Candy Cafe and Patisserie

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Last week, I had a meeting scheduled in North Acton. I had never been in this part of London before, and I must say, it was certainly not an eye candy. The tube station, almost at one end of the Central Line, leads you out in front of a Tesco and Sainsbury's. My work however, took me to about a 10 minute walk from the tube station and into an area surrounded by warehouses and offices.



It was a cold foggy day that reminded me of scenes from X-Files, and having forgotten my lights at home, I was craving for a hot cup of coffee before I went in for my meeting. I was a quite early and had time on my hand, so I walked a little out to the crossway and looked around. The first glimpse my eyes caught was of a food truck parked right on the corner of the street. A couple of people were buying stuff, but I wasn't in the mood to have something out in the cold. So I walked ahead a little more and found this cafe - . From outside, it didn't look too promising, though there was a set of garden chairs laying out in the open, they didn't seem inviting on the day.

I walked in and looked around - it was small but clean and amply decorated. From the looks of it, it looked like a perfect place to grab a bite when the clocks would give way to employees for the lunch hour. The place could fit in around 14 people at a time, if there ever was going to be such a crowd. I presume people would mostly bring in their own lunches if they were working in such an area, for one, there weren't many cafes around!

The see through glass showcases had a few cakes and it made me take notice of a sign above which mentioned that the place also catered at weddings. "Well if they were catering weddings, it ought to be good," I remember having those thoughts precisely as I walked in a little queue behind two other people. I looked at the display cabinet and ordered a chicken and potato sandwich wrap, as the potatoes seemed piping hot. The place also has a meal deal, which lets you choose between a sandwich, a drink and a pack of crisps for £5. So, I took advantage of the offer and went ahead with a White Americano and picked up my pack of crisps.



The coffee was served first and about 7 minutes later the sandwich, as I waited in my seat, slightly away from the door. It was a little discomforting having the cold air flowing in from behind on my back, especially when I had my coat off, and even though I had made sure to stand up and close the door, once the Manager came by and opened it for no apparent reason - perhaps people might mistake the cafe to be closed on such a day!

The sandwich was a delight, warm and fresh, as was the salad on the side. The coffee however was a bit surprising. I was expecting more of a traditional White Americano, however, there was froth on top. It was good. Tasted fresh and sharp. From my experience working as a Barista, I would speculate it was not Lavazza beans in the grinder.

Twenty minutes later, I was paying for the meal and on my way out. It was a good meal, however, I wasn't stuffed and I was tempted to go for one of the pastries in the display case, if only I had enough time before my meeting!

On a whole, I would recommend it to anyone in the area who wants to have a decent bite and a coffee. The owners certainly need to stock on magazines in English, in addition to the glamorous looking Arabic ones, which I browsed through (looking at pictures) fairly quickly, waiting for my sandwich.

**Decor: 6/10
Comfort: 7/10
Food: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Overall: 7/10**

#afternoon_tea
#cafes
#coffee
#lunch
#patisserie
#white_city
%wnlondon