Cafe Nero

A bit noisy and busy as it’s part of house of Fraser. Definitely longer line and slower service than others, so, bad if you’re in a rush

Nice if small and cramped Café Nero in House of Fraser’s.
Usual Nero fair.

Caffe Nero is a fascination for me… it has the atmosphere I love in a coffee shop every now and then but the actual food and coffee has, in my experience, an entirely changeable rating.
I fell in love with the sunlight streaming in the windows, classical music, and legal stimulants when I lived in London. The local Caffe Nero was the only one open at 7am, when I liked to get to work so I could read for an hour before starting my day. That Nero was near Hanover Square, and was embedded on my soul because of the freedom of that morning activity — I was newly single at the time and so now Nero has the emotional attachment of all things independant and deliciously foreign.
The Caffe Nero in House of Fraser has a simlar feel — it’s generally much busier, with shoppers, business folk, and tourists easing their feet. But it has the large windows, the classical music, and that indefinable something that, despite thinking the coffee is too bitter for my own personal taste, I can’t say no to when the mood hits.
The mood hit on Saturday; and the portugese custard tart was a wondrous surprise. Fresh, flaky pastry; baked custard not too sweet, not to gelatinous; it melted into my tongue the way your body sinks into soft bed linen at the end of a hard day.
It didn’t taste of independence — my beloved was with me — but it did taste of the sweetness of life and sunshine, and all the comfort of a place known but new.