon Tease herself, for getting this project off the ground so quickly, and hope to be back for another visit soon.

Afternoon Tease
13 King Street
Cambridge CB1 1LH

Caravan, King's Cross, London, UK

So I took a bit of a break from work last week, and had a day in London to meet up with an old pal. We decided to try out the new branch of Caravan that has recently opened behind King's Cross station, in an area that is undergoing loads of re-development. Caravan is based in a row of old grain warehouses and maintains an air of industrial comfort. It was pretty busy when we arrived (without a booking), but a after a bit of intense computer activity from the friendly front of house person a table for two appeared.


I guess the food at Caravan is a sort of sophisticated cafe-style. It's all very informal, with a few ingredients, but put together well. We shared a couple of small plates and a pizza between us, which was perfect for lunch for two pretty hungry people. A salad of quinoa, feta cheese, butternut squash and broccoli, was something I could easily have put together at home but was fresh and tasty nevertheless.

Grilled kefalotyri cheese, (with pickled mushrooms, and skordalia), was not something I've eaten before. The cheese was quite rich, but with much more flavour than halloumi, and the mushrooms were an excellent addition to balance everything out.

Our pizza with white anchovies, olives and mascarpone was also pretty excellent, with a light and non-stodgy base.

Errr?????

Things took a bit of a slide when our puddings appeared though. As my friend pointed out a big brown smear is never a good look on a plate, even though her chocolate cheesecake was acceptable. My orange semolina cake was pretty tasteless though, with a dry, mealy texture, and I found the saffron ice cream it came with overpoweringly floral. The whole thing also came with a load of bright pink fluff, that looked like a hipster's hair extension had fallen onto my plate. I did taste a bit of it and it was vaguely rose flavoured, which didn't really help with the already excessive floral-ness.

Anyway, odd deserts aside, I still really liked Caravan. It had a nice, relaxed atmosphere, service was friendly (though catching someone's eye was sometimes a little problematic), and most of the food was pretty good. It is also incredibly handy to have somewhere nice to go and eat near King's Cross, as that's the London station I use most. Lunch for the two of us was around £40 (with no alcoholic drinks), so is also very reasonable cost-wise. So I would happily go back to Caravan, but perhaps while maintaining a healthy scepticism with regard to their puddings.

Caravan
Granary Building
1 Granary Square
London N1C 4AA

Gog Magog Hills Cafe, Cambridge, UK

Things seem to have gone a little quiet on the blogging front here. To be honest, the unexpectedly hot weather over the summer means that I've mainly been sticking to dinners that require minimal cooking, tending to avoid the kitchen unless essential, and eating ice cream at every opportunity.

But the nice weather has also resulted in a couple of visits to the rather lovely Gogmag Hills cafe a.k.a. the Canteen, and I realised that I have not written about it here before.The site consists of a butchers, farm shop, and excellent dedicated cheese shop, as well as the cafe. And with excellent timing, there is also an extended outside seating area too. So it feels a bit like being out in the country, despite only being five minutes from the Addenbrooke's mega-biomedical campus. The cafe does a range of savoury stuff for lunch, including some fab looking scotch eggs and sausage rolls for meat-eaters, and loads of cakes, scones and traybakes.

On my recent visits I sampled a fantastic lemon victoria sponge cake that was light, moist, and lemony without being lip-puckeringly so. And a cheese scone with butter made for an excellent lunch. Service at the cafe is always cheery, even when they are busy, and as a notorious tray-wobbler I really value the fact that they bring your order to your table (even if you're sat quite far away outside). As an extra bonus, there is at least one very friendly, non-barky farm dog who politely brings you a ball to throw for her.

To be honest, there's very little not to like about this place and you could easily spend a couple of hours sitting outside admiring the view (and eating cake). I plan to return again while the sun lasts, and probably even if it doesn't.


Gog Magog Hills Farm Shop and Cafe
Heath Farm, Shelford Bottom
Cambridge CB22 3AD

Arts Picturehouse Bar, Cambridge, UK

This is a quick post on one of the places in Cambridge that I probably take for granted. I do like a trip to the cinema, and really appreciate having somewhere like the Arts Picturehouse that shows independent and foreign language films. And somewhere to have a nice coffee and maybe a snack too, is a bonus. Unfortunately a lot of people share this view of the Arts Picturehouse Bar, as bagging a table or a sofa in the evenings, or other peak film viewing times, can be challenging.

But if you time it right you can lounge around in some classic art deco surroundings and peer down from above on hoards of unknowing Cambridge shoppers. There are usually a couple of different types of cake available on the bar, and on my last visit I had a very nice slice of a chocolate and pistachio one. They also serve plenty of savoury stuff, although the crepes that used to be a mainstay of their menu sadly seem to have vanished.

My milky latte arrived with a bit of art on top, but if you are in need of something stronger then the bar is fully licensed (and you can take your drinks into the cinema too). And so in conclusion, the Arts Picturehouse Bar has squishy sofas, hot drinks, cake, and free WiFi - I heartily recommend it.

Arts Picturehouse Bar
38-39 St Andrew's Street
Cambridge CB2 3AR

Stickybeaks Cafe, Cambridge, UK

Just a quick post on a new independent cafe that has appeared in the chain-opoly that is central Cambridge. Stickybeaks Cafe is tucked away on Hobson Street and offers a daily changing lunch menu, along with a range of cakes and drinks. I popped in for a late lunch yesterday with the male companion person and had a very nice (and at £4, reasonably priced) frittata with crab and artichoke, while he had a selection of salads.

It seemed rude not to sample some cakes too, so along with a genuinely chocolate-y hot chocolate I had a lamington which was light and not too sweet either.

I liked Stickybeaks. It wasn't doing anything amazing but it had a bright, homely interior and provides an alternative to the numerous Costas, Neros and Starbucks that populate the town centre.

I suspect it's going to be popular though and they could really do with trying to increase their seating, as once the word is out nabbing a table may become rather tricky.

Stickybeaks Cafe
Hobson Street
Cambridge CB1 1NL