It’s all too easy to neglect K-Town’s upper reaches, but Dartmouth Park has a lot going for it and not only a slowly fading history. Head over to – in estate agent parlance – ‘Dartmouth Park Village’, and you’ll find a solid local boozer, a cluster of newsagents, a butcher, vet and a liberal smattering of cafes.
But what’s the local coffee like? Do NW5’s more rarefied residents slurp their lattes here or venture down to Kentishtowner favourite Bean about Town on route to work?
Truffles Deli, a prime people-watching spot (you might even catch a glimpse of elusive resident Ed Miliband) stocks an extensive variety of the usual deli fare, much of it flown in from Italy. Aside from their comfortingly large range of cheeses, pastas, jams and olive oils – all sold with a wealth of knowledge about their uses and sources – the purple interior provides weary shoppers with a well-earned coffee break.
Mine came with a generous portion of carrot cake (not my preference, all others were sold out, but moist and nicely iced). The coffee itself, a macchiato, was good; full- bodied and rich, the milk nicely frothed. They use fairtrade Italian Arabica beans from Notting Hill’s The Coffee Plant. Luckily enough, for those as won over by the coffee as this Kentishtowner was, they sell the beans they use too. Perfect.
Staff are super friendly, on first name terms with many of their customers, able and more than willing to help with recipes or general queries. When we returned a little later for sandwiches, also delicious, they put up with my dithering in the face of their vast filling selection (far too many cheeses and salamis to choose from), which was admirable to say the least. Truffles seem more than deserving of their highly commended accolade from this year’s ‘Deli of the Year’ competition.
Words & Pics: Amelia Horgan
2 thoughts on “Cheeky Coffee: Truffles Deli, Dartmouth Park”
Truffles is excellent; ask for their special coffee, a cortado. Smaller than a flat white, bigger than a macchiato, strong and just milky enough. A hundred times better than all the bucket-sized cups of milky slop that everyone else calls coffee. And Truffles make their own marmalade. Respect!
Wonderful to see someone else putting Dartmouth Park on the map. We nearly included Truffles in our Parliament Hill post here which reviews the Saturday farmers market, The Bull and Last and Al Parco… Truffles is great, as is The Kentish Towner (we are two sisters who grew up in Dartmouth and have been avid readers for a while). Keep up the local good work!
http://floandelle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/area-decoded-nw5-parliament-hill.html