Tag Archives: Barnes

english, Ordinary, Scones

Gail’s Artisan Bakery

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If you have ambitions to live in London we would heartily recommend Barnes village on the banks of the Thames. We are visiting family here. With its delis, bookshops, small boutiques and fine restaurants it doesn’t feel as if it’s only a couple of miles away from the Houses of Parliament. It just has that pretty little village vibe. Of course, that’s until you look in the estate agent’s window and realise that unless you’re willing to part with a couple of million pounds you’re not going to get much by way of a house. Gail’s Artisan Bakery is a typical up market café for the area.

Working from home?

Incredibly, the last time we reviewed Gail’s was more than nine years ago. It hasn’t changed that much but we felt it had a slightly different less welcoming feel about it this time. Baking at Gail's in BarnesStill the same range of delicious looking breads and other bakery and still the same assortment of baby buggies cluttering up the place. Of course, there were also lots of people “working from home“. It must be frustrating for cafés like this to have all these laptop folk sitting for hours with a single cup of coffee.Internal view of Gail's in Barnes

Not that we were much better. It wasn’t long after breakfast so two americanos and a fruit scone to share was the order.A scone at Gail's in Barnes When it arrived at our table we were slightly perplexed to find that the scone was on its own. No butter, no jam and no cream. Did they expect us to eat the scone ‘neat’? Pat had to go and ask and came back with nice little pots of butter and jam … no cream. Maybe with this being an ‘artisan’ bakery our hopes were unreasonably high but suffice to say our scone certainly did not live up to expectations. It was decidedly average and neither of us even finished our halves. Scones at Gail's in Barnes

It wasn’t until we were leaving we noticed that they had other offerings. Sour Cherry & Chocolate as well as Maple & Pecan scones. We should have tried them!

Reward notice for stealing a lambThis is a Range Rover/Porsche kind of area where lots of celebrities live. We came across this notice which seems to indicate that it may always have been relatively affluent. Quite a generous reward for this sort of misdemeanour. Not sure what would have happened to the felon if caught. Probably hanging or even worse … transportation to Australia. That last bit is just for our Australian readers.

A tiny ray of hope

One of our Israeli readers has informed us that people are leaving the country rather than stay and watch the stupidity of the atrocities being carried out in their name. Presumably they’ve worked out how utterly pointless it all is.

Talking of felonious actions, at home we have the Conservatives outraged at members of the new government receiving gifts of clothing. Pot, kettle, black comes to mind! On the other side of the pond Trump has gone ever more extreme with his accusations. It’s a mad old world.

SW13 9HH            Tel: 020 8741 0987          Gail’s

///honest,quiet.oasis

english, Scones, Uncategorized

Café 66

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We are joining the swallows and migrating south. Not because we are fed up with Brexit (although you can’t get any more fed up than us) but to visit my sister in Nice. Before that, however, we have a stop over in the Big Smoke! As we have often found before, finding a scone in London can be surprisingly  difficult. There are endless cafés of European, Asian or even US origin but traditional English tea rooms can be few and far between.

On this occasion it led us to ask the question …. when is a scone not a scone? The answer can be found here in Café 66 in London’s SW13. It is a relatively new kid on the block and certainly wasn’t here the last time we were in town. Of course, it had to be investigated. It is what we would call ‘bijou’ … small but perfectly formed. It is operated by a delightful mother and daughter team from Poland. They could not have made us more welcome.

Internal view of Café 66 in BarnesA spot of lunch was called for, however, as you all know by now, we like to finish things off with a scone. “Do you have scones?” we asked.  “What are you saying?” It wasn’t the Scottish accent it was simply that the young girl didn’t know. “Scones. they are like a little cakes that you eat with jam and cream.” we persevered. “Eh?” Thankfully at this point mum came to the rescue “Oh, I know what scones are – in this country you have them in the afternoon with tea.” “Yes”, we exclaimed. No, we don’t have any scones“.

Energy balls

With our hopes dashed on the jagged rocks of false expectation, we looked around and had to admit that there were lots of other delicious looking alternatives. In the absence of scones, however, we decided to go for one of their ‘Energy Balls’. They are small balls of nuts and fruit bound together with syrup and honey. Perhaps it was because they reminded us of the Lithuanian scoAn energy ball at Café 66 in Barnesnes our Trossachs correspondents had sent from Vilnius back in 2016. They were really nice – lovely texture and sweet but not cloyingly so.  We did feel like we had had an energy boost. So the answer to the question is that a scone is not a scone when it’s a Polish energy ball. No, we wouldn’t have got it right either.

As we were leaving we asked mum and daughter how they felt about only having about a week left before having to return to Poland. Their puzzled look quickly dissolved into laughter when they realised what we meant. However, it was quickly followed by looks of alarm and panic. “We are going to have to eat all this food very quickly” they joked, pointing at the display cases. Perhaps not, though.

Embarrasing

The first Saturday sitting of Westminster since the Falklands War, resulted in another defeat for Boris at the hands of his own colleagues. He followed it up with an unsigned letter to the EU asking for an extension. When politics is reduced to this school boy prank level it is embarrassing. Especially when you are in the presence of two ladies who are working incredibly hard to better themselves and better the country they now live in.

The true irony is that the UK’s future may eventually be decided by the DUP. A handful of self serving politicians from N. Ireland who don’t even represent the views of the people of N Ireland. It just gets weirder and weirder. Another energy ball please!

As we left Café 66, mum produced a Mary Berry cookbook, so who knows … next time there may be scones? Now we must continue our migration south.

SW13 0PZ       tel: 020 8241 1590       Cafe66

///dash.belt.puns

Scones, Top

Bill’s at Hammersmith

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This place is bound to be good .. isn’t it! We had passed it many times  getting off the tube at Hammersmith Underground but, in spite of the name, had never ventured inside. It was always the wrong time of day. However, on this occasion, it was bang on scone-o’clock.

He played this all day .. unfortunately only one tune
He played this all day .. unfortunately only one tune

 

Hammersmith is a bustling commercial centre sandwiched between Putney and Chiswick. It is home to a large Polish community but also hosts a myriad of other nationalities .. a great place for people watching. Bill’s is located directly opposite the Lyric Theatre and just round the corner from the Hammersmith Apollo.

Apparently it all started many years ago when Bill Collison opened a tiny greengrocery in Lewes, Sussex selling his own homegrown fruit and veg. Bills 04He eventually converted it into a café. The rest, as they say, is history … cafés and restaurants all over the country, even in Glasgow. Their mission statement is ‘to serve really good food, to make sure every customer has a good time, and go that bit further to make sure Bill’s is always somewhere people want to come back to’. Well, we would see, wouldn’t we!Bills 06

The young lady who looked after us was wonderful and although English was obviously not her first language she soon had us all sorted with our order. She sat us outside basking in the April sunshine, people watching … good start! The scones come as a brace with lots of clotted cream and a selection of Bill’s own jams .. in full sized jam jars! I had the damson and Pat had strawberry but there was marmalade on offer too. At a tad under £5 we thought this was good value. They were excellent, light and fluffy with a slightly crunchy exterior, a very easy topscone award. What with their shop (online as well) full of delightful own brand goodies,

Bill’s was a bit of a revelation, and it probably provides a model template for all such places. Hence it’s success. They certainly seem to understand perfectly what they are doing. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and definitely want to go back. Mission accomplished.Bills 05

Dangerous doctors

If only the same level of understanding could be applied to Jeremy Hunt. Does he  understand anything except dogma? Or is it simply the level of understanding you would expect from a cousin of both the Queen and Oswald Mosely? The government is now so far to the right that it now views junior doctors as dangerous radicals. Thank goodness for an oasis of sanity like Bill’s. With a name like that, of course, what else would you expect?

W8 7AP          tel: 020 87411898         Bill’s Restaurant

english, Homemade, Top

Dan’s scones

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What a busy day! The Grand National and the Oxford and Cambridge boat race all happening. However, before all of that  we were invited to a fabulous afternoon tea at First Avenue. It’s in Barnes, south west London  where some of our family live. It has a very village -like feel which is extraordinary considering it is pretty near the centre of the city. It was all courtesy of our daughters and their friends. This is Dan’s scones.

Honourable sconey

We thought there would only be a few cupcakes, Carolyn’s speciality. No, there was tons of Fiona’s fab sandwich

Afternoon tea with scones and cakes

es as well as scrummy tarts and biscuits from Kirsty. Everything was delicious.  However, as self-confessed sconeys (scone enthusiasts) special mention must go to Danielle’s scones. Not only were they as good as anything we have tasted elsewhere but they were heart shaped .. lovely touch. All present have duly been awarded ‘honourable sconey’ status. Okay it’s not exactly the New Year’s Honours list … it’s much more prestigious than that!

Grand National

The annual boat race between Oxford and Cambridge passes on the river Thames just behind First Avenue. Oxford won this time. Simultaneously the Grand National steeplechase was being run at Aintree. It was won by Many Clouds,  This was Aspell’s second consecutive Grand National victory, having won aboard Pineau de Re in 2014. Our daughter, Fiona, won  our National sweepstake.

english, Top

Orange Pekoe

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Another day, another Barnes hot spot. Also the day after a supposedly sensible politician managed to bore a child half to death by reading her a story. Why do politicians insist on photo opportunities with kids? Can’t think of any where they

Part of the tea selection at Orange Pekoe, Barnes, London
Part of the tea selection

have not looked completely outside their comfort zone. So why do it ? Anyway, like that poor child you are probably fed up to the back teeth with election stuff already.  And there’s still a month to go. On to better and more important things. Tea is Orange Pekoe’s ‘thing’.

It derives its name from the very finest grade of broadleaf tea. It has won the Tea Guild ‘Award of Excellence’ seven yearsExternal view at Orange Pekoe, Barnes, London in a row so it seems to be quite good at the whole tea thing. Like Gail’s, which is not far away, it is busy all the time and also has seats outside. However Pekoe is more set up as a tearoom and is renowned for its afternoon teas.

 

Light and fluffy

Lovely day so we took a seat outside and then were attended to by the very welcoming and friendly staff. If we had had more time it would have been great to sample the afternoon tea but we didn’t so we just settled for some scones. They came accompanied by small dishes of jam and clotted cream and  were beautifully warm, light and fluffy … utterly delicious. Only criticism, and it is a tiny one, was that they were maybe a tad on the small side, they certainly give you enough jam and cream for something much bigger. A scone at Orange Pekoe, Barnes, LondonAccompanied by all the other stuff of an afternoon tea the size was ideal but on its own just a wee bit small.

Also, Barnes is probably not the place to come for a cheap scone. Seen more Aston Martins and Porsche Cayennes than you could shake a stick at. So a little on the expensive side. However, having said that, we thoroughly enjoyed everything we had. Would definitely recommend if you find yourself here for the boat race. Though your chances of getting in on Saturday are probably non-existent.

Had to explain ‘scone’ to a foreign lady and found it quite difficult. There’s really not much with which to compare it.

SW13 0PX           tel: 020 88766070           Pekoe

english, Ordinary, Scones

Gail’s Artisan Bakery

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This is the BBC (baby buggy central) otherwise known as Gail’s Artisan Bakery. Barnes is a very nice spot on the bulge in the Thames where the boat race will be contested in a few days time. Only an ‘artisan’ bakery would do .. otherwise the natives would revolt.

As you might expect then, Gail’s is a very nice coffee shop which seems to be busy no matter when you go. Lots of yummy mummy’s and people ‘at the office’. Once saw a couple juggling two laptops, two iPads and four mobile phones, ah the joys! One reason it seems so busy is that it’s small. Although it has overspill seating outside it sometimes seems as if the whole of Barnes is trying to squeeze in here, and no wonder. Lots of great looking home baked breads, cakes, pastries, biscuits .. and scones. You order at the counter and pick up a paddle so that they can find you at your table. Hats off to the staff, they work like trojans, picking their way through the conglomeration of people, bags and buggies.

Being fussy

We had never tried the scones in here before so it had to be done. After a short wait it duly arrived and the reason for the wait became obvious, they had been toasting them. A little too mA scone at Gails Artisan Bakery in Barnes, Londonuch as it happens. They were so hot it was difficult to handle them and as a result the base of the scone had become too hard and the scone itself had become a bit on the dry side. They came with little bowls of cream and strawberry jam which were very nice. Bear in mind that we are comparing with the likes of Fonab Castle here so are being deliberately fussy. Overall we enjoyed Gail’s scones and are sure that the fact that ours were a little over toasted is not the norm. This place is definitely worth a visit.

SW13 9HH                 tel: 02087410987                  Gails