London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Shops will soon fill with tacky merchandising, showing colourful and bad quality portrait of the couple. A royal wedding, mind you, what an opportunity for tourists souvenirs, so much money to make out of it!

Fair enough – but I prefer more discreet and artistic touch such as Maria Holmer Dahlgren’s, found in one of the independant shops on columbia Road. Isn’t it sweet?

Maria Dahlgren “I Do”
Available at:
Keeping House
144 Columbia Rd
London E2 7RG

Or on line on Cloudberry Living

Columbia Road is our favourite detour in London. Not only for its flowers market. For its atmosphere suspended in time, its small shops full of treats, design gadgets, of sweet finds, its art galleries filled with treasures. Everything seems so unique and far from the industrialised range of the big chains. We stoll, we dream, we gasp in wonder, we stop resisting… and we end up chatting in one of the great pubs around…

Until now the street would only come alive on Sundays, but hoorray! Columbia Road has taken pity on us, serial shoppers getting late on our Xmas shopping and will open late on December 01, 08, 15, 22. Festivities and cheerful time guaranteed!

Columbia Road
London E2 7RG

Dec 01, 08, 15, 22 from 17.00 to 21.00

Our favourite shops:

- Vintage Heaven
- Treacle Cupcakes
- Rob Ryan

I have never been a fan of Scotch eggs. No matter that Fortnum & Mason invented them.

Never tried one? Well, a quick explanation: this is a boiled egg covered by a layer of pork meat the rolled in crumbs. The thinner the meat surface, the lower the quality. Many varieties exist: as many as sausage meat varieties. Or flavours for crumbs. Even Marmite ones, vegetarian ones, or mini ones with quail eggs.

However, my experiences so far (they are part of any buffet I have come accross) have been disappointing. Bland, even floury. Have you felt let down too? Here is an occasion to change your mind. Enjoy the flower market on Columbia rd on a Sunday and turn left on Ezra st when walking down. you’ll find an oyster stall (delicious and worth stopping) and a couple metres further this one:

Giant Scotch Eggs. Impressive.  After seeing passers-by licking their lips,  I decided to give it a try. Even shared with a friend, this replaces lunch!  Lovely, I must say, the meat is peppery and very flavoured and served with Piccalily sauce, it really is a pleasant snack.  Hopefully they’ll extend ther range to new flavours too in the future!

Columbia Flower Market
Ezra street
London

£5 each

One of my first memories of England is stepping in a Woolworths and watching, fascinated, grannies chosing sweets, one by one from a pick and mix range. Depending on the time of the day, they would be replaced by kids just out of school or teenagers going to the movies…

Supermarkets have since exploited the idea. Even M&S have theirs now. Pleasure multiplied by the variety of tastes and the possibility of trying a new variety or event just take the pink ones only because you like them better… Mr Humbug also seems to extend, there’s even one @ Waterloo station: rowas of jars filled with classic sweets. Touristic villages also tend to play this nostalgic note to attract visitors of the day.

However, it all misses, I don’t know, a touch of magic. The jars usually are plastic, cheap, remind me of a supermarket range. Buying them under a colod electric light tends to erase the charm too.

Strolling through the flower stalls on Columbia rd, I stepped into Suck and Chew. How different! A rainbow of colours and a retro atmosphere too… Glass jars of all sizes, cormonation mugs filled with lollipops, Ladybid books from the 70ies, labels as if typed on a writig machines, forgotten flavours, truffles, British flags planted amonst them, the kindness of the staff… Although you do have a £10 notes, you’re looking for coins in your pocket. You’re going to have two liquorice ones, and, er, three rhubarb and custards, and one kola cube and… Your mouth is watering already.

Sparkling with sweet happiness!

Suck and chew
130 Columbia Rd
London E2 7RG

Open Saturdays 13.00-16.30 and Sundays 09.00-16.30

Fancy a little more sugar and childhood nostalgia? Try Hope and Greenwood @ Covent Garden…

The Columbia Flower Market is one of our favourite haunts. Bunches of colourful flowers everywhere, vintage and design boutiques… Such a treasure!

Zigzag-ing endlessly, you quickly feel a little elevenish, though.

Do try Columbia Cafe for their fab range of bagels. Out the boring BLTs, pastrami, cream cheese and salmon! hoooray for crayfish and cress, English Breakfast or the sweet strawberry version!

A really friendly service and very satisfying for a mere £3-4.

Feeling like a real dessert?

• Walk up the street for a yummy cupcake @ Treacle.

• Or step into Vintage Heaven. Passed the vintage china hides a tiny tearoom with a lovely selection of cakes…

Columbia Cafe
138 Columbia Road,
Bethnal Green,
London,
E2 7RG

Another excellent address if you’re visiting the  Columbia Flower Market.

You must know me by now. Mention cupcakes and I’m rushing there.

What is it with those little cakes that seduce people? When you think about it, the recipe is quite basic. is it the icing? The colours? The decoration? They immediately make you think of a summer fete, children laughing, bunting, birthday candles… You can picture them coming out of the oven… children’s hands decorating them with sweets ou the baker transforming them into works of art…

Yes, they have the  flavour of childhood. They’re fun and so comforting in a evre busy and grey modernn world. They force you to stop and enjoy the moment.  They’re eaten in a few mouthfuls, the soft icing first, then the cake… My daughter like to turn them round, eat the sugar last. I prefere to dip them into a latte, the icing melting even further… and take them around the town for a sudden picnic!

Treacle has an irrisitible recipe: its home sweet home side. Wooden floor, wooden furniture, yesteryear feeling, drawers filled with minicupcakes… the impression of stepping into a fairy tale grandmother’s kitchen. Everything seems left naturally, but must have been very well thought. Simplicity is the most complex to achieve.  Soft hues, vintage products and always this feeling of a countryside house in the 5oies… As underline the BBC live magazine,  it holds an enyd Blyton touch.

The shop’s only open on Sundays for the flower market and is quickly crowded. Start with them, or the cakes will be soon gone! A simple but delicious range: jewel minicupcakes (vanilla, chocolate or lemon zest – same for the icing), a few layers cakes 9count £28-35 – 12 portions. Cales and cupcakes can be decorated as you wish on demand) including…

- chocolate with a vanilla heart, with chocolate on top!

- lemon layers with lemon cream and icing. And fresh raspberries on top…

- two layers of vanilla cake, strawberry jam, vanilla icing and strawberries on top…

(I could eat one right now…)

… and tea, of course: only one, Builder’s tea. Strong, not too sweet, perfect after such a sugary taste. Beware if you ever as for a coffee!

By the way, have you noticed? Cafes are always a bit serious. The colours, the newspapers on the side, the cups. A tearoom is always more fun – bubbly, summer shades, happy… Maybe linked to the sterotype coffee for business – tea with girlfriends?

The staff is great – they always have a nice word, a smile. Oh, and have a look at the posters… such as this version of the now famous Keep Calm and Carry on… My new motto: eat cake and carry on!

Treacle really is my cup of tea.. . Such a pity you can’t sit and have a bit of gossip over a slice (or two, or three) of cake!

Note to parents: the shop is often crowded. Leave the kids to play at the square down the road with their dad and bring back a box of cupcakes. Success guaranteed!

Treacle
110-112 Columbia Rd
London, E2 7RG

Only on Sundays!

Columbia Road is such a quiet street most of the week… On Sundays, she puts her dancing shoes, and oh, baby, the place rocks! Such a festival of colours and perfumes in the air!

Your’e bound to find happiness – from fresh cut flowers, plants in pot, banana trees, bulbes… A real market like in France: singing, vibrant, with the sellers calling you on the way for a good bargain…

Columbia Flower Market, it’s also such an atmosphere! The street becomes an urban jungle. Passers-by carry boxes and bags of plants – actually, anything goes to carry them..

And behind all the green, 60 shops or so, wooden type, very Victorian looking…

Delis, cafes as Vintage Heaven which also sells a selection of exquisite vintage cups… or Treacle with their exquisite minicupcakes and their sense of humour!

A lot of design shopping to be done too  and very varied: garden themed of course, but look out for extraordinary soaps – I found a carrot one, magical wall stickers, great mailboxes…

Oh, and don’t forget art galleries such as…

…Nelly Duff where you will find prints of Street Art Masters, including Eine and Mr Wim!

…Elphick’s where Sharon sells her creations (she uses it as her workshop the rest of the week) and alos sells art from great artists qui vend ses creations (la boutique lui sert d’atelier en semaine) et distribue d’autres artistes, entr’autres les oeuvres d’Helen Musselwhite…

…Columbia Road Gallery, more classical but you really feel like stepping in the painting and go there for a walk…

Here, no chain or Starbucks, originality wins!

It’s so… coulourful and lively. Difficult to picture the place when it was a covered market: 400 stalls, with a flat above in a gothic building. The railway project around never happened and the building finally was destroyed. Sellers prefered being outside anyway. The market survived… From being on Saturdays, it switched to Sundays, thanks to the Jewish community. It was more handy for sellers too: they could go to Covent Garden during the week, Spittafield Market on the Saturday and finish their stock here.  WWII was a hard time too… food was more important than flowers, obviously. And today? People will travel miles to come here and you will even see, from time to time, a TV crew filming for a gardening programme….

Note to parents: not the ideal place for buggies, so crowded! You’ll be better off with a scarf or a Bjorn type baby-carrier. No hysteria, people are happy to walk around and will let you go through if they can. Lots of cafes to stop at. At the beginning of the market, you’ll find a square with games for the kids. Oh, and do stop at Lapin & Me, a fantastic shop with lots of French products, colouring books and games!

Columbia Flower Market
Columbia Road
London, E2 7RG

Every Sunday from 08.00 to 14.00

Tube: Old Street  – 15mn walk to get there, take your map!

5 o’clock tea fans will go mad here. This shop is filled with treasures and I cannot help but stopping there each time I visit the Columbia Flower Market. Plates, cups, sugar bowls, teapots, all vintage, arranged by colour or by theme… Although most are mid-century, some have such an elegant and modern touch. Some 70ies patterns too,  square plates, trios, teapots -  Oh, if only you could take it all home with you!

You’ll find the Cakehole at the back -  ideal to have a closer look at those little gems you found. And only here can a whole wall covered with tapestries look normal.

Tea,  Monmouth coffee, cupcakes from the  Primrose Bakery, cakes from Ann Martin on the counter – the apple and blackberry was gorgeous and very tender.  Served on mismatched cups and teapots which still succeed to look good together.

Psssst! If you’re a knitting fan… come every first and third Tuesday of each month – entrance is free and tea-cakes will only be £1-1.50.
Note to parents: obviously not the best address for small kids with so much fragile china around… The buggy will be too big anyway for the small place in the shop.

Vintage Heaven
82 Columbia Road
Bethnal Green
London E2 7QB