The Modern Pantry, Clerkenwell

I had a bit of a failed brunch on my actual birthday (this was back in July), so I was determined to go for some proper good brunch on a gorgeously sunny Saturday. Where else but the Modern Pantry?

York Day 4: York Cocoa House

York Cocoa House looks like it has been in York for years and years. In reality, it only opened last year. As you can probably tell from the name it serves a lot of chocolatey treats, in the form of their signature hot chocolate, milkshakes, brownies and cakes and even some savoury dishes with chocolate. It also sells it's own homemade chocolates and truffles and also does some chocolate making classes, which I would love to try at some point. Great idea for a day out.

The shop and cafe is styled like it's from the Victorian era. The lovely, friendly staff wear little aprons and tunics and the menus are big wooden boards.

If you're after something more substantial, they serve a very interesting lunch menu, all including some kind of chocolate, with treats such as goat's cheese and red onion pizza - with a chocolate ganache, or smoked salmon, with white chocolate and wasabi cream.

I have tried many a brownie here. They do all sorts, with chocolate chunks, with maltesers, caramel and orange among many more. They do lots of cakes, including an incredible stout and chocolate cake! Now, I'm not fan of beer, but this rich, gooey, fudgey cake with a hint of something that came from the beer left me gasping for more! They are all homemade and in never ending supply, as they are constantly coming out of the kitchen with more. The hot chocolate is rich and full of chocolate flavour, made with real chocolate pieces, however not too thick like many hot chocolates can be.

I visited recently and went for something I've never tried before, a white chocolate and lemon  tart. As you can see from the picture below, it was very soft, moist and had a wonderful punch of lemon flavour. It was more of a lemon tart, with a very subtle flavour of white chocolate running through. Their coffees come with some kind of chocolate as standard, usually a homemade chocolate button, but this time they gave me a whole homemade truffle! 
Although hot chocolate is their signature drink, they do not forget about their coffee; they serve a lovely, strong coffee.

After only being in York for a few months this has already become my go-to cafe in York. It never runs out of brownies and cakes at the end of the day if you are wanting a late coffee, unlike some other cafes in York. Being a chocolate lover, the cakes never fail to disappoint, which is the main reason I keep returning, it is chocolate heaven.

York Day 4: The Hairy Fig, Walmgate

The Hairy Fig are "purveyors of fine fodder" according to their sign on their store front in York, on Walmgate.

I would have to say that I agree with this. The Hairy Fig consists of a deli, selling from what I hear unbelievably good pies (and the Yorkshire folk know a good pie when they see one), a little shop selling artisan chocolates, vinegars and oils, hundreds of varieties of speciality loose leaf teas and coffees and other edible bits and bobs. A great place to find a gift or treat yourself. 

At the back of the shop is a tiny 10 seater cafe. As I'd been eating fairly lavishly over the past few days I wanted something lighter to start my day and knew the Hairy Fig was just the place as they mostly do salads and sandwiches with a couple of specials every day.

I love that this lady on a lunch date looks so happy here!

I had the figs, baked with homemade balsamic vinegars, (sold in the shop) honey and a dollop of marscapone. It was really lovely. So simple and so tasty. The sourness of the vinegars was off set by the honey and marscapone. 

I also ordered a pot of tea and I was allowed to choose from any of the speciality teas that they sold in their shop. I went for the most intriguing tea I could find: The Blue Lady. It consisted of grapefruit, mallow and marigold. It had a lovely fragrant flaovur, sharpened by the grapefruit. 

They really pay attention to detail here. The best thing is all the china and cutlery they use. All individual, all with character, all sourced from charity shops or donated to them. My tea set was adorable. The bowl my figs came in was decorated and even the spoon was not lost on me. Perhaps the most beautiful spoon I have ever seen!!

The don't offer a great deal of choice, but head here for some homely light bites or to sample their wide range of teas!

York Day 3: Cabra Verde

I started the day off back in my natural habitat, my one true love, my only reason for living, the light of my life.....

Ok maybe a bit much, but I love this place to pieces, as I've raved about it many times. I was back at The Pig and Pastry. I love this place to pieces. Delicious, homemade and interesting food; freshly baked cakes and breads, great coffee, super cheap prices, friendly staff and a wonderful atmosphere. What more could you want from a cafe?! It may be my favourite cafe ever. Including places in London.

Anyway, I had the most amazing start to the day with an intriguing and super scrummy-sounding spinach pancakes with halloumi and lime butter.

And it was indeed scrummy.

The halloumi was of great quality, not that rubbery sort and it blended perfectly with the spinach pancakes, which were also incredible. The lime butter added the subtlest zing of lime, not over-powering but added just right amount of sweetness to complement the saltiness of the cheese.

In the evening, I made a last minute decision to dash to a recently re-branded tapas/deli place in York. Down a tiny lane (I would never have walked down it had I not known it was there) is Cabra Verde,  an authentic Tapas restaurant. They have a hunk of Iberico ham sitting on the counter at the front of the restaurant and it is of a minimalist, perhaps ever so slightly uncomfortable style. Sparse, white, modern tables and chairs make for a slightly uncomfortable setting, rather than cosy and, for me, some atmosphere was slightly lost due to this.

The owners clearly love the food they serve as the chef sources proper produce from Spain, including meats, cheeses and wines.

A little more expensive than one would expect for York, normal compared to London, but I can definitely appreciate the quality and authenticity that goes in to every dish.

I ordered 3 dishes, which hardly seemed enough but in fact was plenty. What I love most about tapas is that you can try little bits of everything, so I ordered one fish, one meat and one vegetarian plate. All the dishes were beautifully and carefully presented, obviously lovingly made. I've never seen tapas look so pretty, even the best tasting tapas can sometimes just be slopped into bowls.

First: pig's cheek, slowly braised in a tomato, leek and red wine sauce.

It was tender, moist and very yummy. Like a homely stew.

Then, Andalucian style squid rings with grilled apple and Spanish black pudding. Perhaps my favourite of all three! The sweet of the apple combined perfectly with the salty squid and the black pudding was divine.

Finally I had mahon cheese with green figs, drizzled with honey, an exquisitely presented dish. Again, the sweetness of the honey and figs worked together perfectly with the savoury cheese. And you know what? I don't even like cheese that much, so great job getting me to like it!! Oooh reliving it now and I think this might have been my favourite!

I was stuffed at this point, but tempted by the waiter for dessert. Well, you only live once. The cutlery was brought out in a cute little tin - they need more of this kind of thing on the tables! That was fab.

I had the Torta de Naranja - which was a cake made with ground almonds instead of flour with orange. It was a moist yet dense cake, however not claggy in any way. The flavour of orange that came from the cake was incredible. A real punch of pure orange, not subtle in any way, it was gorgeous. It came with Seville orange marmalade too, a lovely addition.

When I visit York again soon, I will definitely be back here!! I want to try so many more dishes on their menu, and it's some of the best tapas I've had. Would obviously recommend and, indeed, hope to bring lots more business their way!

York Day 2: Mannion & Co Cafe

For breakfast the next day I headed to Mannion, a cafe I had heard of and walked past quite a few times staring lovingly at their cakes and pastries, but never managed to make it in. They are right next to York Cocoa House and their brownies usually get me before I even have a chance to check out Mannion. The times I have tried to get cake here they were all gone by the time I got there! The sign of a good cake I feel.

A deli counter at the front lures you in with gorgeous home made bread tumbling out of baskets and an array of cakes, pastries and enormous meringues and also cured meats and cheeses of nearly every kind you could ever wish for.

Extremely friendly staff greeted me and saw to it that I was well looked after. I ordered a much needed coffee that came in lovely china. I'm sure I've seen this in John Lewis. Or a market stall in Germany. #ChinaFiend. It also came with a lovely little cardamom biscotti! One of the nicest things I've ever been given free with coffee.

I ordered the perfect hangover cure: Yorkshire rarebit - oh hell yes with bacon - on sourdough.

The bacon is hiding under all the melting cheese.

They were not stingy with their portions, this managed to fill me up for the entire day. A tomato chutney on the side was tangy and strong, a great accompaniment to the smoothness of cheese and bacon. I just wish I had a bit more of it than what was in the tiny pot!!

I still remember this amazing plate of food. So simple, yet honestly one of the best things I've ever eaten and all for the incredibly low price of £7! I felt so gluttonous but it was homely and delicious. The cafe itself had a great buzzing, bustling atmosphere with the exposed kitchen (I love seeing chefs work) and cosy interiors.

As I left I finally ordered my cake to go, a very hard task seeing as I wanted a piece of EVERYTHING on display. I went for 3 - yes 3 though I did share them!! - and they did not disappoint. I wish I had been in there many more times now! The brownie was exquisite. It was so fudgey and moist and I was so shocked and delighted to find they had raisins inside!! My absolute favourite. I bake my own brownies with raisins and have never come across a brownie from a cafe with them. People are too afraid I think that punters won't like them. Cafe's of Britain, it's ok. I'll eat them all instead if I have to. It's the right thing to do.
The flapjack was unlike any flapjack I have ever tasted before! The texture was more dense and cakey than a standard oaty one. Which was fantastic! Different levels of flavour was created with the different dried fruits and whole nuts inside. And it was all topped off with a slice of rhubarb that had been caramelised, or something similar. I'm not usually a fan of rhubarb but this was so sweet with a punch of sour coming later.
The blackberry and almond tart was yummy too. My least fave of all 3, or maybe I should say that for me it was not as incredible as the other two because that makes it sound like I didn't like it. However, I did feel the pastry was a little dry, but then tarts aren't usually my thing. The filling was delicious though.

I enjoyed all this so much, I brought my friend and her sister along the next day for a spot of cream tea. Needless to say the scones, jam and cream were all amazing and the tea I chose was very interesting, one of a number of interesting speciality loose leaf teas they do.

On my last day, I headed there to grab one of their sandwiches I had noticed on their blackboard from previous visits. I got the fennel salami and tallegio cheese on fig and walnut bread. I'm not sure if the bread came as standard, or I was given fig and walnut because they didn't have any other kind left, but I was very impressed. Needless to say, I think you can guess it was incredibly delicious. It was also HUGE, I might add. To take-away, this came to a whopping £3.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S THE PRICE OF AN M&S SANDWICH!! Now don't get me wrong, I do love my M&S sandwiches, but for the same price I can get a homemade sandwich, with much more interesting and high quality fillings, that is double the size and all on artisan bread! It is unthinkable I that I have wasted all my time lusting after M&S goods when I should have been here all along.

I am honestly so disappointed that I didn't discover this place sooner, it had been right under my nose for so long. Had I stepped into this cafe sooner I'd probably have many more great memories in York and would have eaten a lot more great food!!

The London Particular, New Cross

The London Particular has earnt a place on the Good Coffee app, so I knew this was going to be good.

My sister and I headed there for my breakfast, her brunch. This small, unassuming little place was full of charm and quirk with a giant wooden table at the back for spaces for a few people to sit all around and a large window behind letting light flood in. The place welcomes you with a counter at the front with a few take away goodies, like cookies, cakes and savoury mini pizzas and frittatas. A tiny kitchen sits behind the counter setting the scene: we serve good, homemade food here!

The coffee was delicious and really beautiful!! An exclusive blend by Higgins, it wasn't too strong but hit the right spot. 

Particular is open for breakfast and lunch weekdays and then also dinner at weekends. They serve the usual granola, their version of a full English, different kinds of sandwiches and salads. We couldn't decide whether to go sweet or savoury, so we went both. We ordered a homemade berry brioche with homemade strawberry jam. It was utterly delicious. Warm and soft and full of sweet flavour and they presented it in the best way I think I've ever seen food being presented - on an old, patterned tile! Definitely stealing this idea for future dinner parties and food photos.

She looks far better in the mornings than I do!! 

I then ordered the big one. A boiled egg with homemade baked beans, spinach, grilled tomato and grilled Spanish sausages on sourdough. It was lovely, the sausages were so tasty (I love that they grilled them) and ohmygod I need the recipe for those baked beans! I'm never going to be able to eat tinned ever again. They were packed full of slightly spicy tomato flavour, with some small chunks of tomato throughout. My only little tiny gripe would be that my egg could have been runnier. But I do like my eggs about 3 seconds away from being raw. Besides that, the dish definitely hit the Sunday morning spot.

My sister had roast garlic mushrooms with spinach and goat's cheese on sourdough. I didn't get to taste it, but she made all the right noises and it looked and smelled amazing.

A cute little hangout, with a relaxed and homely atmosphere, definitely make your way down if you're in the area! I wish it was closer to central London, but now I know it's within walking distance of where my sister lives, I shall be heading here much more often!

Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside....

On a recent sunny weekend, my sister and I took the opportunity to spend the day in Brighton!!

Deck chairs ahoy.

Brighton's train station

First thing's first we headed straight for a cafe. And you thought I was going to say the beach. Oh no, we have our priorities straight. We's already done research into the independent coffee shop scene in Brighton and luckily there were plenty of places to choose from!!

We headed to Marwoods, seduced by their promises of "Kick-arse coffee and life-changing cake". An eccentric-looking place with an eclectic decor of crazy posters, mismatch furniture (including old Mac computer for stools and old doors as tables) and slightly creepy dolls....

But pretty great, right?!

Coffee was pretty kick-arse. They live up to that one. The selection of cakes and pastries was impressive, they all looked incredible.

We had a peach, halloumi and balsamic salad for some healthy to balance the cake. Very refreshing for a Summer's day. One I shall be recreating!

Cake chosen, for me a HUGE brownie with white chocolate chunks and a white chocolate, lime and courgette - yes courgette - cake.

My brownie was life-changing, I won't lie. I did have a little epiphany. It was a little underbaked I reckon, (not a bad thing at all! Just how I love them and how I bake them myself) because it was unbelievably moist and gooey. I don't think I've ever had a gooey-er brownie and I've had a lot of brownies. It was incredible. Unless of course they just have the recipe for the most gooey brownie ever, in which case I need that recipe. The white chocolate chunks were harder, so lended to a delicious change in texture.

The cake was tasty, but a little on the heavy side as it was quite dense in texture and therefore very filling. Also I couldn't taste much of the courgette, which is a shame as I was excited to see how that would work. Slice was huge though too, which also could have helped to filling us up so much of course!!

With happy tummies we headed to the beach!!

Brighton is so cool. It has so many cute vintage and independent shops. When I decorate my house I am buying everything from the shops in Brighton. So many cute things for decorating and for crafts.

I CAN SEE THE SEA!!!

It reminds me a bit of York, with all the cute shops and indies, a little of a small town or village, with its small winding streets and tiny houses and a little of East London, with all its cool.

Plus...it has the sea. So perfect.

It was so relaxing to breathe sea air and just sunbathe.

There are so many cute things to be seen walking along the sea front.

The famous bandstand with couples dancing:

Own made cakes, anyone?

The expensive part, Brighton's bit of Notting Hill.

Sadly, after exploring the shops, it was time to head back to the looming clouds in London, as could be seen from the train.