Kaffee & Kuchen time

Prior to visiting the Lumier London Light Festival in Kings Cross – I took the kids to the German Gymnasium  to fortify ourselves against the cold with hot drinks and cakes. They have a delightful selection here and we ordered the Sachertorte with Chantilly cream, 

Black Forest gateau, 

Apple strudel with vanilla sauce 

and Apricot crumble. Which had to be my favorite out of the 4. 

The apricot had a lovely tartness which went well with the mascapone cream.

The kids chose a GG Hot chocolate filled with whipped cream and I had a pot of Earl Grey tea. My little bug bear is the tea served in the silver pot was too hot to pick up to pour and I had to use the edge of my napkin. At other places where I have had afternoon tea, they thoughtfully provide a little tied napkin onto the handle to prevent burnt fingers. All the sweet treats were hearty portions and to my delight gave me the opportunity to sample everyone’s plates – yum!

The venue is pretty cavernous being a former gym (hence the name) so the acoustics is very noisy. I wouldn’t come here if I was trying to woo a sweetheart as it doesn’t give off a romantic intimate vibe. But for groups and for kids who like their cakes I can recommend it. The staff were friendly and did not mind a napkin waving child to attract attention for the bill (I told him to do a ‘Michael Winner’…readers of a certain age will know I am referring to the former film director/restaurant critic). The rest of the menu is filled with hearty German and Austrian fare with the enormous Schnitzel being a popular dish as we were sat near the kitchen pass and saw plenty of plates fly past us.  

I wouldn’t hesitate to come back for brunch and I plan to when the weather improves so I can visit the House of Illustrations  nearby as we are all such fans of Quentin Blake. I still take great delight in reading Patrick as I love the pictures of the food growing from the trees. I cannot bear to part with the children’s illustrated books even though they have outgrown them and are now reading  David Walliams and  Alex Rider books or anything with Minecraft and Terreria.

(inside the ladies loos)

The Giant Sandwich is another book from my childhood that I had passed onto the kids. I loved books featuring food and it’s probably why I love reading cook books now for leisure. The Gourmond is following in my footsteps and is an avid reader of The Twisted Cook Book (whose recipes we have tested since Christmas) and strangely the Lakeland catalogue and in fact any pamphlet’s – Argos, Hotel Chocolate, M&S Foods and the magazine you pick up from Wing Yip Supermarket. There are occasions I have to yell at him to stop reading as we are trying to get out the house as he is easily distracted.

Who knew that would be something I would say as a mother!

Twosp x