French fancies in Westbourne

 

No not the exceedingly good ones, but great local patisserie.

As you know from previous posts one thing I really miss in this country from holiday’s in France is good freshly made patisserie including decent éclairs, fresh croissants etc. In my experience other than places such as Patisserie Valerie in London, any cafes claiming to be a patisserie are usually just a normal average cafe with bought in croissants, which you can get better at most supermarkets.

I had been meaning to check out Pâtisserie Angélique for some time now. So somewhat unplanned we found ourselves in Westbourne in need of a hot drink and something savoury to eat. 

 

We had Croque Monsieurs and a vegetable quiche, all of which came with a side salad garnish. I am generally anti-garnish unless it enhances what you are eating. The salad came undressed but the accompanying vinaigrette was excellent and made this work.

We all had coffee. I had a Large Cappuccino and my other half ordered a Latte, which she gave a thumbs up. I found my Cappuccino a bit weak, however they do Double Cappuccino which would probably do the trick. The secret to a decent coffee at Starbucks is always to have an extra shot.

We then tried there patisserie and shared an éclair and some filled macaroons. The choux pastry for the éclair was very light and filled with a delicious chocolate cream.

The small macaroons were very sweet, but delicious again with a cream filling. You would need more than one but I think they would be a great sweet hit with an espresso.  

Being the afternoon is was a bit late for croissants, however the owner assured me they bake them freshly along with Pain au Chocolat  and Croissant aux Amandes etc. I will be returning one morning to give them a try. I think this is the acid test for any establishment in this country that claims to be a patisserie.

79 Poole Rd Bournemouth, BH4 9BB 01202 765 271