BB Bakery, Covent Garden - The Small Slice

For Mother’s Day last Sunday, I took Mother for Afternoon Tea at BB Bakery, Covent Garden.

The afternoon didn’t get off to the best start. I had booked a long time ago and was disappointed to be seated downstairs away from the atmosphere in the main bakery. After refusing the initial seats, we were offered a private tea room, still in the basement. The decor was basic, with no music in our Parisian lookalike cupboard.

We were promptly brought glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice and a menu of tea choices. Mum chose the Rooibus and I had the Jasmine Green.

Prosecco Afternoon Tea for Mother dearest. I stayed on the OJ.

Despite our window-less surroundings, the crockery gave us something to look at. Quirky mismatching tea cups, saucers and tea pots that were just about distraction from the ceiling covered in fake ivy.

The bottom tier, as traditionally, was a savoury assortment. However, the choices were untraditional chicken “burgers”, mushroom quiche, salmon cucumber blinis, ham & mustard sandwiches and cucumber something sandwiches.

I didn’t actually like anything, but I don’t like sandwiches. I cannot be dealing with smoked salmon, and I have a serious dislike for condiments. Salad cream, sour cream, mayonnaise, no no no. Mum tricked me into trying the ham & mustard sandwich, choosing not to mention there was about a tonne of mayo in there too.

Just a chicken burger for me.

The sweeter tiers were right up my street.

The chocolate macaron was very rich but moist and chewy and everything a macaron should be. The mini lemon meringue pie was marvellous.

This little cupcake surprised both Mum and I. Usually we would both scrape that luminous icing off expecting nothing but coloured sugar, but this was different. It had a lovely berry flavour, and was lighter than buttercream. The cupcake itself was also light and filled with a berry jam.

On a traditional Afternoon Tea the top tier of the stand would have been home to scones, but we had a tier each to ourselves for our sweet delights. Warm scones were brought out after our stand had been cleared away.

Critique here is that we should have each been brought out our own set of jam and cream egg cups (Mum’s a double dipper you see). The scones were really good, aaaaand… NO RAISINS YAAAAY!

Overall it wasn’t baaaaad. It wasn’t great but it was certainly edible. Perhaps BB Bakery is better as a bakery/coffee shop rather than doing Afternoon Tea.

And then…

After tea, we went for a wander around Covent Garden. Across the performance square I spotted the word “Melissa” and my inner Carrie Bradshaw dragged me over.

Galeria Melissa is the Melissa flagship store here in London, which is currently hosting a Melissa x Gareth Pugh exhibition. Shoes, fashion and light installations (Alexander Petrovsky much?) I went to the Galeria Melissa last time I was in New York but this was much better.

Elegantly bouncing glass boxes each with a Melissa shoe illuminated inside. Is this what heaven looks like?

Oh hey Viv.

Mhmmm, Karl Lagerfeld x Melissa. Please!

In the basement, through a black rubber curtain was where the fashion magic was happening.

Back to shoe heaven for a minute.

How cute are the mini shoes! Rih, I see ya!

The whole place smelt of that lovely (maybe only to shoe lovers) fruity Melissa rubber smell. If you’re a super fan like me, get down to Galeria Melissa at King Street Covent Garden.

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Harleigh Reid

I write about food and eat a lot.

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