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Lantana
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© Michael Franke
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By Charmaine Mok
This excellent café is always a joy to visit. It has an overflowing sense of Australian bonhomie; the owner, Aussie Shelagh Ryan, set up the place after bemoaning the lack of decent cafés in the capital. Though its been nearly a year since it first opened, the food remains inspired and, more importantly, delicious; the flat whites come out perfectly each time, and they keep striving to bring something new to the table. For example, late-night openings on Thursdays and Fridays see the café offer fruity cocktails and Australian wines, served with nibbles.
We’ve enjoyed Bill Granger-esque breakfasts here, such as corn fritters with rocket, smoked salmon and lime aioli, or grilled halloumi with sourdough and portobello mushrooms. Lunches might include steak sarnies, or full-flavoured tarts such as sweet potato with chorizo, asparagus and feta with innovative salads. The grilled chicken skewers are ludicrously juicy, served with a cooling tsatsiki; fishcakes are packed with quality fish and perched on top of an intense napoli sauce.
And we haven’t even got to the sweet treats; the typical Aussie almond-meal cakes, friands, are moist and moreish (if a tad sweeter than we would have liked), while the hummingbird cakes (no relation to the Notting Hill cupcake shop) are packed full of tropical and spice flavours, and a supremely sinful half-inch of cream cheese frosting.
Lantana’s the frontrunner in a new scene of Aussie and Kiwi-run cafés and coffee bars; the coffee is from Monmouth, and the espresso machine the coffee connoisseur’s choice: La Marzocco. It's difficult to get a seat most lunchtimes, so visit off-peak for a more relaxing experience.Time Out London 2009
Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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Details
- 13 Charlotte Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 1SN
- Area: Fitzrovia
- Tel: 020 7637 3347
- www.lantanacafe.co.uk
- Category: Cafes
- Travel: Goodge St tube
- Times: 8am-6pm Mon-Wed; 8am-9pm Thur, Fri; 9am-5pm Sat
- Price: Lunch for two with drinks and service: around £25
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When I first stumbled on this place a couple of months ago, I was happily in love and glad to recommend it to friends. Sadly the honeymoon period seems to be over. Despite impressive coffee, an inventive and well executed menu and a playful, elegant interior (surely these three reasons are enough in themselves to suggest I had found a great local), I won't be visiting Lantana again. I won't go into the details here for fear of sounding puerile or melodramatic, but I can summarise with the conclusion that this was the rudest and indeed worst service I have ever received in London. I was enraged to the point of leaving the cafe before placing an order and appalled to be entirely dismissed by noxious, disinterested sarcasm when returning to explain my disappointment later in the day. If you can tolerate being treated with utter contempt, you'll find good things. Otherwise, I recommend finding somewhere with a little more soul, humanity (in fact) and decent manners. A hot spot for hipster masochists.
A bit disappointed given the hype. I had the lunch meal deal, vegetable soup so overseasoned with bayleaves it was almost inedible, with half a sandwich. The bread was lovely and fresh but the filling was a smear of mayo on one side only, a tiny sliver of ham and the same of cheese. Maybe it's becoming a victim of its own success.
Steak sandwich, yum.
Wicked place with great service and delicious healthy food. Staff are friendly and the chefs know there stuff, love the coffee.
Brill place....
excellent coffee....ranks up there with monmouth/dose/gwilym & co...and a damn site more friendly than flat white's uppityness
Lantana on a Monday morning - what a great way to start your week. Try a BERT great way to start the day. Lantana brings back the original meaning of nice which really means ' BRILLIANT'
I have sampled this chefs food down under. Chef, Lisa Creigh, always delivers her best. You should try it!
The chefs and staff know their stuff
This place is fabulous! The coffee is to die for (a flat white of course!) and I can't wait to come back to try the breakfast menu.