Le Petit Boulanger

This is a little bakery in the Abbeville Village area of Clapham, in south London. It is a really cute place with a lovely selection of French pastries and bread. We tried all three croissants--plain, almond, and chocolate. The almond was a little bit too sweet for my taste, but the other two were delicious!

The photo on the top right shows their cookies, which look a little large--I tend to not want a giant cookie, I'll eat the whole thing, but a small one would satisfy me just as well--and perhaps a little dry looking--but I like chewy cookies rather than crumbly ones, so again that's just me.

The photo on the bottom left shows their delectable looking bread selection. I'll never get over the fact that in England they barely ever use cases or at least partitions to prevent people from touching or sneezing on the food--I think it's a little yucky, but I'm also a bit germophobic. Regardless, that's not really Le Petit Boulanger's problem and it does look lovely and works with the French countryside look of the very small cafe.

The best part is not the food or the decor, but the people. I happened to meet the chef/owner just after Le Petit Boulanger opened a few years ago. He was very nice, helpful (I was visiting and looking for cream of tartar or a substitute for it), and actually guided me to apply to the FCI--I have to that him for that. When I went back recently he wasn't there, but the staff was polite and professional. Overall a really nice experience--perhaps I should go more than once every 3 years.

Alice's Tea Cup

Pumpkin scones in their front case, waiting for me to take
 them home! You see the shine on them? That's the
caramel sauce they put on them. Yum!

Alice's Tea Cup is the home of Jean's-not-yet-but-soon-to-be-famous Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake, which is superb.  Also, some really amazing, non-traditional scones.  If you ever make it there I highly recommend having a pumpkin scone and herbal chai tea; although I've never not liked one of their scones (the salted caramel and chocolate chip scone is very nice) and all their teas are amazing (if you are a black tea fan, I recommend the Margaret's Hope Darjeeling, which is spectacular darjeeling that is pretty difficult to find).  Their other food is good too.  Their BLT on pumpernickel with blue cheese is excellent, as is their tea-infused granola with plain yogurt, which they serve for breakfast and brunch.

The restaurant started out on the Upper West Side and was run by two sisters. Their mother, Jean, made the coffee cake. Once they became busy and successful, Jean handed over the cake making duties to the kitchen staff and the sisters stepped back a little. After that the service and quality slipped a bit, but it was still very good. Now, they've franchised the restaurant and since that expansion the service has gone down hill and the food isn't quite as good.  For example, they are very stingy with the icing on the coffee cake and the staff doesn't recognize regulars as reliably. They are still nice and efficient, just not nearly as good as they used to be. In addition, they are very irritating about not seating incomplete parties (it drives me nuts when the restaurant is half empty and they won't give me a table while I'm waiting for a friend to meet me.)  That said, they are almost always busy because the food is good, there are pages and pages of teas offered, and the atmosphere is so much fun!