Glass & Thompson

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2009 – in the shops now or buy online.

If you have your heart set on cake look no further than Glass & Thompson. With its shiny zinc tables groaning under the strain of sweet things, this bustling little coffee shop specialises in serving ladies who latte. It has to be said it’s not the most relaxing of coffee shops unless your idea of relaxation is perching elegantly on a high stool with a hot scone, and if comfort and privacy is what you are after, it really does matter which table you snaffle. While the focus of the menu is more on seductive sweets than soup of the day, there’s a healthy if limited choice of lunchtime treats, ranging from elegant farmhouse cheese platters with oatcakes and rustic salad to blue cheese and spinach tart of the day. Once you’ve polished off the platter, keep the fork as there’s going to be cake. These range from the satisfying carrot cake with a hint of coconut to a flamboyant frangipane of raspberry. Disappointingly the service is a little slow, and the prices are on the high side. This once highly coveted heavenly haven seems to have lost a little of the froth on its cappuccino, but for a quick pit stop and a cake shot you won’t be disappointed.

• High point: Fabulous home-baked cakes
• Low point: Exorbitantly expensive quiche