Taste of Joy Coffee Shop — Restaurant in London

What a pleasure to finally have a proper cafe in this little part of the world. This spot has been crying out for one for such a long time! The pastries are unreal, fresh out the oven (you can literally see the oven behind the counter. Try the salted caramel eclair. It's just divine - not too sweet, not too salty and the pastry itself has a great texture and melts in the mouth. All the pastries are seriously gourmet - incredible flavour combos and properly thought out stuff (passion fruit and meringue, 65% chocolate, key lime pie, raspberry and lime, to name but a few...serious quality). They've also started rolling out these savoury croissants with homemade pesto, melting cheese etc. Yet to try them but something tells me they're going to be outrageously good. Coffee is also great btw - kinda goes without saying... The place is bright, really tastefully decorated and awash in natural light from floor-to-ceiling glass (dual aspect, corner spot). Bianca, who runs the cafe, is a super friendly, fun, bubbly, highly professional and knows their products inside and out. She's a breath of fresh air! The entire offering has breathed new life into this little corner of west London - the nexus between Holland Park, Kensington Olympia and Shepherd's Bush. Oh, and the hazelnut cookie is also bloody delicious - fresh out the oven. Try all this stuff hot! Highly recommend this place. Go, hang out, enjoy, try all their stuff (maybe not in one go!) and take some of it...

I had trounced around the Borough Market for a little bit, eating little meals here and there, sampling various cuisines that I don't run into very often, and I decided that it was time for a little dessert. So I look around, and there are many options. Pastries, fudge, cookies, cakes.

But this one place catches my eye, and I see something I definitely don't encounter very often in my day-to-day, eclairs. All sorts of shapes and styles and colors and textures. I'm enraptured in looking at them. Picking one was impossible.

But I finally did, the Coffee & Pecan (Roasted Colombian fair-trade coffee cremeux, smooth pecan mousse, Valrhona chocolate ganache, toasted pecan nuts and edible gold). This thing was crafted with love. You could tell.

Inside the choux was a not-too-sweet-not-too-bitter coffee cream that was very fragrant and nice. It mixed well with the earthy, nutty pecan mousse. These not-sweet elements would have been for naught, if it wasn't for the sweet chocolate ganache. I'm not familiar with the Valrhona brand that they use, but I am now a big fan of it.

All of this softness was really good, but it needed some texture. And the toasted pecans are the perfect texture. A nice crunch to diffuse into each bite as you're chewing. And the gold flake, of course, for the Instagram.

Overall, this was a wonderful dessert, and if I ever do make my way back across the pond, I will...

Be aware that the owners have changed and it is the opposite of prior ownership. If before all was hand made food, now all is industrial. I stopped today and bought a pain of chocolat. £3.80 for a pain of chocolat. Their explanation is that it is much bigger than the ones at the post office. First red flag if as a cafe owner you compare your food to a convenience store. Second red flag, they are exactly the same size and are industrial. The stain of fat on the paper bag is the sign it is delivered frozen and then cooked on the premises. How I know? I grew up in the country of pain of chocolat and croissant, and baguettes... If you loved Taste of Joy, please do not stop there anymore. They are over priced, serving industrial food while expecting to keep the reputation of hand made from the name...