Food- Outsider Tart (London calling)

Outsider Tart

83 Chiswick High road

London

A Melbourne girl, in an American café... in London. Hmmm.

It’s funny how you jet abroad in search of some traditional English tea and scones and the first café that I end up in may as well place me in NYC. Nether less, in the search of good coffee…. and boy was I craving one; I was led to Outsider Tart.

Word on the street is that a good coffee in London is hard to find. (Melbourne, this is why I love you so very much.)

Surely though, with a little wandering I would stumble upon something hidden and treasured… There has to be someone in this city as obsessed with caffeine as myself.

Outsider Tart is uber trendy- walking down the street I could immediately identify it as part of the café society; wicked name, cool shop fit, kooky workers.

David Lesniak and David Muniz, both business and life partners, made the move to London as ‘outsiders’ with the aim to create amazing cupcakes, pies and treats for the London individual. For these guys, the only thing more camp than their personalities is the décor and food offerings.

The ceiling is lined with hundreds of silver cake tins- illuminated by huge red steel arrow shaped light installations. There are 4-foot gingerbread-esque men made from bottle caps proudly standing in the shop corner. The main counter, a laminex, retro striped rectangle- is smack bang in the centre of this tiny shop displaying cake after cupcake after pie after tart after pastry. Nom nom.

This place is a little food store too, offering every delicacy you could imagine from marshmallow spread to Skippy peanut butter, to chilli sauce and ranch dressing. Pretty much everything you thought only your Barbie dolls had in their toy supermarkets.

Food here is outrageous, from muffins to cookies, to slices and sausage rolls. Everything is decorated to the max; sugar overload- this is not the place to go if you are on a diet. Run away.

If you are not on a diet- get excited. Make sue you share the cake though; it’s a feat in itself. I had an orange blossom cheesecake with a dark chocolate cookie base. The cake was soft and delicate and with the subtle hints of orange it was like sweet clouds floating around in my mouth all day long.

All the finer details were much appreciated- everything is served in cute little paper cups and brown paper boxes.

Caffeine fix- I ordered a flat white which turned out more like a latte, They had definitely over heated the milk and the taste was so American they may has well have poured it straight from a percolator. Oh well. Props for trying- it was still better than Starbucks.

This place is about the interior, the food, the people and the vibe. My favourite London word- ‘wicked’.

So good coffee in London? It’s still hard to find, but ill keep you updated.

Date rate: Yes yes. Plenty of weird items to banter about.

Coffee cure: I wake up. I need coffee. It will do.

Hangover Happy: You could trade your drunken sick feeling for a ‘too many sweets’ sick feeling.

Price: if you pretend the pound is the same as the AUD- amazing.

Food- Fandangos

Fandangos-

97 Errol Street. North Melbourne.

Again drawn to the north.

Fandangos is deceiving, in size and in appearance, but not in quality.

This place is ‘cool’ and anyone who knows me would expect a certain profanity within that sentence. I’m choosing to refrain and keeping this simple.

Recommended by a very trendy friend I made my way to this tiny little shop as soon as I could, located two doors down from the equally pleasing Auction Rooms.

At first I was sceptical. Auction Rooms two doors down? How tempting to go back to something I knew was right, something safe.

Safe is risky my friends. You’re going to hear this a lot from me.

This shop could go unnoticed if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Best sign- the green, white and orange streamers flowing down from the front door like a waterfall at its peak, constantly moving with the influx of customers.

Upon entering this café, you might as well be walking into your grandma’s house circa 1959. Heavy floral curtains draping across the front window compliment the rustic terracotta and deep brown tiles of the exterior. The chairs outside are possibly the only clue that this is a place of business- the business that is eating.

Gran’s house continues within, with 60’s style tables and chairs, bookshelves containing random ornaments and lots of cute Tupperware. I’m using the literal definition of cute here. (Ugly but interesting.)

My first thoughts upon entering this place- Seriously, only four tables? How are these guys making any money? But no, my eyes are deceived as I'm quickly greeted by the friendly staff and led through the kitchen, passed the smiling chefs and into a very small, but very quaint brick courtyard.

Again this area only seats a few people, but the staff are very welcoming and promising to squeeze you in, which always makes you feel good. A low brick wall encloses each of the tables that are surrounded by herb pots. It’s your own little oasis.

Organic coffee at Fandangos is super tasty. Creamy with acidic flavours and bitter end notes. Just the way I like it.

What I want to rave about- Food food food. I must come back to make my way through all the menu choices, and in turn, through my bathroom scales.

Poached eggs on toasted pide’ with cooked spinach, topped with a beetroot and fetta mash. You can taste the colour of this dish. Vibrant. Fresh. Bursting with goodness.

Pancakes with honeyed cream cheese, strawberries and banana. Honey. I’m hooked. I did not want to share this with anyone.

French toast with bacon, apple puree and maple syrup. Oh my goodness. Sweet + savoury- its true what they say, opposites attract.

These guys know what they are doing. Serving sizes- ample. Flavours- a plethora to choose from. Service- as attentive as you’re mum when you’re sick!

Date rate: I rate… this date.
Coffee cure: top notch
Hangover happy: sober.drunk.munchies.sick.happy.
Price: Pancakes at ten a pop- no wonder this place draws crowds.