Hemsley & Hemsley Cafe London

This is a very chic and cosy café serving a variety of nutritious options in line with the Hemsley and Hemsley brand and philosophy. I only had time to have some snacks at the bar including the crudités with red pepper hummus and the anchovy and garlic cream dip with similar platter of options to use as edible spoons for the dip. The venue is cramped and seemingly with sophisticates enjoying a weekly dose of healthy food that I found not hugely my cup of tea on the options that I had.

The red pepper hummus was ok but not as deeply peppery as I was expecting; far nicer I thought was the anchovy and garlic cream dip though. I did think both were a little steep at £9 each when the surrounding elements to dip in to the hummus and garlic cream were simply a sprinkling of sliced vegetables with elements of crudités, healthy as they are. Don’t get me wrong I am perfectly happy to spend £300 in a 3 Michelin starred restaurant in a heart beat based on the return being a lifetime memory, but the platter did not seem to give the same amount of proportional return to the price is the simple point (healthy yes, but not completely bowled over by the flavour).

The red pepper hummus was ok but not as deeply peppery as I was expecting; far nicer I thought was the anchovy and garlic cream dip though. I did think both were a little steep at £9 each when the surrounding elements to dip in to the hummus and garlic cream were simply a sprinkling of sliced vegetables with elements of crudités, healthy as they are. Don’t get me wrong I am perfectly happy to spend £300 in a 3 Michelin starred restaurant in a heart beat based on the return being a lifetime memory, but the platter did not seem to give the same amount of proportional return to the price is the simple point (healthy yes, but not completely bowled over by the flavour).

Sadly this was also the case with the iced matcha latte which is essentially an iced green tea but the menu appears to give an image of a milky and vanillery drink – it was essentially too watery for me with only scant trace of vanilla or maple syrup. It was however, very kind of the staff to offer to replace with a hot version which, although not my favourite, was a lot nicer.

Considering you can get a Michelin starred set menu in London quite easily for under £25 (go to my best for set menu page) I did feel the £25 for this was quite pricey, then again it is Selfridges. The time I had available was a constraint and so I would like to go back to try a proper lunch and or breakfast to see how these nutrient-dense versions are and will report back.

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