East London Hackney Pogo Cafe

76 Clarence Road,Hackney, London, E5 8HB Nearest Overground Hackney Central. Opening times Weds-Saturday 12.30. Sunday 11-9.30.

Well this was my first vegan cafe and I was somewhat apprensive.Having cycled from Camden I was gagging for a cup of tea by the time I arrived. So imagine my dismay when the place looked distinctly closed and I started thinking perhaps I should have checked opening times before setting off...

The cafe was in fact closed (see opening times above) but the lovely volunteers - yes it's a non-hierarchical volunteer run co-operative were waiting for a delivery so they let me in and I was able to try their tea and cake.

Normally they have a range of cakes but what's on offer depends on the volunteer chef on duty and what they fancy making. Unfortunately because the cafe was officially closed there were only two cakes to choose from and they were both chocolate based. I'm not really a chocolate fan but I went for the chocolate mousse cake (£2.50).

It was light and moussee and if I was a chocoholic I think even a non vegan would have enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first few bites but then was chocolated out. There were a wide range of teas but their normal boys tea (80p)was a bit weak.

My  vegan friend turned up at this point(which was a relief because up to this point I felt I was an impostor who would be outed at any minute as being a murdering meat eater). She chose the chocolate coconut cake (only £2.00 because apparently it hadn't turned out very well but it looked okay to us) and tea. She really enjoyed both her cake and tea.

Overall both cakes were good but for me the tea was weak so 3/5. The place itsself is comfy and they have lots of interesting stuff going on. The volunteers who were kind enough to serve us were really friendly so the place and the staff get 5/5. If I lived nearer I would certainly go again when they're officially open because look at what someone baked last week!

Bonus picture. On the way home I saw this.....

It's a rubbish duck- literally!!!

Central London, Bloomsbury Mary Ward Centre Cafe

Mary Ward Centre, 42 Queen Square WC1N 3AQ . This cafe is in the Mary Ward Adult Education Centre so is only open during term time and specific times at weekends. Check website for details. http://www.marywardcentre.ac.uk/StudentInfo/StudentInfo-Opening.asp. This place gets really busy at lunch time with all the staff from the surrounding hospitals.

I've been meaning to write about this place for ages. I love it! It's a veggie cafe where vegans and gluten freers are catered for. The food is excellent and the staff really friendly. You can get a main with salad for a fiver which for central London is a bargain. The portion sizes are not stingy.

Unfortunately the photo below doesn't do they're lovely food justice. You'll just have to imagine all the yummy food laid out.

I often pop in for tea - mug 80p. On the day I went I also had carrot cake which sadly had no topping so was a little dry. Normally though their standard is good but their piece de resistance is the portugese custard tarts bought in from an authentic portugese bakery. These are my favourite cakes of all time but I have to try other things otherwise I worry that one day there will come a stage when I woudln't be able to eat any more!

Overall the cafe is good value for money and there is often student art on the walls so it's a nice environment to spend time in. The tea is strong ( if you look carefully in the picture I've still got my tea bag in the cup!). I can't give this place a mark out of 5 because I don't really go there just for the cake so it would be unfair to compare it with the other cake specific places in this blog.