Brief review of Bea's Of Bloomsbury - May 2010

Where: Bea's of Bloomsbury, Theobald's Road, Bloomsbury (oddly enough...)
With: The Masticator
How much: He wouldn't tell me. What a gent. Cupcakes are £2.50 each, we had three to share with coffees.

Unassuming little cafe frontage on busy Theobald's Road, opens up into a beautifully chic little cafe. It was worth the 10 minute walk through the park from King's Cross. It doesn't have the nicest of views, though as we sat outside on the first sunny day of the month I couldn't help but be grateful it wasn't on nearby pedestrianised Lamb's Conduit Street. Cupcakes of this quality would ensure a permanently packed front stoop.
A light passionfruit and vanilla cupcake came with a fresh drizzle of fresh fruit across the top and was light and creamy with the two flavours matching well. A raspberry and chocolate cake was a real hit. Luscious, smooth and velvety, the dark, almost liquid centred chocolate sponge accompanied the raspberry buttercream perfectly. Our final cake was a chocolate piece studded with blueberries. Sadly the blueberry either wasn't present, or didn't come through in the flavour of the cake, but it was still a treat.


Definitely worth fighting through the fashionistas on a sunny afternoon for artisan cakes and wonderfully friendly service. They also do mail order, events and party catering too. A lovely local gem that deserves some support.

Brunch review of Automat - May 2010

Where: Automat, Dover Street, Mayfair
With whom: Batman and his brother
How much?: £16 for their brunch burger

Friday night turned into Saturday morning and Batman and I were determined to carry on going... We weren't in the best state to enjoy a gourmet meal but had decided that the obvious thing to do in the situation would be to head to the Wolesley for a restorative brunch.. Batman is a few months away from impending fatherhood and so these days (and nights) are soon to be replaced with the screaming and squalling of a newborn. That's his excuse. I have none...

Sadly our 'Withnail and I' esque plans were scuppered by the classily suited Maitre 'D who disabused us of our hopes of a table (and with it one of the finest bacon sandwiches I've ever had). We left the beautiful former car showroom and walked up Dover Street to a longtime favourite of mine, Automat.

It's been with us since 2005, and while there aren't the queues that there were on launch, it's still popular. Too popular - full of the expat families who somehow manage to live in Mayfair and their raucous offspring. Batman was getting an early, hungover, flavour of what his Saturdays would like like in years to come. In a bizarre tunnel like main room with the acoustics of your local council swimming baths, their screams echoed. The restaurant, with an authentically upper class diner mix of clean white lozenged tiles and wood panelling, looks a little run down these days.

Enough of that. We were here for life giving sustenance. And to me, that was always going to be their 'famous' brunch burger. For £16 I was expecting great things. It was good, better than I could cope with, though they, like many others, still haven't found a decent bun. This one was dry and had more sesame than Ali Baba. There was a thick, too meaty sausage unceremoniously plonked on the upper half of the bun, a squat porky rocket definitely intended for another meal. Bacon was cooked perfectly, and I've got to say that the burger itself was excellent with a decent amount of char and well seasoned, moist meat cooked exactly as requested. If I had a quibble with it, it would only be that it was a little too dense, but that would be a minor quibble. The 'homestyle' potatoes served unannounced on the side were a little oily, but a good partner to the sausage as a second part to the meal. 

Worth £16? I'd say probably so, considering the location (and the locals)... it's two meals in one and if they sort the bun out, it's an excellent burger, served in a nice space. I'd avoid children's hour though.