London life: Nordic Bakery

Whenever I feel homesick, I veer towards this little bit of Finland in London. It's called Nordic Bakery and is tucked away behind Piccadilly on Golden Square in London. It was set up by a Finnish ice hockey player Jali Wahlsten in 2007 to be like any cafe across Scandinavia serving good coffee and cinnamon buns. And that is exactly what his cafe has succeeded in doing: when sitting in this quiet oasis in the middle of bustling London, I could be in Helsinki, in the Fazer Cafe, having a mid-morning coffee. There are no gimmicks, no logos, just good coffee and delicious sandwiches or cakes.

It was a rainy day when I last visited the Nordic bakery

My usual: Karelian pie with egg butter and a skinny latte

Old-fashioned blueberry pies.

It's impossible to choose what to have.

They also do rye sandwiches with pickled herring or gravad lax and Tiger cake just the way my grandmother did (Tiikerikakku)

The final temptation is to buy some Fazer chocolate to have at home (or for scoffing the lot on the bus on the way home)

You can see why I don't go into the Nordic Bakery all the time - I'd be the size of a barrell if I ate this kind of fare every day. But for a treat, for a little slice of Finland in London, it's perfect.

There is another Nordic Bakery in Marylebone and one is due to open in New York in 2011. The Nordic Bakery Cookbook is also now out.

There seems to be a great demand for Scandinavian cookery just now. Wonder if Mikael Blomberg's incessant coffee drinking in Stieg Larsson's hit Scandi crime novels has anything to do with it?

Nordic Bakery Soho
14a Golden Square
London W1F 9JG

Monday - Friday 8am – 8pm
Saturday 9am – 7pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm

Tel. +44(0)20 3230 1077

Nordic Bakery Marylebone
37b New Cavendish Street
(entrance from Westmoreland Street) London W1G 8JR

Monday - Friday 8am – 7pm
Saturday 9am – 7pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm

Tel. +44 (0)20 7935 3590