London’s Tasty Treats

Now that the hoopla surrounding the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has died down, Londoners will resume their normal day to day activities such as working, shopping and eating out in fabulous restaurants.  Yes, you read me correctly.  London has fabulous restaurants….. now!

On a recent trip to London a few weeks ago, I came across some fabulous food shops and ate in amazing restaurants that rival anything in NY, SF or LA.   The reaction to the statement “London has excellent food these days”, has caught many of my American friends, who have not visited London in the past 5-8 years, by surprise . 

I’ve been fortunate to visit this new culinary hotspot several times over the past few years and have experienced a whole new culinary world of delightful specialty food shops and spectacular restaurants with creative and delicious cuisine.

On my recent trip, I spent a fair amount of time browsing in the Nottinghill and Westbourne Grove neighborhoods which are speckled with gourmet shops offering everything from cheeses to chocolates to homemade pasta.  London’s gone “Green” too with sustainable restaurants and products while others shops have tapped into the American trends, (i.e. cupcakes),  that are almost over here in the “States”.

So here are a few of my new favorites in Notting Hill.

HUMMINGBIRD BAKERY

This trip I branched out from my usual stop to Clarkes (122-124 Kensington Church Street)      and headed straight to The Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello Road.   They are known for selling “American cakes and cupcakes”.  Visiting Hummingbird is reminiscent of the adorable retro bakeshop decor we find at places like the original Magnolia Bakery in NYC.   

Hummingbird is known for their red velvet cake which rivals any others I’ve tasted.  Moist,  dense cake with a not too sweet creamcheese icing.  Their cupcakes especially pretty and  not overly iced like many of the typical American cupcakes I’ve tasted.  One taste and you’ll be hooked.  London has jumped on the “cupcake bandwagon”, and Hummingbird Bakery rivals the best in America.

 

MELT

I’ve recently started making chocolates so I know how difficult and time consuming it is.  So, when I happened upon MELT (59 Ledbury Road) in Notting Hill just before Easter,

I was amazed by the unbelievable chocolate creations.   I had a chance to talk with once of the Chocolatiers who walked me through the process of making one of these giant eggs.

MELT features and “in-store” chocolate kitchen where the chocolatiers create and decorate their lovely and colorful truffles daily as well as the seasonal chocolate eggs.  This way you can ensure that you are getting fresh every day.