Café Life London Style

I write in cafes, never at home. I cannot focus at home, am forever getting off my chair to do other things. In a cafe, I have to sit still, or I'll look a bit unhinged.

Lisa Jewell

Two weeks today and I’m off to Italy for a couple of weeks with two of my bestest friends EVER and I can no wait! Realising that I had absolutely NOTHING to wear, no really, I didn’t…… one of my friends and I decided we’d take advantage of the Ted Baker Sale on Thursday to ensure we were Italy ready! No, before you stop right here, this isn’t going to be a fashion post, this is about my other favourite pastime, food!

Having accomplished the Italy mission at Ted Baker with a brief but fruitful diversion into Karen Millen and Marc Jacobs we were feeling justifiably pleased with ourselves and decided it was time to treat ourselves to some tasty morsels!

As we were around the Covent Garden area, I suggested nipping up to Clerkenwell to a place I’d been to a few times before that my friend, another foodie, hadn’t experienced so, we hopped onto the tube and emerged at the Barbican where we walked up to the Modern Pantry in the now very swish Clerkenwell.

The first time I came here I was on my own, that for me is the fabulous thing about Cafes and Café society, nobody points and stares if you’re on your own and you in turn are perfectly at liberty to sit back, relax and watch all life pass in front of your observing eyes!

The menu is fabulous, a truly global effort which, could potentially go horribly wrong and end up as many other “fusion” menus, looking like a hotchpotch of mushy stuff without any real coherent taste. Instead, Anna Hansen’s menu globe trots around the planet like a cross between Phileas Fogg and Prue Leith. At one moment you’re in Tokyo, the next you’re in Marrakech, then onto Istanbul before leisurely strolling around the Southern Mediterranean – pure genius!

It’s no surprise that she worked with fellow New Zealander Peter Gordon, the Godfather of fusion cooking and Chef Proprietor of The Providores and Tapa room on the Marylebone Highstreet – one of my absolute fav restaurants in London. His influence is clear however, it is influence only, Anna is her own chef with several unique, quirky and delicious plates of food! If you’re thinking of going take a peep at their website first, it gives a great introduction to their philosophy on food and where they’re trying to go from a culinary experience, worth a peep because fish and chips this is not! In addition, for real foodies like me the descriptions really get the old digestive juices rumbling your tum!

The description goes onto explain that the word Pantry comes from the Latin, Panis, which I misread initially and had a little chortle. Panis is as you may expect meaning bread. A pantry is also a cupboard or room in a house which stores all the sustenance for survival… and that is exactly what this lively, casual and contemporary café is.

The Modern Pantry is housed in a Grade II listed building overlooking St John’s Square, with a different space on each of the floors. For lunch we were in the ground floor café, but there is a more formal dining room upstairs which has more of an eveningy feel to it. The Ground Floor Café, which also has a small bar with a varied wine and cocktail list, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week. And with an additional 32 seats spilling out into the square, it’s the perfect spot to meet and eat over the Summer months.

And the menu – look up “spoiled for choice” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of the Modern Pantry’s al a carte menu! Luckily, we were there for afternoon tea which is a set menu but honestly I would have agonised over the tea-smoked salmon, avocado & yuzu mayonnaise club sandwich and the Cheddar, caramelised onion & sumac scone, whipped black garlic & umeboshi butter. Then there were the deserts – for me, the Roast banana, hazelnut & tonka bean frangipane tart came out on top however, the Speculoos chocolate mousse, almond & Aleppo chilli praline is a real triumph!

You can have tea with your afternoon tea choosing from the Seasonal Tea Library by Lalani & Co. however, as we were in a celebratory mood we opted for bubbles, sorry wine lovers, I can’t remember what we had, all I know is that it wasn’t Champagne and it wasn’t Prosecco but it was gorgeous!

All the food was magnificent, everyday cooking this is not and at £29.50 WITH the bubbles, you will feel royaly treated.

What’s on this week?