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Wednesday 22 June 2011

GARDEN CAFE Regents Park.



Grilled Mackerel, Waxed New Potatoes, Samphire.



Sticky Toffee Pudding and ice cream. Yum.



The Garden Cafe garden onto Regents Park

# 2 One Little Duck


Garden of Eden

So, here it is folks, my first foray into the world of blogging, featuring the everyday food places that make me happy. I was delighted when on my way home in the pouring rain, on a mid summers night, to find myself approaching the Garden Cafe, within the heart of the Inner Circle of Regents Park - cosseted by nature and the attractive rose garden.

I had passed by a few times and had one eye on the cute restaurant when the time was right...

The first thing that struck me as I walked in, was how lovely the space was. It was just that, spacious and welcoming without the usual throws of an over crowded park eaterie. The waitress was radiating smiles and when she seated me next to a large well lit window on a comfy bunker couch, I thought she could read my mind. The rain drops racing each other down the window panes added to the snug factor.The ambience was great, I virtually had the place to myself which is a rare treat in London. The building was originally built in the 60's and the architecture reflects this with a beautifully aged modernity and patina from the original use of quality build materials. The beech wood panelled ceiling is particularly ace.

The tables are a lovely milky white formica on layed ash timber frames, and are perfect for serving food when complemented by the exposure to intense natural daylight. The cafe furnishings are charming and provide a sense of the modern, the aged and the well loved. Squishy oaked yellow bunker booths vie for attention with sets of neatly layed out chairs nestled around with their padded seats, mellow oaked-yellow formica backs and metal legs.

The menu was simple, clear and comprehensively tempting, set out for Spring with natural ingredients. The set menu for 2 or 3 courses was just what you wanted and a 2 course priced at £14.75 seemed exceptional value when weighing up the charm of the location and quality of the food.

The food service was prompt and friendly and thankfully arrived with a glass of wine in a rather cute glass tumbler. The blogger ordered Grilled Mackerel with waxed new potatoes, samphire and lemon mayonnaise. The potatoes were out of this world, dressed in their perfect waxy shell and coated in herbs and butter. The fish prettily layed out in a criss cross formation was fresh and extremely tasty and the samphire well balanced and a perfect accompaniment.The appearance of Toffee Pudding and Ice cream on the menu made the choice of pudding a formality. When it arrived, it knocked-the-bugger-off as Edmund Hillary might say. It was world beating and a revelation. The ice cream had perched on it's noggin  a small hard toffee curly wurly corkscrew crown and the pudding was the perfect sticky consistency with a toffee sauce so rich you could feel yourself melting into its indulgence. Ka-pow!

I loved hanging out in the Garden Cafe and will definately be back.

This is the sort of place you would not want to tell too many people about, though would want to take as many people as possible too!

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