Ed Marshall
London's best traditional sweetshops
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By Zoe Kamen
Posted: Wed Nov 10 2010 -
Cola cubes, Chelsea whoppers, blackjacks, rhubarb and custard... Everyone's got their favourite retro sweet. Here's our guide to the best purveyors of old-fashioned confectionery in London
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Brewode’s Cornucopia
60 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ (020 7249 3067). London Fields rail. 10am-7pm Mon-Fri; 10am-6pm Sat, Sun.
On Hackney’s Broadway Market, with tables to sit in for teas and cupcakes or ice cream, this sweet shop encourages shoppers to linger while the sugar rush kicks in. Sugar-free alternatives to the main classics are also stocked. £1.20/100g.
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Hope and Greenwood
20 North Cross Rd, SE22 9EU (020 8613 1777/www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk). East Dulwich rail. 10am-6pm Mon-Sat; 11am-5pm Sun. Branches at: 1 Russell St, WC2B 5JD (020 7240 3314). Covent Garden tube. 11am-7.30pm Mon-Wed; 11am-8pm Thur, Fri; 10:30am-7.30 pm Sa
With branches in Covent Garden, Dulwich and Selfridges, this small chain brings a flavour of postwar decadence with all sorts of fizz-bang wallops, dib-dabs and jazzles in glass jars. Bubbly, informative staff are happy to chat about old favourites such as cola cubes, which although sourced from the original factory, have lost their gooey centres since food regulations banned the vital ingredient. £1.25/100g.
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Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe
9a Hampstead High St, NW3 1PR (020 8616 0717). Hampstead tube. 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Sat; 11am-5pm Sun. Branch: Oak Rd, W5 3SS (020 8840 0504). Ealing Broadway tube.
A growing franchise of individually owned, Victorian-style sweet shops bringing olde-worlde charm to high streets all over London. Chocolate-box-pretty and aiming to entice with a plethora of choice.
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Mrs Kibble’s
57a Brewer St, W1F 9UL (020 7734 6633/ www.mrskibbles.co.uk). Piccadilly Circus tube. 10am-6pm Mon-Wed; 10am-7pm Thur, Fri; 11am-7pm Sat; noon-6pm Sun. Branch at: 4 St Christopher’s Place, W1U 1LZ (020 7935 4333). Bond St tube.
Both branches of these tiny, twee outposts of nostalgia, decked out with multi-paned windows and bubblegum-pink stripes, have jars of sweet concoctions stacked to the ceilings. Since this shop opened in 2006, patient staff have helped customers choose from more than 150 flavours of indulgence. 95p-£2.50/100g.
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Suck and Chew
130 Columbia Rd, E2 7RG (020 8983 3504/www.suckandchew.co.uk). Hoxton Overground or Bethnal Green tube. Noon-5pm Sat; 9am-4.30pm Sun.
Columbia Road has a row of picture-perfect shops dedicated to all things quaint and British, so this purveyor of sweet treats fits right in. Rhubarb and custard boiled sweets are perennial bestsellers but paper-wrapped chocolate fags (£1.50) are being stockpiled ahead of their PC demise. £1.25/100g.
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Traditional English Sweet Stall
Pitch 60, Leather Lane Market, EC1N 7TE. Chancery Lane tube. 9am-3pm Tue & Fri. Pitch 1, Earlham St, WC2H 9LG. Covent Garden tube. 10am-9pm Wed & Sat.
Peddling his wares alternately at Leather Lane and Covent Garden markets, the bowler-hatted proprietor of this stall finds that the not-so-traditional blue raspberry bonbons are his bestsellers. £1.50/bag.
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4 comments
Hi, I have very good quality (crude brown sugar) jaggery which is very good in taste and its made from mention below things and it's make hot to your body. Once you will eat and you will definitely ask for more and it's 100% sure.
crude brown sugar(jaggery)
1. Ginger Paste
2. Dry Fuits
3. Nuts
4. Butter
5. You will get Paking like chocolate
Mr Simms is the best! Everybody turns when they see it.
The BEST sweetshop in London has got to be Hopscotch in Barnet High Street.
Their range is simply amazing - wall-to-wall rows of jars. Apparently, the nice lady there says, they've got over 550 jars. And it's so clean, colourful and bright unlike those expensive brown ones that are popping up evereywhere.
Very friendly, but it gets crazy on Saturdays.
I love Mr Humbug in Greenwich Market