Fleeting Pleasures

In the mornings, middays, and afternoons when I'm walking from the Holborn Tube to LSE for class, I often abhor the clotted crowds of Kingsway. Everyone rushes at a different pace so that walking that way leaves me feeling hurried and harried. Instead, I usually try to duck into a side passage that is mostly hidden by the produce stand that sits in its mouth, a passage that opens onto the square around Lincoln's Inn Fields.

It was my good fortune to have strolled this way a few times in the last two weeks and, thus, pass the corner building at the northwest side, where the Fleet River Bakery was coming into being. A rather cryptic notice in the window (reproduced on the website under "Petition") alluded to a neighborhood dispute of some sort about the bakery's being there, but as I passed it every couple of days progress certainly didn't seem to be stalled. And then, last Tuesday, the café appeared to be open! I ducked in after lecture with my friend A., and we had a couple of coffees and shared a plain croissant. Initial impressions were good, though the croissant tasted somewhat stale. I resolved to come back soon to do another review, preferably after their business was in full swing.

Today I went back and had a flat white and another plain croissant. Soon they will sell bread and, I assume, a wider range of boulangerie products -- all baked on the premises -- but for the moment their spread is nothing to scoff at. Here were my impressions, scribbled in the half-hour before lecture from a seat along the window counter:


11.45. Nearly empty but for the occasional walk-in/take-away customer. Appears to be mainly professionals on their coffee breaks -- likely barristers from nearby chambers. It is on Lincoln's Inn Fields, after all. The music is a triumph: 50s doo wop and pre-Elvis black soul and rock, maybe Chuck Berry or Sam Cooke? Rockin', but otherwise not especially obtrusive and entirely pleasant for a Monday elevenses.

Plain croissant: seemingly baked either on premises or at the least fresh this morning. Flat white; a small sip of heaven on a bright pre-Spring day; the rosetta resembles mine, actually (when I used to be a barista) -- A for effort, but lacking the exacting hand of a champion. Its presence, however, promised well-textured milk and it hasn't disappointed. The space is, as I discovered on my previous peeks and visit, inviting in a mod-warm sort of way. The lines are precise, angular, sharp; high chairs (done in raspberry mottled vinyl, new) are retro but manage to look fresh, too. The wood everywhere (reclaimed?), the huge arched windows, and the smörgåsbord-style pastry display -- not to mention the fresh tulips in a metal can -- all soften the feel of the place. It has a kind of rustic appeal, which marries well with its mission: to bring the place back to a time when bread was baked on the premises. Lemon slices in the water carafes -- the water really tastes of lemon! Neutral décor (aka: nothing on the fawn-beige walls).


Ultimately, my impression of the place is one of space and clean lines. It is precisely the kind of place to spend a half hour on a crisp vernal morning or perhaps a lazy afternoon. I imagine it will be lovely in the rain, too: the long bar alongside the windows invites a bit of lingering on such days.

Unfortunately, last week's visit with A. gave us the feeling that the architecture is the only thing encouraging lingering. As soon as I'd taken my last sip of flat white one of the girls working there came over to collect my cup and asked if I'd like another. I declined, and A. continued to sip his latte as we chatted. We were having a very nice conversation, but it became clear to us over the next 15 minutes that the three people working there were growing tired of our sitting in their café -- first they came to collect the other dishes, and then A. told me two of them were glancing over at us every few minutes and, at one point, gestured toward us in a frustrated manner. What gives, Fleet River? Customers are not battering down the doors just yet; don't you want friendly-looking people populating your windowside counter?

Today's visit was significantly less tense, but I didn't stay very long. I shall post an update in a few months' time, once the bakery has settled into its normal routine. Meanwhile, I fully intend to visit regularly for a flat white fix. For the record, the sandwiches look divine and I am eager to taste their breads.

I would like to point out that, in fact, I am aware it is March. Not February. 2009. Yeah.

Croissant: 8.0 on the Calibrated Tartine Scale (£1)
Flat White: 8.0 (£2.40)