Time for tea

It’s hard to think of a book that could possibly appeal to Design Week more than Tea & Cake London.

Let me just repeat that: Tea. And. Cake. In London… Mmmmmm…

Black Dog Publishing and author Zena Alkayat are the geniuses behind this work, which is a guide to the best places to take tea (and cake, obviously) in the capital.

Alkayat says she came up with the concept for the book following ‘a particularly awful tea and cake experience’ saying, ‘As I began working on this guide, I noticed the city’s interest in tea and cake was blossoming and new independents were cropping up and flourishing all over town.’

She adds, ‘The book offers a broad taste of what the capital has to offer, from frills-free, contemporary cafés to ultra-fancy hotels bolstered by decades of history.’

Designed by Leonardo Collina at Black Dog, the book is split into five sections: Everyday Specials, Pop In Take Out, Virtuous Vices, Tea With A Twist and the wonderful-sounding Grand Affairs…

The sections feature write-ups of each indivdual tea shop, accompanied by mouth-watering photography of delicious cakes.

Alongside iconic venues like The Ritz, the book features Design Week favourites including Nordic Bakery, Yumchaa and Maison Bertaux, along with plenty more we hadn’t come across.

So Rose Bakery, Fleet River Bakery and Mrs Marengo’s – get baking, because Design Week’s coming to visit you. And we’re hungry.

Tea & Cake London, by Zena Alkayat, is published by Black Dog Publishing in September, priced £9.99.