LONDON, B.BAKERY & THE IVY, CHELSEA GARDEN

My best friend and I decided a few weeks ago that we wanted to go on a day trip to London as we haven't been since our trip to Brides The Show last summer! The weather was as you would expect for a typical bank holiday Monday, rain, rain and more rain - note to self, always take an umbrella! We weren't going to let the weather ruin our day so we jumped on the train and hoped for the best. 

We arrived in London around 11am and we were starving so headed straight to Covent Garden to find a little coffee shop when we came across Brigit's Bakery! We'd always heard lovely things about it so decided to head in for our coffee fix & a bite to eat. No better hangover cure than sugary goodness & caffeine!

We both ordered large coffees and scones. The scones were perfectly baked and fresh from the oven, they came with an egg cup filled with clotted cream and a personal sized jar of strawberry jam. The staff were really friendly & always made sure we had everything we needed too! B.Bakery would be the perfect place to go on days like Mother's Day & for Baby Showers, possibly even a Hen Party before hitting the town! They even do an afternoon tea bus tour through London so if you're ever in Covent Garden and passing through I would really recommend B.Bakery! 

Our next mission was to get to Oxford Street for a little shopping trip before our next stop and I'm not really sure how but we ended up getting distracted by a street performer, who may I add was quite possibly the funniest man I have ever come across. I can't remember his name but he did some weird shit with a whistle, fire and a limbo pole, he was pretty impressive and the crowd absolutely loved it! 

Before we knew it, it was 2pm and we had to head across London as we had a booking at The Ivy Chelsea Garden for 2:45 so we skipped shopping and jumped on the nearest bus. There are SO many traffic lights in London our journey took longer than anticipated and we ended up being a little bit late.

On arrival we were greeted by a lovely lady who showed us straight to our table. After browsing the menu for five minutes and plenty of choice we decided that we would both go for the Afternoon Tea. Frankie had English breakfast whilst I opted for the Rosebud, the tea was lovely and I will be investing in getting some for at home. The afternoon tea consisted of sweet and savoury treats and my favourites were most definitely the truffled chicken brioche roll and the chocolate & salted caramel mouse. I couldn't fault the food it was genuinely delicious there just wasn't enough of it, This could be because I had a hangover but we even ended up ordering a side of chips! 

The table service however was awful and pretty much non existent. They only provided us with one plate, we weren't provided with spoons for our mouses and had to ask for cutlery to be replaced twice, now I'm not fussy but who really wants to eat cake with a dirty fork, off of a plate that's had cream cheese and salmon on it? Not me! 

Don't get me wrong The Ivy is a beautiful place and I would potentially give it another chance but when you compare it to places like The Sanderson it really doesn't live up to its expectations - not this time anyway!

Despite the rain I had a lovely day in London and can't wait for our next day trip! I think next time we won't book anywhere that way you don't get excited just to leave disappointed. 

Sarah x