London: fav bakery- Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi, a bakery, a food shop, a restaurant  (cafe-deli-restaurant) was quoted by Yotam, himself as “a playground for people who love food” in an interview in delicious magazine here.  The plentiful salads, beautiful pastries and cakes are simple, yet the product of a wild variety of ingredients.  While in London, I visited two of his shops (in Kensington and Notting Hill) and was blown away by the experience.  It takes “food porn” to another level.  Meticulously merchandised, you walk into and of Ottolenghi’s small storefronts and want to taste everything.  Israel born Yotam Ottolenghi set up Ottolenghi with his business partner Sami Tamimi back in 2002 after training at Le Cordon Bleu and working at Capital Restaurant, Kensington Place, Launceston Place and Baker and Spice.  Yotam is also a food writer and has authored several cookbooks including his newest one, Plenty, which I wanted to buy on site but couldn’t put the 10lb book (may be an exaggeration but it was a HEAVY cookbook!) in my suitcase without having to pay extra.

I only have a few shots but hopefully you’ll get a glimpse at this wonderful place.  You can also check out their blog here or read an interview in the Evening Standard here.

Bread Pudding

 

Front display window

London: fav breakfast- My Old Dutch Pancake House

While walking around Kensington one afternoon, we passed by a small restaurant called My Old Dutch Pancake House.  We looked the place up to see if they had any other locations, and to our luck they had a spot in Chelsea, where we would be the following day.  After our mini “trek” from the tube station, we arrived at My Old Dutch Pancake House and soon found out there was nothing “small” about this restaurant. 

If you haven’ had a Dutch pancake before they are huge.  They are the size of a small pizza and are a cross between a pancake and a crepe.  At My Old Dutch you could make your own pancake and choose toppings.  I went with an apple, pear, cinnamon and honey pancake topped with loads of icing sugar.  There were toppings like caramel, nutella and other rich sauces but I couldn’t do it.  I could barely finish the one I got given the size.  If sweet is not your thing, there is also a large selection of savoury pancakes for lunch/dinner.  I have never had a dutch pancake and if I had the chance again, I would go back 100%.

London: fav bakery- Sweet Boulangerie

The next mouth-watering bakery in London that deserves mention is Sweet Boulangerie in the Exmouth Market.  On our morning walk around the Clerkenwell area, we walked through Exmouth market and stopped dead in our tracks when we got to Sweet.  It was packed in there and we were lucky to grab the last seat.  This is a typical french patisserie with macarons, cakes, cookies, tarts, and savoury items like sandwiches, pizza slices with a low key atmosphere, and a delicious aroma of baked goods.

Our macaron sample

chocolate eclair

counter display

Sweet Boulangerie store front

London: Fav Bakery- Konditor & Cook

I just got back from a work/vaca trip to London and on my time off, I had the chance to explore some of London’s best bakeries.

First up is Konditor & Cook, an amazing bakery that I visited in Borough Market.  Started by ‘Konditor’, Munich trained pastry chef, Gerhard Jenne, his Konditor & Cook has grown to six locations around central London.  You find everything savoury and sweet in this bakery from mince pies, and cakes to cinnamon stars and brownies, this spot has it all, and beautifully merchandised as well. 

I was there to grab some breakfast and sampled their muesli, a cinnamon star and a cookie. Delicious!

Inside Konditor & Cook

 

Window display

My favourite mince pies

kitchen italia

Kitchen Italia looks delicious.  They have 100 types of fresh, homemade pasta and check out the design of the place!  The wood is very soothing.  Kitchen Italia is meant to be cheap, plentiful and innovative when it comes to pasta dishes.  Currently there are two outposts in London, one in Westfield and the other in Covent Garden. 

 

via fluid foundation

via a212

via kitchen italia

cool espresso bar design

Tinderbox Espresso Bar in Islington, London first seen on We Heart, a great UK based lifestyle website that reports on everything cool and hip from a culture and design perspective.  They were spot on with Tinderbox.  It looks pretty cool if you ask me.  Look at the interior of this place put together by London-based Jonathan Clark Architecture!  I would love a space like this in Toronto for coffee, for meetings, for work and for fun.  A nice alternative to ubiquitous Starbucks.  The blogger behind Designing Lives said it right about this place that even if I didn’t need coffee, and I never do because I don’t drink the stuff, that Tinderbox Espresso Bar is a  place that is inviting enough that you would want to stop in and grab something.  Enjoy the shots below and your week.

via we heart

 

via we heart

via hipster collective