That lower bit of Kentish Town Road is a blossoming foodie quarter. And now right opposite classy new meat-joint Lazy Hunter is this licensed French-owned café-bar.
Originally scheduled to open back in November, it’s finally flung its doors wide with a merry assortment of Breton sweet and savoury crêpes – known as galettes.
It’s a small, quirky two-floor place with airy glass café upstairs, all blond wood and rows of cider bottles, and a characterful basement living room, with armchairs, a Chesterfield and a wonky light or two. Shelves of books add to the ‘third space’ home-from-home vibe.
Made of buckwheat which, health-watchers, is gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan, the crêpes are lighter than you might think, despite toppings ranging from cheesy to meaty to, um, non-cheesy and non-meaty. (Not to mention the desserts.)
We started with a vegan option: airy but a little dry, its sautéed mushrooms and spinach weren’t quite held together by the sweet, roasted flavours of the tahini basil sauce. A maki – or crêpe roll – filled with smoked salmon, avocado, leaves and cream cheese was perhaps more fun.
The corker? Why, their original Breton classic. La Complete – the most attractive visually (see above) and, of course, least healthy – was filled with meltingly gooey emmental cheese, thick slices of free range ham and an explodingly yellow egg. Delicious: we’ll be back.
Even better for detoxers and light-lunchers are the salads (mackerel avocado or buckwheat tabbouleh and many more) – and, most importantly, for boozers at least, there’s a full bar, with French wines, armagnac and hot cider to take the edge off the chill.
Evening nibblers might prefer degustation boards to share: Comté cheese, goat’s cheese, saucisson and dry cured ham. And there are all manner of sweet crêpes too, from salted caramel to apple compote.
In short? With a minor tweak or two, a quality addition to the strip – let’s hope enough locals are in the mood for a crêpe fix on a regular basis.
