Score.
3, 200 Piccadilly, London. Nearest underground station Piccadilly Circus.
What?
A chocolate shop/ café with a Turkish twist, the first thing you notice on walking in is the very, very tempting counter of posh-looking chocolates.
Then there are is the rainbow of macarons:
And then, of course, there is the cake.
Kahve Dünyasi also serves a few light savoury things such as baguette sandwiches, which are great for lunchtime. Or if you really, really want cake and have to drag a friend along with less of a sweet tooth.
During my first visit, since I was after Turkish coffee, this was what I ordered once I had been seated at a table: along with an iced Turkish coffee, since I was curious about what that would be like.
The waitress smiled when I ordered both coffees in one go. "You really like Turkish coffee?"
"It's been one of those days," I joked.
She asked how sweet I wanted my normal (hot) Turkish coffee. I faltered, not really knowing how it was supposed to be drunk- so the waitress said she'd get me one with 'regular sweetness'.
Soon my coffees arrived, along with a chocolate to go with the normal Turkish coffee (to my delight), and a traditional glass of water for cleansing the palate- I found this interesting because this is also an Italian habit.
Take a closer look at the crema on the coffee!
It was like a little shot of heaven. It was strong without being bitter, and just the right sweetness for me. It's served black like an espresso, but with the coffee grounds still at the bottom: so you have to be sip carefully when you approach the bottom of the cup or else you'll get a mouthful of them (I'm glad my colleague had warned me about this beforehand, and the waitress reminded me too). The chocolate was lovely too- mine was marzipan, but I don't think that you get the same chocolate every time, necessarily.
As for the 'iced Turkish coffee', it was quite different- more like a frappé.
It was a pretty hot day that day, so I followed the hot coffee with this beauty. As you can see, it was pretty epic, and laced with chocolate sauce. Yum, yum.
I also noticed a drink called 'salep' on the menu, and vowed to order it on my next visit once I'd done a little research (in other words, once I'd Googled it).
Salep is a hot milk drink traditionally thickened with the root of a particular type of orchid, and is like a thin white custard. Unfortunately the orchid is a little on the endangered side now, so exporting it out of its home country is now illegal- salep anywhere else is now usually a mixture of cornflour and flavouring.
On my next visit, I also ordered a slice of their chocolate caramel cake along with a mug of Salep.
The salep drink came with cinnamon dusted on top, and was served with an adorable chocolate spoon.
As I mentioned before, the salep was like a thin custard, only without the vanilla or eggy flavour. It was very pleasant, although I regretted my choice quite quickly because it was another hot day when I visited, and the thickness of the drink has quite a warming effect. On that note though, it'd be a brilliant drink for chilly winter days.
As for the cake, I want another one. Right now.
Thin layers of fluffy cake, a thick layer of chocolate brownie, a thick layer of creamy caramel mousse and even more caramel on top. This was one decadent cake.
I can't wait to visit Kahve Dünyasi again, and the prices aren't too bad for Central London. They also do some amazing-looking ice cream sundaes, judging by their menu:
Since the cold weather is setting in though, I don't think I'll be as interested. Luckily enough, they have enough cake to see me through the winter, including a hot chocolate one.
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