Louis Coffee & Tea Room

As per a friend's recommendation I went to Louis Coffee & Tea Room, a Hungarian Patisserie at Hampstead today. Hampstead seems like a very trendy and vibrant area. I really enjoyed it. Louis is just a 30 second walk away from the Hampstead tube station and is located right across from a large Tesco.

Louis is small and cozy. The furniture and decor are vintage looking and comforting. I sat down on a small table and asked for Earl Grey. The other tea choices were English Breakfast, Camomile and Peppermint. I then went over to the front and picked out an Apple Slice to have with my tea.

The presentation was fantastic and my items came in beautiful floral chinaware. Nothing special about the tea, but the Apple Slice was delicious. It was clearly made fresh. It wasn't too sweet and the apple was cooked just well enough. I loved the sugar on the top.

This was a buzzing place. Lots of people came in to pick up desserts. Most of those sitting down were seniors. It looked like they had been coming there for a long time. That's always a good sign. However, since the space is so small at times it was quite noisy. You can clearly hear conversations and they even get mixed up. So I'd say Louis isn't a good place if you're planning on sitting down and read. It's hard to focus. Nevertheless, it seems to be a nice place to enjoy a cup of tea with one or two friends.

Louis is not stroller friendly. You won't be able to take your stroller with you to your table. You are welcomed to park it next door (still part of the Louis building, where bathrooms are). I can understand that this is perhaps due to the fact that the space is small and a stroller would easy block passage. The mother who came in while I was sitting down thought it was a "ridiculous" policy and left. The staff did apologise but did not attempt to explain why strollers aren't allowed.

As mentioned earlier, the bathrooms are located next door. You need to go through a door and up the stairs. The flush did not work. The soap container was empty and the hand dryer did not work. No towels were available. Bad bathroom experience.

The service was OK. The staff did not seem particularly inviting. They seemed bored to be honest. That said they did their job and were respectful.

Note that Louis is cash only, so make sure you take some cash with you. I did not realise this but the staff kindly let me run to the tube station and get some cash.

Overall, I do recommend Louis. It's a lovely place for a cup of tea and dessert. The desserts look delicious! I will not however go back if I'm by myself. Other cafes in Hampstead looked quite nice and I'd be interested to try those, especially if I need to use the wi-fi.

Louis Coffee & Tea Room
32 Heath Street
London
NW3 6TE

Health & Happiness :)