Review: Cutter & Squidge
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| Biskies: a Cutter & Squidge creation. Think of a soft cookie & cake dessert sandwich :) |
The first ever reviews I posted were about looking for good cake in Bangladesh. It's nice to be able to follow those up years later with a similar post from London. I've written (and complained!) about dessert at many venues, but I've never really posted about a bakery or confectioner's since. I admit I've gotten into a habit of depending on chains and supermarkets. Trouble is, while I know independents that do good coffee, their sweets are rarely worth a special mention. Cutter & Squidge bucks that trend completely. They serve amazing cake and a nifty invention of their own called a biskie - best described as a mini cookie and cake sandwich.
I first found them by chance one night in Soho, when we were walking around after a meal in search of something sweet. This was always a normal thing to do in Asia, where cafés and the like open late, but everything shuts so early in the UK! Luckily Cutter & Squidge had the right idea, and their then pop-up was still open around 8 pm. I bought myself a huge slice of their Choc O'Berry Dream Cake, which turned out to be extremely delicious. The cake itself was rich and moist, with generous helpings of flavoured cream filling the layers and covering the outside. Fast forward a few months and they now have a permanent store on Brewer Street in Soho, which is great news for anyone with a sweet tooth. Their new store opens later than most cafés, which remains a plus, though bear in mind it's not late enough for post-dinner dessert.
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| The interior, bright and expressive. More seating than some of the other similar shops in the area, but I can see it getting busy. |
When I visited with friends, we got ourselves a variety of cakes and biskies before settling down at a table near the back. The interior, as seen in the photo above, makes me think "bright-plastic-happy", and while I realise it won't be to everyone's taste I feel its true to Cutter & Squidge's overall branding. The store operates the usual pick and pay at the counter approach, and staff will bring over your drinks or order if it's not something they can just hand you over the counter. Apart from cakes and biskies, the menu on the wall lists a small selection of hot and cold drinks, as well as a few sandwiches. Notably, they do a salted caramel matcha latte - which is great as even today there are too few places in London that serve matcha lattes. If you order one just remember to stir the drink properly, as otherwise you'll finish a rather bland cup like my friend, only to discover all of the caramel left at the bottom!
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| "OMG It's Green": green tea and raspberry "Dream Cake" |
Eating as a group meant I had the chance to sample quite a bit of what Cutter & Squidge had to offer, and almost everything left me as impressed as the first Choc O'Berry cake. My friends had some Banoffee cake and a salted caramel brownie biskie, both of which were excellent takes on classic flavours. I opted for the OMG It's Green pictured above, and while it was still quite good I remember wishing for the flavours to shine through a little more. I'm torn between what I like more here, the cakes or the biskies, but the key lime pie biskie my partner had was definitely my favourite of the night. Imagine two layers of soft biscuit with a filling of lime curd and vanilla cream cheese, finished off a crunchy meringue topping!
Funnily enough, my partner didn't enjoy it very much - apparently the soft and hard textures felt odd. And I suppose this the caveat with what's on offer - if you don't like soft cookie dough and prefer your cakes without cream, Cutter & Squidge may not be your cup of tea. A note on the costs - biskies are around £4 each and a slice of cake can cost over £5. These prices won't come as a surprise once you experience (i.e. have trouble consuming) the generous portions, but it will still feel like a lot compared to other stores. Given the quality of the confectionery, I wouldn't have minded, but prices for their full cakes online verge on the ridiculous and they lose points for that. Carry outs cost a little less, and the price of hot and cold drinks are quite competitive. But of course, you're not coming here for drinks!
Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value: 5/10
Final Score: 7/10
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NB. The final score, while influenced by the sub-scores, is a qualitative reflection of my overall impression of the establishment.
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