Chocolates are always good bets as presents for Christmas. But there’s so much more than milk, dark and white chocolates. Read on to discover a world of multi-flavoured choccies! There is a place in southeast London – called The Melange Chocolate – that serves nothing but chocolates. Well, technically. But these are not just chocolates. What Isabelle, the lovely lady who runs it, sells is a result of continuous research in mixing flavours with dark, milk and white chocolates. Her award-winning creations bring different effects on the senses. There’s orange and chilli if you’re in a bit of a fiery mood; there’s also coriander and grapefruit should you feel quite adventurous. If you fancy mixing your own flavours, The Melange Chocolate also hosts chocolate making workshops. Check the website for dates and prices. So if you seriously enjoy the by-product of the heavenly cocoa bean then you shouldn’t miss this little but cosy spot south of the river Thames. Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Charl Asuit
The Melange Chocolate | Coffee & tea | 100g of chocolate £ 4.00
184 Bellenden Road | South-East
Tue – Fri 12:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 18:00
Coffee & tea – All our local tips
Our favorite London local coffee shops, coffee houses, tea rooms. This is where our London locals get their cafffeine and their high tea… London insider tips: always up-to-date!
Tip: Download our Oto means ‘noise’ or ‘music’ in Japanese and that is exactly what you get at this amazing, innovative venue. By day it is a mild-mannered café serving a selection of teas, coffees, organic fruit juices, Devon and Breton cider, wines, Japanese snacks, Sake, Plum Wine and Japanese Whisky but then, when the lights go out and the cafe closes for a couple of house for the soundchecks, Oto turns into the home of the experimental musician and easily fulfills its stated aim of ‘providing a home for creative new music that exists outside of the mainstream’. Past performers include Yoko Ono, London Improvisors Orchestra, Joe McPhee, Marshall Allen, Matthew Herbert and, amazingly and thrillingly, The Sun Ra Arkestra who consider Cafe Oto to be their spiritual London home. The Wire magazine hold a monthly series of events here, called ‘The Wire Salon’, which consist of talks, panel discussions, film screenings and DJ sets. Some of the bigger names mean larger fees, but most gigs are around £10 entrance fee, but check the website first as the venue is small and gigs regularly sell out in advance. Cafe Oto forms one point of the Dalston Jazz Triangle. The other two points being filled by the jazz daddy The Vortex and the newcomer Servant Jazz Quarters. These three venues are only about 500 yards apart and between them they cover everything from the folky side of jazz (SJQ), to the more traditional approach (Vortex) and into the avant garde (Oto). Jazz has definitely found a home (or three) in E8. Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Sébastien Cevey / theefer
Cafe Oto | Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Entrance from € 7
18-22 Ashwin Street,E8 3DL | East
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 17:30, Sat – Sun 10:30 – 17:30, gigs from 20:00
Violet has had a stall on Broadway Market for along as I have known it and the stall invariably sells out every week. Luckily, that success has meant that alongside the weekly stall Violet now has a permanent home just around the corner from the market on Wilton Way. Wilton Way is itself an interesting place. The sort of non-high street that usually and unfortunately ends up with as a row of closed shops. Not here though. Wilton Way is now home to a thriving community thanks to The Wilton Way Cafe (go and try the fabulous avocado on sourdough toast with lemon and chilli), the recently opened branch of Borough Wines, Toppers of Hackney, the other side of the pillow and, of course, Violet itself. Violet are famous for their cupcakes – and rightly so, they are delicious – but the new home has meant there is time to sit, relax and watch the world go by as you have a coffee or tea and indulge in a piece of the great flour-less chocolate cake or the sticky treat that is the fresh ginger and molasses cake. But if there isn’t time for that, a friend of mine swears by the Salted Caramel cupcakes In addition to making cakes, Violet herself (Claire Ptak) is a food stylist and food writer and she has recently written and had published ‘The Whoopie Pie Book‘. It can only be onwards and upwards for Violet from now on. Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Tommy / Violet
Violet | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cupcake € 0.90
47 Wilton Way,E8 3ED | East
Tue – Fri 07:30 – 18:00, Sat 09:30 – 18:00, Sun 09:30 – 17:00
Broadway Market on a Saturday is a snap shot of what life in Hackney is all about. A true mix of styles and cultures, young and old, traditional and new. It is a microcosm of what living in a truly global city is all about. Broadway Market is not a large street yet the market on Saturdays see this street crammed with life. The weekly stalls attract the crowds, but the shops, the pubs, the restaurants and cafes all join in. It is what I want a weekly market to be. Lively, but offering something for everyone. Go for the shopping, stay for the people watching! The market is primarily a specialist food market where you can get organic meat, fruit and veg alongside fresh fish, cakes, bread, cheese, sausages, the lot – but you can also get vintage clothes, furniture, hand made brooches, bike repairs/spares or hit the shops instead of the stalls and get art books at Artwords, fabulous coffee at Climpsons, all your sewing needs at Our Patterned Hand or a proper East End pie and mash at the historic Cooke’s. The choice really is that varied. Personally, I always make sure I pick up at least one samosa from the Gujarati Rasoi stall as they are simply the best I have ever tasted. But be aware, if you only get one you will have to go back and get another, and at £1 each why not? Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Andrew Sidford
Broadway Market | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Various)
Broadway Market,E8 4PH | East
Sat 09:00 – 17:00
Fernandez & Wells already have three venues in Soho but this new venture within the magnificent East Wing of Somerset House is easily the best of the lot. Bigger and better (the setting obviously helps) than the other three and with specially commissioned artworks by David Tremlett that vies for attention with the wall of hanging jamon, this is a perfect marriage of style and setting. Great coffee. Sandwiches. Soup. The ubiquitous jamon. Cheese. Wine. Cake. I could easily spend a lot of time and a lot of money here (it isn’t cheap). And despite the obviously stylish interior and setting this is basically simple food. Very good, well-sourced food (like the succulent, plump anchovies) but still quite basic really. There isn’t any fancy cooking going on here, just freshly made food and drink that make this an excellent cafe/bar. Somerset House was always worth a visit before F&W took residence thanks to the art exhibitions, the location next to the Thames, the open air cinema in the summer, the ice rink in the winter, the Rizzoli bookshop and the Courtauld Institute of Art. But now, thanks to Fernandez & Wells, it is even better. Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Andrew Sidford
Fernandez & Wells at Somerset House | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish) | Glass of wine £ 4
Somerset House,WC2R 0RN | Central | +442074209408
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 23:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00
