Cucina LC

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Two little trees mark the entrance of Cucina LC on Haymarket Terrace. Inside, the walls are peppered prettily with butterflies. Comfortable tables and chairs and softer seats by the large window looking out on to the busy street create an atmosphere that is homely, unpretentious and family-friendly. Service is polite and attentive, and owner Lorena Crolla manages to make every customer feel especially welcome. She believes good food should be a norm, not a privilege. Taking pride in cooking with decent free-range, fair trade and organic produce, she only serves food of the quality she'd give her family and friends. Everything is cooked from scratch in the café: the mayo, the dressings, the chutneys, the soups, the specials and the cakes. Lorena's rich and creamy mushroom and tarragon soup has delicately balanced flavours, and her bubbly chocolate mousse with fresh coconut in a dark chocolate pot is light and deliciously naughty. Cucina breakfasts provide for appetites both hearty and dainty, and the extensive lunchtime menu is divided humorously into familiar relationships: 'old sweethearts', 'brief affairs' and 'classic loves' – a range of sandwiches, wrap and salads that satisfy the taste-buds whatever the desire.

• High point: Café cooking with TLC… the proof is in the pudding!
• Low point: It's tempting to be lazy and have Cucina LC cater your party