Monday, February 17, 2014

Wildflower Cafe in Notting Hill

What a busy and fun weekend I had.
Saturday I went on a Street Photography Tour at Camden Market that really stretched
my camera comfort zone.  Sunday started off tense with another UK driving lesson.  Ugh.
(I might have let the F-bomb slip in front of my very patient instructor.)
In the afternoon, all of that tenseness was washed away amid new friends and champagne
at the second #LDNBloggersTea.

I can't wait to tell you more about all of this, not to mention Iceland!
And I'm still not even halfway through our trip to Morocco.
I'm so confused.  My linear brain says that I should finish up Morocco before writing about Iceland.

But, I don't wanna.  What do you think?
Will it be confusing if I just hop from one to the other with all of this other stuff sprinkled in?
What do you want to read about?

While I'm figuring it all out, today I'm going to tell you about a nice little dinner I had a few weeks ago.


When we first moved here two years ago, we were lucky enough to find reasonably priced,
temporary accommodation in Notting Hill.  And now I'm spoiled forever.  I so want to get back to Notting Hill.
We've lived in three other London rentals since then and none have compared to our time in Notting Hill.


So, of course, I said yes with a friend invited me back to the neighborhood to try out The Wildflower Cafe.
By day, a popular place for breakfast, brunch and lunch.  Everyone raves about their coffee.


In the evening, it transforms from a cafe into "an intimate bistro" featuring three-course dinners.
Whether you visit during the day or after dark, you will be served wonderful food,
freshly cooked on site and served by a friendly staff.


The supper menu changes seasonally and features three choices of starters, three mains and three desserts.
There is always a vegetarian option on offer.


I started with the Roasted Shallot & Chestnut Soup served with Toasted Sour Dough.  I almost asked for more of the bread.  You could taste the freshness.  It was the perfect way to warm up on a rainy night.  Fiona had the Panko Fried Calamari with homemade Tartar Sauce and declared it a great choice.



For our main course, she chose the Proscuitto-Wrapped Cod Loin with Cannellini Bean, Tomato and Oregano.
The thick, firm cod loin looked a good match for the hearty beans.  It smelled wonderful.

True to form, I chose the 28-Day Aged Sirloin Steak, with Handcut Chips and Bernaise.
There was a small glitch when it initially came out a little too rare, but it was quickly and happily remedied.
Second attempt was perfect and the chef even popped out to make sure I was happy.
I just had to smile and nod, as my mouth was full.



If you can believe it, we actually had room for dessert.  I had the Bread & Butter Pudding served with my own little jug of cream.  It was sweet and scrumptious.  It was a toss up between that and the 70% Valrhona Chocolate Brownie with Cardamom Cream that Fiona chose.   Appropriately decadent.


It's a great little place with a charming atmosphere, serving
beautifully simple comfort food.  It was hard to leave the warmth and venture back
out into the chilly, wet London streets.


Hopefully after our next London move, I'll be able to just pop around the corner for coffee and brunch.  One can hope.

What's your favorite London neighborhood?


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 *I was a guest of The Wildflower Cafe for the purposes of review.  All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

 You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide.

31 comments:

  1. Ahhh Notting Hill... such a gorgeous area of the city!!! :) One of my faves!

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  2. Ah, that calamari looks so dreamy! As does pretty much everything about Notting Hill. I am so excited to see more of your Iceland pics, though I am also equally charmed by Morocco...

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  3. God! Everything looks so delicious... mouth watering! I already saw @UrbanPixels some pictures from the meeting but I can hardly wait for yours :D

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  4. Um, f-bombs are dropped on the regular when I'm driving!! I loathe it, only because we have a manual though. You will get it :) This post has made me hungry now!! Yum!

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  5. All the food looks so delicious! I must tell my sister about it as she lives in London still and loves to find new foody places!

    My favourite neighbourhoods in London are the places I used to live like Golders Green, East Finchley and Southgate - just because they felt like home!

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  6. I give you a million bravos and high fives on driving in England! The drive on the same side as the US in Sweden and I still have not driven here once!

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  7. LovetravelingbasedinTNFebruary 17, 2014 at 10:50 AM

    I want to hear about the bloggers tea! I am a lurker and love your blog!

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  8. Looks amazing! Iceland, Morocco, it all sounds good! Do what you like, I can't wait to hear about all of it!

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  9. Looks amazing! I love the Notting Hill area too. Could definitely live there and I wouldn't mind finding my own Hugh Grant ;)

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  10. Skip around by all means! And as little time as I've spent in London I don't exactly have an expert opinion, but I loved Kensington Gardens and the area surrounding - Notting Hill included.
    PS those desserts have me going to the cupboard for an evening snack :)

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  11. Having lived in Covent Garden previously, I tend to gravitate to that area. I'd love to learn more about Notting Hill. Is this Wildfower Café connected to the one that was on Neal's Yard? I went there to try it recently and couldn't find it. This food looks delicious!

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  12. This does look amazing - that brownie in particular!

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  13. are those meringues at the end? they are really cute whatever they are! I don't know that I've ever been around Notting Hill and am a bit afraid to do so before finding a place to live as it's unaffordable to us!

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  14. It looks wonderful! You are really struggling with that morocco writing hey?

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  15. lol I am! But I have a few posts planned for this week :D

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  16. It's such a nice area, but SO expensive! What you get for what we are currently paying is not great at all. But someday I dream of having a place over there. :D

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  17. Not sure about Neal's Yard. I'll have to check. It's still my favorite area. I hope we can live over that way again when our lease is up later this year.

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  18. Oh, I love Kensington Gardens! Matt is now working over by South Kensington and his commute is pretty awful. When our lease is up later this year, we'll be heading back over that way. I would love to be close to Hyde Park!

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  19. You can't help but think of him when you hear about Notting Hill. :D

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  20. I think you're right. I'm just gonna jump around and post about all of it :D

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  21. I don't have my test scheduled. I've taken 2 two-hour lessons and he says I need 20 more hours! Can you believe that? How many hours did you take? I don't have it scheduled yet. Was it really difficult? Do they care how you hold the steering wheel? We so need to get together. I'll send you an email :D

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  22. Yay! I love that I have a lurker :D Thanks so much for reading and now commenting! I hope you like the post about the tea. My family is from TN!

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  23. lol Is the driving crazy there? It's so crazy here. I'm not sure I even want to proceed with it. Ugh.

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  24. I'll have to check out those corners of London. There are so many great places, aren't there. You must miss your sister so much. My brother is coming to visit in June and I'm so excited!!!

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  25. Yes, throwing a manual into the mix certainly takes things up a notch! I'm wondering if I will get it. I've been driving for thirty years. It shouldn't be this hard. Ugh!!

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  26. It was yummy. The tea turned out really nice! I wish you could have been there.

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  27. I've never actually tried calamari. I'm not nearly adventurous enough when it comes to food. Thanks so much for stopping by, Amy!!

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  28. I think I need to head over that way this weekend for a little explore. Following along on Instagram! India looks spectacular!! I'm green with envy!!!

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  29. Oh, I wish that too, Selena :) but maybe one day :D I do know one thing for sure: I hope you will let me know over the details of your stay in Poland when you will settle it ;)

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Thanks for commenting. I love to hear from you!