Lantana, tucked away between the more well known heavyweight foodies of Fitzrovia (Salt Yard, Fino's), modestly welcomes you to enjoy some of their honest coffee. Now when I say honest, I mean coffee that's not tainted by Starbuck-esque syrups and enough frothy cream which would go to better use in a mock-up custard pie attack on Bush. I ordered a flat white which came with a subtle leaf signature atop a comforting cuppa - though I did flirt with the idea of a long black!
The decor of the the cafe is clean, comfortable and intimate; perfect for taking a date, meeting a friend or trundling along to with your laptop to escape the office. The staff have a wonderfully relaxed antipodean attitude (it's an Australian cafe) which makes a refeshing change from the franchise androids. Their menu is another bonus if you're feeling hungry - I would normally say 'peckish' but the portions you get here aren't for the peckish, which is brilliant! The first time I visited Lantana I went for the Moroccan lamb skewers with flatbread and mint yogurt served with a choice of two salads; as you can see it's rather impressive, and delicious.
After such a good experience, I thought it might be too good to be true, so I took my flatmate along for lunch to see if I'd enjoy it as much second time round. Last time I had already eyed up the various cakes on show, tantilizing me to come back for them. So I did. And went for the Hummingbird cupcake which was a scrummy combination of banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnut and pinapple with citrus cream cheese frosting and some sexy coconut flakes to finish it off. Divine.
I'm following the owner, Shelagh Ryan's blog scramblingeggs where she logs her endeavor to bring Londoners the best coffee experience, and lends some of the recipes from their menu. I'm sure I'll have a crack at some of them soon, so I'll let you know how I get on. And in the meantime, go and pay Lantana a visit, it won't disappoint.
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