St David Coffee House, Forest Hill: Cafe of the Week

St David Coffee House, Forest Hill

St David Coffee House in Forest Hill is my new favourite cafe. Okay, I say that most weeks - but this time, I really mean it. This charming, ramshackle little coffee shop is the perfect spot to duck into on a rainy Saturday after a trip to the nearby Horniman museum.

Like the nearby Browns of Brockley, St David Coffee House has a strong community feel to it. On one wall there's a book exchange, the shelves stuffed with modern fiction you actually want to read rather than ancient dust-gatherers. There's a record player by the till, which was whirring around with Motown and soul on our visit (rumour has it that regulars can bring in their own records to play), and the backs of the cafe's wooden church chairs are stuffed with old albums. Above the record player there's a row of locally-produced chutneys and jam. Work from local artists lines the wall, and there are handmade cards for sale. For reasons unknown, there's a small rocking horse stuck to another wall (securely, I hope). If it all sounds a bit twee and contrived, it's really not. Just very cosy and welcoming. 

Montgomery's Cheddar and spring onion toastie

Happily, the food is as good as the room. The popular chorizo and pear sourdough sarnie was sadly sold out when we visited for lunch but we managed to nab the last Montgomery's Cheddar and spring onion toastie. If you've never tried Montgomery's Farmhouse Cheddar you might not think this an exciting order - but I couldn't pass up the chance for a frisbee-sized wedge of potent, nutty Montgomery's sandwiched between some sourdough. J seemed very happy with his smoked salmon, cucumber and dill sourdough sandwich, which I'd be willing to bet was also sourced from great suppliers but I'm afraid I was on too much of a cheese-bender to ask. 

Fennel, red pepper and lentil salad

 To counter-balance the rich Cheddar we ordered a 'small' fennel, red pepper and lentil salad for £2. A generous mound of healthiness arrived. £2! What a steal. The best thing about this zesty salad was that every part of the individual ingredients was used: celery leaves, fennel fronds, the knobbly bits from the end of the red pepper; all finely chopped and diced and delicately tossed in a light lemon dressing.

Tea and (Square Mile) coffee arrived in mismatched 60s and 70s china. We were tempted by the array of little cakes, shortbread and custard tarts on the counter but too stuffed to indulge. Still, as I'm now the proud owner of a St David Coffee House loyalty card it won't be long before I return to conduct a (purely scientific) review of the cakeage.

St David Coffee House, 5 Davids Road, Forest Hill SE23 3EP.

Friday Find: Tudor Court tea towel

Tudor Court tea towel

Is there anything nicer than coming back from a trip away and finding out your house guests have restocked the fridge with fresh bread, eggs and coffee? We returned from Argentina with Long-haul Malnourishment (a temporary condition that arises from trying to eat British Airways food) to find J's mum had filled our kitchen with edible treats and a few presents from her trip to London.

I love this Tudor Court tea towel that she picked up for us on a trip to Hampton Court. It features a witty illustration of how much grub Henry VIII and his gluttonous travelling circus ate in a year. Tudor courtiers put away an average of 4,500 - 5,000 calories a day.

A few highlights from a year at Henry VIII's table:

8,200 sheep
1,240 oxen 
300 barrels of wine

The 100% cotton tea towel costs £4.99 and is available online from Historic Royal Palaces.

Meraviglia, Buenos Aires: Cafe of the Week

Meraviglia, Palermo Hollywood Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a cafe city. It's also a steak city. And a pasta city. And an outrageously large ice creams city, but more of that in later posts. Right now, it is also a full 33 degrees hotter than London. I'm so glad our jaunt in South America is over (*sobs into keyboard*).

We stayed in Palermo Hollywood, a neighbourhood full of TV studios, graffiti, dog walkers, fashionistas and  bars, restaurants and cafes on every block.  Think Shoreditch, but with palm trees, instead of rain and ironic Victorian facial hair.

Unlike the grand, European-style cafes of downtown Buenos Aires, with their red leather booths and ceiling fans, the caffs in Palermo Hollywood are contemporary, airy and laid-back. And, in many cases, serving up vibrant, healthy food that wouldn't look lost in Sydney or LA.

Our favourite cafe in Palermo Hollywood is Meraviglia (which means 'delight' or 'wonder' in Italian).  This organic cafe became a regular pit stop during our week in Buenos Aires. With its huge windows, whitewashed walls, wooden tables with green placemats and wheatgrass plants, it's a really bright welcoming space to recover from a night of meat-bingeing.

Indeed, Meraviglia's colourful health food gave us a welcome break from steak. Eating big slabs of delicious cow everyday doesn't make you feel so good. Who knew?

So most mornings, the sun already high in the sky, we'd grab a table outside Meraviglia to the refrain of 'hola chicos' from the friendly waiter. Breakfast was wholesome and delicious but not especially original: scrambled eggs with freshly-baked wholegrain bread, sesame granola, yogurt and fresh fruits with mini bran muffins. All washed down with carrot and ginger juice. The coffee wasn't nearly as bad as most in Argentina, which is a compliment (a resident explained to us that most Argentinian coffee is made with Robusta beans from Brazil, cheaper and rougher than the smooth Arabica.)

Meraviglia, Palermo Hollywood Buenos Aires

But it was at lunches that Meraviglia that really showed imagination. Just check out the salad of lentils, wild rice and toasted nigella and sesame seeds above. It's topped with a bright orange carrot puree and served with a cheese and avocado green salad. Don't you feel healthier just looking at it?

There is one caveat to all that nourishment: the green salad was concealing some crunchy toffee nuggets - bizarre, but not entirely unwelcome.


That Argentine staple, the giant pizza, also gets a healthy makeover chez Meraviglia...

Meraviglia, Palermo Hollywood Buenos Aires

A nutty, wholegrain base is topped with a mound of roasted tomatoes, fresh leaves and seeds. But there's also a reassuring inner circle of melted cheese. This is health-food as an affirmation of the good things in life, rather than an exercise in denial. We need some cafes like Meraviglia in London, pronto.

Meraviglia.com.ar
Meraviglia, Gorriti 5796, esquina Carranza, Palermo, Buenos Aires.