Patisserie Valerie

I had a perfectly fine, creamy mellow latte and buttery croissant here on a Saturday morning a little while ago, before ordering some of the *beeootiful* cakes to take home.

So far so decadent, and what a wonderful way to spend a lazy Saturday morning - but, considering it was not overly busy, the service was a mess.

As I was not in a rush it was no major matter, but nevertheless it is a little off-putting when trying to enjoy a relaxed coffee and then pay for it, if the (apparently incredibly) rigid staff-duty rules mean that the person you speak to in order to pay has to call someone else, (who then calls someone else) to check what you have ordered to allow a bill to be generated and then you have to pay it at a different work station altogether (and all during the pantomime you are watching the to-ing and fro-ing rather bemused, telling anyone who will listen that it was a latte and croissant and can you just give someone some money...). Good job the cakes are nice.