With the owners of the popular Sourdough Cafe in St Nick’s Market having taken over The Runcible Spoon on Stokes Croft, it’s time for a bit of a change for the premises at 4-8, Glass Arcade. Enter Tamarind Galliford, formerly of Harvey Nichols, Papadeli and East London eatery Franze and Evans, who will be providing St Nick’s shoppers with plenty of sweet treats to keep their taste buds satisfied.
Ahh Toots will offer a huge range of cakes to order: according to Tam, “boozy cakes, botanical cakes, American style cakes, vegetable cakes you couldn’t imagine, vegan, gluten free and straight up naughty cakes”. Everything will be handmade at their St Nick’s premises, but it won’t just be about cake. Ahh Toots will also be offering breakfasts and lunches every day for both meat eaters and vegans/vegetarians alike. You’ll even be able to enjoy a Bloody Mary with your bacon butty at the weekends…
It’s the cake and biscuits that are the main focus, though, and we were lucky enough to attend Tam’s launch party this week, which took place in the crypt of St Paul’s Church on Southville Road. It really was a magical evening, which began with tealights leading us through to the darkened crypt, the only light coming from the table serving Prosecco with a choice of homemade syrups (strawberry and black pepper, or honey and rosemary) and a few church candles flickering on a long table in the middle. But soon, the lights in the crypt were switched on to illuminate a table that was bound to appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth…
“Bring your favourite fork and dismantle our display”, said the invite, and that’s certainly what happened. Guests were treated to an explosion of flavours, textures and colours, from the pistachios and rose petals topping the lemon and pistachio cake to the impressive swirls of colour in Tam’s meringues.
The banana and salted caramel loaf was one of my favourites, generously slathered in cream cheese frosting and topped with homemade honeycomb, while the chocolate cake that acted as the centrepiece was a sight to behold.
They were just all so beautiful – as you can see from the picture below of the red velvet cake (left) and orange and Earl Grey cake (right).
One of my favourites had to be the vegan chocolate and avocado cake – incredibly rich and intense, and not overpoweringly sweet.
The evening certainly whetted our appetite for Tam’s opening at St Nick’s – and hopefully the photos have whetted yours too! Ahh Toots will be open at 4-8 Glass Arcade at St Nick’s from July 4th: to stay up to date with progress, visit the Ahh Toots website, find them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
[…] opening in the summer of 2014, Ahh Toots has been an integral part of the market’s food offering, serving up not only its […]