FOOD & DRINK BLOG

‘We don’t do Grande’ is the proud boast of new Hampstead coffee shop Ginger & White. What they do instead is a range of expertly prepared espresso-based drinks including the serious coffee drinker’s holy grail - a ‘flat white’. The Union Jack artwork on the wall proclaims a love of British fare, from classics such as Eccles cakes and Victoria sponge to smoked ham from Essex, butter from Somerset and salt beef from Devon. The British theme extends to delicious comfort food such as fish finger baps and eggy soldiers. That said, there’s also an antipodean feel to the place. The Australians may have lost the Ashes, but they’re still world champions when it comes to putting a café together, and the neat touches such as pots of gooseberry and elderflower jam on the communal table would be right at home in Sydney or Melbourne. The place is child-friendly, too, with space for little ones to romp around and plenty of kid-sized eats on the menu. It’s open from 7.30am to 5.30 pm weekdays and 8.30am to 5.30pm at weekends. The weekend brunch menu is a corker and should ideally followed by a stroll on the Heath.

4a-5a Perrin’s Court, Hampstead, NW3,  gingerandwhite.com