I discovered Crol & Co two years ago when I trundled past on the bike (a gift from my husband) determined to work out how to get to the office on it in about 2hours; indicating by thinking really hard about lifting my right hand from the handlebars.
And I thought, passing Crol & Co. mmm… coffee… cake…. mmm… ooops, was supposed to indicate just then.
I now take 40mins to cycle past Crol & Co on my way to work. And I think, mmm coffee… cake… bicycles (they have a bike rack full of hipster bikes, not that I would ever endure a hipster bike on Greenwich Hill. Feel free to show off in the comments below if you do).
But it was only this weekend that I actually made it through the doors to find it was everything that it promised to be from the outside, cosy, full of homemade cakes, sourdough and cold brew coffee… and matching through-the-roof-prices, offset by particularly pleasant staff and swift service. It’s a cashless business, and I’m kind of fond of the way it’s propelled into the 21st Century like that.
All the savouries were toast based, which I assume relates to the facilities available, but in these days of couscous and bulgar wheat, it seemed a pity. My goats cheese toast was a bit of a mistake, much as I like goats cheese, and walnuts, the ‘drizzling’ (aka ‘drenching’) of honey elevated it to dessert levels before dessert had even commenced and dessert was definitely going to commence. There was plenty of cake choice. Recent disappointments have led me away from anything called a blondie, but their green gooey looking version was very appealing.
I went for Chocolate Guinness cake which turned out to be good, but like Red Velvet Cake (authentic or not) without a thick rich cream cheese icing, Chocolate Guinness Cake will never be a recipe worth emailing over the Atlantic/Irish Sea. The real winner was the spiced orange cake, full of flavour and interesting textures and the only thing that didn’t offend my lactose intolerance. (Something tells me I should order differently, but then my taste buds just don’t let me.)
And for those worried about my bike safety, you can spot me on Quiet Way One as the one with the very definite and enthusiastic hand lift indicator.