The Parlour

andybrown

Fulfilled. Full. Filled. 6th April 2009

2 found this helpful

Silver linings and all that, there is a definite upside to waking upon Monday morning to a power cut, no food or coffee in the house and a stomach that's rumbling so hard there are reports of falling roof tiles.

However, the circumstances are limited as they have to fulfill the following criteria:

a) you live in or within easy travelling distance of Stoke Newington Church Street
b) it's an achingly glorious day in early spring
c) you have no pressing appointments for, let's say, the rest of the day.

Bearing all this in mind, I got down to Church Street to get some breakfast and do some work. Now Church Street is a busy place with all the mothers and babies and kids, so it's well stocked with cafes of all descriptions.

I've been in most of them, but my favourites were full when I got there, and I had this whimsical idea of sitting at a bare wood table, drinking tea and grapefruit juice, staring out a little garden in the sunshine, reading the Guardian, eating an artichoke and mozzarella sandwich, listening to jazz, in other words being monstrously middle class and lefty and generally making the rest of the world jealous.

I managed it as well. Lucky sod that I am.

Apparently the Parlour's been open about 9 months, but I didn't notice, because there all the other choices around and it was winter and whatever. Secretly I don't believe them. I think it dropped, fully formed and perfect, into a vacant plot five seconds before I turned up, sent by my own personal god to make me happy.

So really there's no point me writing this review at all, because I want to keep it to myself, because it's too good to imagine I'm not dreaming, and because I suspect that as soon as I leave it will disappear with a *pop*.

Just in case, eh?

walid at 06/04/09

I have to say you write some of the best reviews on TP, please keep them coming!!!

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