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Saturday marked a couple of "firsts" for me: I finally met one of my blogging/Instagram/Twitter friends in person, Laura of The Whole Ingredient, and I finally tried my first matcha latte (so good!) at Curators Coffee Gallery, after swooning over photos of both the lattes and the coffee shop over on Not Just Another Milla's Instagram account.
You might remember that I featured Laura's recipe for these delicious vegan goji bliss balls a few months ago. I adore her writing and her vegan recipes - they look mouthwateringly good and are totally appealing for non-vegans as well! Aside from that fundamental difference (i.e. Laura's vegan and I'm, well, omnivorous ... in fact, I blanched while mentioning a steak to her!), it seemed that Laura and I had everything else in common (okay, I'm a little shorter than her, but what's a few inches between friends?!).
Have you ever met someone and clicked straightaway? That's what talking to Laura was like. We shared the same opinion on so many things and often found ourselves finishing each other's thoughts. A little scary, but so fun at the same time!
Meeting bloggers IRL (that's "in real life" for all you non-abbreviating types!) always makes me a little apprehensive. On paper (or rather, on screen), we might have a lot in common and a seemingly great rapport, but there's always a risk in real life that ... we have nothing to say to each other. Or are completely different people than we thought we were (my nightmare is something akin to an episode of MTV's Catfish).
Luckily, meeting Laura was the total opposite. She is so nice. We sat for a while in the sun-drenched window of Curators Coffee Gallery and shared stories between sips of matcha lattes (milk for me, soya for her), which were frothy and delightful.
If you live in London and haven't been to Curators Coffee Gallery yet (they have a couple of different locations), go.
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We went to the cafe on Margaret Street (near Oxford Circus/Tottenham Court Road), which has beautiful interiors (and beautiful floors!), as well as a selection of mouth-wateringly good pastries and cakes. If we hadn't had brunch already, I definitely would have indulged in one of those tasty-looking sandwiches (and probably a slice of cake - I can never resist).
I can imagine that it gets pretty busy on weekdays or even on weekends, but if you can find a place to sit and settle, it's a lovely place to meet with friends to have chat. Natural light makes any space glow.
Oh, and those floors:
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Pinterest-worthy, right there.
I'm definitely checking out that coffee shop next time I am in the West End (for the photographic opportunities alone!).
ReplyDeleteYes, you should, Ruth! The light is really beautiful there, and the food is delicious too!
DeleteAnother recommendation to add to my growing list. I think I'll be about 80 by the time I make it through all the places I want to try (and by then, a slew of others will exist). The prospect of meeting friends you've made on the interwebz is totally scary. You know yourself, but there's no telling how another person will interpret you when you meet them. Being misunderstood is a pain. I'm happy your real life meeting was so successful :D
ReplyDeleteGianni, I know what you mean - I've lived in London for 8 years now and I still haven't tried all the places I've wanted to! At the same time, I want to go when I'm in the mood ... not just to simply tick them off a list, you know?
DeleteRe: meeting people IRL ... it can be nervewracking. In fact, I was nervous to meet Laura on Saturday! It's always like that when you're getting to know someone, but I think that there's even more pressure when you have some pre-determined expectations, or feel as though there are pre-determined expectations set for you!
I'm always worried about meeting bloggers IRL, you click on social media but what if you don't in person? So much like going on a first date! So glad that you found a friend in Laura and what a sweet cafe!
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
TOTALLY like going on a first date, Angie! Blogging is such a weird, crazy, and wonderful world.
DeleteAnd yes, if you are ever in the area, you should definitely stop by Curators Coffee! Think you'd like it. :)
Curators coffee is a blogger's dream, isn't it!?
ReplyDeleteYes, it totally is ... is that sad to think, Emma?? Sometimes, I wish I could just enjoy places/food/sights for what they are, rather than places that I need to line up my sunglasses just so in order to Instagram or think of words to describe so that I can blog about it ... blogging IS about life, but it is just so full on sometimes!
DeleteWow, well ... um, *that* came out of nowhere. :)
Matcha Latte! Have been DYING to try one of these. I've thought about buying matcha myself and just going for it but it's £££. Would you say it's worth it?
ReplyDeleteThink you would love them, Robin! They serve them at Timberyard too ... maybe we can meet up at one of these soon? xo
DeleteThat would be perfect! Something about two birds, one stone – not that having a matcha latte and meeting with you is something that needs to be multi-tasked in any way. Let's do it!
ReplyDeleteThis post has taught me way too many things: 1. what IRL meant (seriously, I'm like 80) 2. That I need to stalk your coffee joints 3. I'm not the only one who's never had a matcha. I knew that Robin was a smart chick. If I promise to be nice, can I crash your matcha meet up?
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