Du Cane Court Coffee Shop - Step Back in Time

This may well be one of the least well known coffee shops I review, I hope that this post encourages at least one or two people to pop in to Du Cane Court for a coffee. Not really because the coffee shop is particularly special but becuase it's in Du Cane Court, which in my view is very special and a big part of Balham's landscape and history.

I'll start with the coffee shop and then maybe make a few comments about Du Cane Court.

The coffee shop has been open for probably no more than a year. Before that there was a shop which had slightly less than the bare essentials. They have done a refit of the space, including a small kitchen and seating area. It looks quite nice I think. It serves as a coffee shop, deli and convenience store.

Cafe area

Menu, deli meats in the fridge unit straight ahead, kitchen behind that

The convenience store bit, has some nice stuff in there

Our order was a cappuccino, double macchiato and pain au raisin.

The coffees weren't bad, good strong coffee flavour, hot - not much more than that but very acceptable.

The pain au raisin was very good, seemed fresh and tasted nice, it was served slightly warm too.

Let's be honest though, this place is not gourmet, nor is it trying to be, and their prices reflect this.

In addition to coffees and pastries there are some light meals and paninis on offer as well. I'm not quite what happens when you order a light meal or panini, I guess one of the staff there would get up and whip something up, it didn't like there was much call for that though. Given the selection of deli meats and fresh vege they have for sale I suspect their food might be quite nice made with fresh ingredients so probably worth a try sometime.

There special of the day was pasta al forno, side salad and sorbet for £5.90, might have to try out their special one day

Service here is fine, but again they're not after any awards, just doing the basics to an acceptable level.

While we were there a few residents came in to pick up coffees or milk, bread or papers. There is a big tv in one corner (a la any European shop/bar). It does have quite an authentic European feel actually, not the type of European shop/cafe with lots of atmosphere but the kind that only locals go in to.

I'll do some scores and then maybe a few notes on Du Cane Court.

Scores
Coffee
Hot: 10/13
Aroma: 7/13
Flavour: 7/13
Texture: 7/13
Presentation: 6/13

General
Service: 7/13
Food: 7/13
Atmosphere: 7/13 (it's an odd atmosphere, something a bit different)

Overall 7/13.
I would strongly recommend that if you're reading this and have even a passing interest in Balham or Du Cane Court specifically that you should pop in here for a drink and something to eat. It's not going to be a culinary highlight of your life but this is probably as close as we've got to a secret cafe in Balham. I suspect those that don't live in Du Cane Court have no idea there is a cafe in there.

So a bit more about Du Cane Court (or the DCC as I like to call it). I am at present a DCC resident but probably moving in the near future, I've been here for over 2 years now and was really pleased when Mrs Spiller found this flat in DCC because I've always been interested in this building ever since I've lived in Balham.

Some facts/myths/rumours about DCC

• It was built in the 1930's, at the time it was the largest private block of flats in Europe
• Is an example of art deco architecture. The reception area has recently been fitted out in keeping with the art deco theme
• The building has 'porters' at the front desk 24/7, the best bit about that is that they hold parcels for you, we've not had to go to the post office to collect anything the whole time we've been here
• The building used to have a restaurant on the 7th floor and I think it included a social space as well. Now converted into apartments
• There were rumours that during the war the luftwaffe used Du Cane Court's distinctive shape as observed from the air for navigation
• There were also rumours that Hitler had earmarked the DCC as his headquarters once he'd counquered London
• There is a night time dog patrol
• It has featured in at least two Poirot episodes (a couple of screenshots below)

Poirot, Captain Hastings and Japp on the case in Du Cane Court

 

And off they go

I'm sure there are loads more stories as well. There is one publication I'm aware of dedicated to DCC, I've tried reading it, it's pretty hard going to be honest but if you have an interest in the DCC and want to know some of its history and stories about the goings on in the building hunt out A history of Du Cane Court : land, architecture, people and politics by Gregory Vincent.

What goes on tour, goes on the blog

A quick post on my cafe/coffee experiences while on a recent trip around NZ.

On the flight over a flat white and banana bread at Sydney airport was great, airport coffee done very well, which was just as well because I needed a coffee by this time.

In NZ first proper coffee experience was in Akaroa. Flat white for brunch was great, although took ages. Akaroa if you haven't been is a beautiful place...

From here we drove to Dunedin, home made espresso with my brother in laws machine were good but going down to starfish cafe in St Claire (http://www.starfishcafe.co.nz)was a highlight, great coffee, food, beer, weather and company...

Next stop was Port Royale cafe in Portchalmers http://www.inport.co.nz/listings/port-royale-cafe A great little cafe, almost worth the drive from Dunedin just for the cafe!

Great flat whites plus a slice of 'tan slice' and citrus slice to share, yum yum in a cool venue

Jackson's on Joll in Havlock North is not one you need to bother with unfortunately. Coffee was ok but there is better to be had in this small town.

Good coffee, bad cheese roll at Jackson's on Joll in Havelock North

At E's cafe in havelock North (http://www.ateasecafe.co.nz/) is great in so many ways, if you ever have the chance, go there.

I would say this place is a must visit in Havelock North (or Hawkes Bay generally) At E's cafe, great atmosphere, brillant food and coffee to boot.

Quite a popular spot and rightfully so

Cafe Kaos was another big highlight, recently moved to Pukekoe, no website but here's their TripAdvisor listing: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g775284-d2327100-Reviews-Cafe_Kaos-Pukekohe_North_Island.html

Kaos cafe would stack up against any cafe in the world for coolness of atmosphere and quality of food and coffee.

From NZ we flew back to London stopping a few days in Abu Dhabi to see friends. Flat white from Jones the Grocer was very good. I'm not familiar with Jones the Grocer, apparently it's an Australian chain which I guess wasn't around when I was living in Sydney.

Jones the Grocer, supplying quality coffee and treats from an obscure location in Abu Dhabi

Before flying back to London we also stopped in at a Limetree Cafe in Dubai, I get the impression if you like a good cafe and you live in Dubai you probably frequent a Limetree cafe. It was very good, we got an average cake but I suspect we just got a dud.

The only photo I got of Lime Tree cafe in Dubai before my phone died. Our cake was average at best, coffee and smoothies were good. I'd go back for sure.

So that's a whistle stop tour of some of the places we went.

Now back to the real business of drinking my way through the coffees of Balham! Review of the Du Cane Court coffee shop coming up soon.

Bertie and Boo Adventure Island - A brave new world

This place is going to do very very well.

But is unlikely to see me again for a year or so.

It is catering for a very specific market and while it is open to all, I really think I (and others) should leave this one to the target market which is parents with kids of a certain age.

I didn't take photos of this place because it's filled with kids and I didn't want to get escorted of the premises (Mrs Spiller agreed taking photos here wouldn't be appropriate). So a brief description - it's a big cafe with a soft play area for kids, and maybe a theatre for kids shows but I didn't see that. The place is totally set up for parents with young kids, here are some of the features I noticed:

Food and drink service in paper/cardboard crockery - no broken stuff for kids to hurt themselves on
Till and food placed up high - kids can't slobber over the sweet treats or grab them and start eating
Lots of healthy food options for kids
Coke was for sale but at the top of the fridge section, fresh juices available at kiddie eye level
Reasonable (although not copious) space between tables
Buggy park (although quite small)

So you can see a lot of thought has gone in to this place.

I didn't go in to the soft play area but from comments I've seen online and from what I could see when we were there it's not huge which causes some problems. That said I'm not sure where the nearest 'full size' soft play area is so I think Bertie and Boo are adding something which will be of great service to the local community.

Dare I say it, Bertie and Boo Adventure Island might free up space in other cafes which have been overrun by young ones in the past (please note I do have a baby and often take up lots of space with a pram in cafes so yes I am being somewhat hypocritical, sorry about that).

So the coffee and food.

It was a decent Bertie and Boo flat white (i.e. good but served in a too big cup).

We had flapjack and cookie as well, they were fine.

I think they'd only been open for a week, there are clearly some teething problems, the service was a bit rough but mainly from not knowing where stuff is, what stuff costs etc. Just the sort of stuff you get with new staff, I'm sure it'll improve. It also wasn't helped by me not understanding the no crockery thing initially leaving me confused when it came to the self service food bit (take one of the cardboard boxes and chuck your food in there - it works and is quite a good idea but just wasn't obvious that I was supposed to do that.)

I'll leave it there but their are some very active conversations about this place online on Twitter and Nappy Valley (see here for one of the Nappy Valley threads...http://bit.ly/I3Oj1z). Also click here for a review on the Made for Mums website

Scores
Coffee
Hot: 7/13
Aroma: 6/13
Flavour: 6/13
Texture: 10/13
Presentation: 7/13

General
Service: 6/13
Food: 8/13
Atmosphere: 4/13 (this is based on me wanting something that isn't a playground/creche when I go out for a coffee and cake - don't let this deter you!)

Overall 6/13.

So not a great score from me, but that's my view at this stage of my life, when Baby Spiller is a bit older I will be spending a lot of time here I'm sure and I will be very happy to do so because Bertie and Boo does it very well. So please, if you've got young ones go along and hopefully you and your kids will have a great time!

Tartine Balham

I want Tartine Balham to be really good but in my view its average at best. And this visit was another example of me wanting something and Tartine not really delivering.

My history with Tartine dates back to before they had a Balham branch. Mrs Spiller and I would pop in to Tartine in Tooting when we were having our Tooting jaunts. We felt Tartine Tooting was a great find and always enjoyed our visits.


When Tartine opened in Balham they took over the space previously occupied by Gazzette which had a great atmosphere and delicious food in the cosy space. When Tartine moved in we were looking forward to good atmosphere and food continuing with a slightly different feel.


Unfortunately our experiences there have been mediocre, their coffee has been consistently average at best. Food has been ok and service has been hit and miss.


So this visit I was on my own, Mrs and Baby Spiller had headed back to NZ. It was a nice afternoon in Balham with clear skies and it was warm for March. I was able to get a seat outside, although the outside seats weren't getting any sun - I guess they will in summer.


It was ominous that the couple next to me left two half eaten meals at their table when they left.

I ordered a cappuccino and a merguez wrap.

The wrap wasn't too bad. Good in fact.


However imagine lifting up your cup of cappuccino to your mouth, as you take your first mouthful, the froth hits your top lip and you feel cold, cold froth. What a shock. I hadn't had the coffee sitting there for long and it was a warm day so either the coffee had been waiting to be brought out to me for ages or they had just used milk that had been frothed some time earlier on my coffee. Unacceptable. The coffee tasted average, like most cappuccinos you would get at cafes where they don't take pride in their coffee around London.


Service was ok but not good enough to make up for the bad coffee, the location is not bad, but really I'm not sure why I go back here so often when it's just not that good. I guess it's the memories of good experiences at Tartine Tooting.


So that's that, sorry it's not a more positive review. This place is relatively busy so it clearly has a market that it serves well but really I should stop going here. I suppose it is one of those places where you can usually get a seat when all the other places are full.


Scores:

Coffee
Hot: 4/13 (while the froth was cold the coffee was warm)
Aroma: 5/13
Flavour: 5/13
Texture: 6/13
Presentation: 6/13

General
Service: 7/13
Food: 8/13
Atmosphere: 9/13

Overall 6/13.

As seems to happen when I've had a bad experience I packed myself off to Dee-Light for a delicious coffee, chocolate brownie and sat in the sun for about an hour.