La Cigale

Welcoming Cafe with Delectable Paninis

Upon entering this delightful little enclave nestled amidst the hubbub of city life, one is immediately embraced by an aroma that sets the stage for a culinary tribute both simple and profound. The cafe recreates the heartwarming aura of visiting a genial relative, replete with the Italian bendover backward hospitality you often hear about but seldom experience. In fact, I fancied seeing Tina and Elias orchestrate their performance behind the counter as early midfielders tirelessly working their magic, with no shortage of dazzling offers from tempting paninis to exquisitely fancy pastries betray the cleverness our friends across the channel seem jelous of. Their pistachio croissant might have had Louis XIV contemplating a shift in his concept of decadence - if life gave him Instagramable moments he would definitely stream every bite of these crescent jewels.

Every aspect here shouts in harmonious chorus: care, authenticity, and deliberate artfulness put into fashioning everything cradling on your plate or steaming out of your mug. Faced with such attentiveness, much like discovering first-class seats have a massage option you never knew existed, it's disheartening to note one solitary voice casting aspersions upon Tina and Elias’s living room of taste. Yet in reality, the ever-consistent warmth and exquisite flavor envelop it so reclined guests can mournfully whisper a swallowed apology into what has been correlatively described as the ‘best café’ tapestry adorned throughout London's sprawling banners northbound or south. Surely nestled you are convinced to gather within canvas understanding the intended tableau instalar at repeat audience renditions to this piece of urban charm which fair sycophant, renders week after week. — Penelope Savory