Macaron Boulangerie et Pâtisserie
22 The Pavement
London SW4 0HY

Macaron

Macaron is a French boulangerie (bakery) and patisserie located close to Clapham Common tube station. The staff is “mostly” French. I thought they were all French so I spoke in French – to someone who was probably the sole member of the staff unable to speak French. My luck

The tea room is nicely decorated though in an unusual style with a painted ceilling (a blue pastel sky with some clouds) contrasting with the well used parquet floor and the wood panelled wall giving a kind of a rustic look. The well used parquet reminded me the one at Chez Lindsay. It is quite small inside with just a few tables at the left when you enter, the right side and the end being the counter displaying the sandwiches, baguettes, cakes, croissants, macarons etc. In the background behind the counter there is a small window through which you can see the kitchen.

Good tea, nice presentation

It is possible to sit out on the pavement and then you will be facing the common which can be nice when the road in between isn’t too busy. We were lucky to find a free table inside when we arrived.
They did have appetising-looking sandwiches and tarts but we went for the cakes and tea this afternoon. The cakes, nicely presented, were delicious, light and fresh. The only complaint we would have is they are a little on the sweet side but it is a very minor complaint. The tea, which was quite good, counter balanced the sweetness well.

Delicious cake

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Cost and conclusion: it was about £13. Nice atmosphere, good patisserie and tea… What else to ask beside better weather for August 😉 It would be nice to have more of these salons de thé/tea salons in London especially since this is a country supposedly known for tea. There are far more salons de thé in Paris and Brussels.

Japanese Restaurant TOKU
212 Piccadilly
London W1J 9HX

The neon signs at Piccadilly Circus

It has been over 4 months since I was last at Toku, so are they still doing well? Toku in the past was located within the Japan Centre (the Japanese store) which was not very convenient since you had shoppers in the restaurant. The Japan Centre has since relocated next door and now Toku occupies the full area.

As starters we ordered the Age dashi tofu and the sweet shrimp nigiri sushi (2 pieces). The main meals were a salmon sashimi and Ikura don and a chicken Kara Fry Set. As drinks we had a lotus tea and a peach flavoured water, since I wanted to know what it tasted like.

Agedashi tofu

The Agedashi tofu was a little disappointing. It had a nice flavour and texture, no complaints there. But it was lukewarm, not hot. A decided shame, as it ruined what should have been a great start to the meal. I’ve had this dish at Toku many times previously, so I know they’re capable of doing it properly – but it wasn’t the case on this occasion.

Shrimp sushi

The shrimp sushi wasn’t that easy to eat, detaching from the rice with only the slightest provocation. I wasn’t too fond of the texture either, which didn’t quite seem as firm as it should have been.

The main courses

Chicken kara fry set

The kara fry set was good, but again not quite up to their usual standard. It was, on this occassion, a bit greasy and that is not usually the case. In positives, they certainly weren’t stingy with the portion of chicken (just as well, as the prices appear to have risen since we were last here), the salad was fresh and crunchy, and every thing was nicely seasoned.

Salmon sashimi and Ikura don

Close-up

The don was very hot, which heated the sashimi – and doesn’t make for a very pleasant meal. As for the ikura (salmon roe), it didn’t seem to have the usual firm texture, but instead seemed just a bit soggy.

Tea

The peach water was OK, though a little sweet. Probably something that kids would like. Flowering lotus tea was excellent, as usual. In a small complaint, not a lot of hot water was given in the little tea pot it came in (small pot, and also not filled to the top). That was a bit of a waste and a shame, as much more tea could have been made and drunk from it.

Cost & conclusion: It was £45.43 including a 10% service charge. The service was not good. It was very slow and took a good 15 minutes before someone appeared to take our orders. Also, the main meals did not come together. There was a 5 minute delay between them. We have had better experience in the past at Toku, so I hope they are not going downhill.