Crème — Restaurant in London

I first went to Creme a couple of weeks back. I picked up a single chocolate chip cookie to take home and pop in the freezer. I waited a short while as they were all out of the cookie I wanted on arrival, but the staff were lovely and seemed to really be having a lovely time at work despite it being so busy! I tried the cookie at a later date, reheating it in the oven. 100% the best cookie I have ever had, hands down, absolutely beautiful. I told all my friends and family.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was travelling to London so thought I'd order a 6 pack of Creme Cookies, milk chocolate, and make a diversion to collect them while on my travels. The shop was very busy with a queue outside - completely understandable due to their quality. I was able to worm my way into the shop to pick up my order. The shop was busy, as it was before, but the staff member who served me was not at all friendly and really gave off the vibe that she did not want to be there nor care about how she was presenting herself to customers. Nevertheless, I went on my way with my box of cookies. Myself and the friend I was with decided to pop into a coffee shop to catch up prior to us having to leave/travel out of London. Here I decided to check my cookies - I was given the wrong box, not what I ordered at all. I was understandly upset but called the shop, explained the problem, and the lady I spoke to over the phone was lovely and agreed my box would be ready in the 20m it would take me to rush back to the shop in order to be able to catch the train I needed to out of London and back home.

When I arrived back at Creme I again went into the shop and to the counter. I was completely ignored for a couple of minutes then managed to catch the attention of a staff member (different to the one I spoke to previously). I explained the situation and she again seemed to not care about the issue, went to collect my box, put it in the bag and handed it to me without a word, with a bleak expression, no apology, then walked away. I understand mistakes happen, we are only human, but this was a massive inconvenience on my day costing me quality time with those I care about and almost missing my train. Acknowledgement and a sincere apology is all I wanted and I would have pushed the mistake aside, but I did not get that at all. For £4 per cookie, I do not only expect incredible cookies, but also incredible customer service.

The latter experience has really tainted my view of Creme and I am sorry to say that it has really made me question whether I...

Food Generally, I didn't fancy the white chocolate and miso cookie. The miso dough is quite unique and while others may like it, it wasn't quite to my taste. However, I very much enjoyed the triple chocolate and sea salt cookie. Both cookies were very big portion wise, and had a nice gooey texture.

Service Service was friendly, and when I asked about reheating, they gave me a handy info card with all the necessary instructions to best store/reheat the cookies.

Price Each cookie cost £5 which I found to be very steep, and I would not consider coming back at the price. I believe there are options for multiple cookies (at least 6) which work out to be slightly cheaper per cookie, but ideally a deal for 3 cookies would have been the sweet spot.

Shop Arguably my least favourite aspect about Crème was the tiny shop. I suspect the size is intentional as it automatically ends up creating a queue outside the shop, adding to the social media hype around Crème. The shop did feel cramped, and if you want to wait for some flavours of cookies which are being baked in the back, it makes for a more awkward experience. There were only 2 seats which unsurprisingly were already occupied, so do bear that in mind when visiting Crème.

Overall It's not a "bad" place by any stretch, but I didn't find the cookies to be mind-blowing. Also, for the price per cookie, lack of deals for 3 cookies, and very limited seating, I am afraid this spot only gets 3...

I got the caramelised banana bread iced latte and the classic chocolate chip cookie and loved them both.

The caramelised banana bread syrup is DELICIOUS and possibly one of my favourite things I have ever tasted. However, once it was fully mixed into the coffee the flavour wasn’t as strong as I’d like it to be so if I got it again I might ask for extra syrup! Nevertheless an exceptional drink with a super unique and well balanced flavour - and you can definitely still taste it when mixed in. Might be worth noting that this usually comes automatically with oat milk but I asked for it with dairy milk instead!

The texture of the cookie was impeccable, with the thick ‘new york’ style contributing to the perfect balance of gooey centre and crunchy outside. In terms of flavour, the ground almonds give it a lovely subtle nuttiness and there is a good ratio of chocolate chips to cookie. However, I would personally like it to have some salt to cut through the sweetness - I know they also do a sea salt and chocolate chip cookie, so perhaps this is my fault for not ordering that one, but personally I think all cookies should have some salt in the batter to give it a more complex flavour and avoid it becoming sickly. Still, a great cookie and among the best I’ve had in London!

Overall, I’d really recommend Crème - and I’m very excited to come back in the future to try more cookie flavours and get another caramelised banana...