Entering through the grand entrance of Bouga makes you feel like you’ve been taken into a whole new world! There are the colourful lanterns hanging from the ceiling, welcoming sofas and chairs with scattered cushions and little alcoves displaying various ornaments!

On this occasion, we were seated on the ground level, near the bar. Bouga also has an upper level with an equal amount of wooden and cosy seating!

A lovely start to our meal was some fresh mint tea! Bouga did have variations on the mint tea such as mint and roasted almond tea, but we had the plain one this time! A tall silver teapot contained the tea and we were served the tea in small painted glasses!

For the starters, the classic falafel were great! These falafel were made from chickpeas and broad beans. They were lovely and moist with a crispy outer!

Another starter was the vegetarian kibbeth. This was the first time that I had tried these and they had to be my favourite! The oval shaped kibbeth were similar to the falafel but were made from cracked wheat and pumpkin. They were filled with spiced spinach and onion.

The halloumi meshoue were grilled slices of halloumi on salad leaves, tomatoes and olives. We were also given a big bowl of salad to accompany our meal. The warm flat bread was light, fresh and hot, straight from the oven!

First we were accidentally given the kibbe lamhe which was the lamb version of the kibbeth. As soon as we cut into it and realised that it was meat, we let the staff know. The staff were really professional and apologised about the mix up and swiftly brought us our vegetarian kibbeth.

The wonderful, tasty, melt in the mouth, chunks of tender aubergine, tomatoes and onion made up my main dish of moussaka. It was delicately spiced and went well with the side of saffron rice. I was glad that this moussaka was more like a vegetable stew compared to a cheesy topped baked aubergine dish. This portion could have easily served two people!

Surprisingly, even though the pumpkin tagine contained apricots and figs, it was not overly sweet. There were plenty of soft cubes of steamed pumpkin and it was a hearty dish. The tagine was served with couscous and was brought to the table in the traditional tagine cooking vessel.

One of my friends had the mixed grill. This was a selection of lamb chops, lamb fillet, chicken cubes with a dome of saffron rice in the middle. It did not disappoint and would be perfect for any person fancying some barbecued meat!

The staff were really nice and friendly and it felt like they valued our custom. They made sure that everything was ok with our meal.

Bouga provides great food, great service in a lovely atmospheric environment!

Bouga, 1 Park Road, Crouch End, London, N8 8TE

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The displays of all the fresh sourdough breads, pastries, cakes, salads and quiches in the front of this cafe are very attractive. Each corner of the display has big baskets of meringues!

But again, this is one of those cafes where all the food is not covered and it is open to all the customers walking in. It is a real shame as all of Coffee Cake’s products looks really freshly made/baked and of a very high quality. I’m not sure if the food was self service or if customers were supposed to be served by the staff. There were no signs up indicating either.

Coffee Cake does breakfast items, a big range of smoothies and the usual menu of hot drinks. The green tea was served by the pot.

The staff were friendly and were accommodating when I mentioned that it was a little cold in the cafe. They switched off the air conditioning and closed the main door. Coffee Cake has opted for white plastic chairs and tables; a contrast to the dark wooden floors and brick walls.

Coffee Cake is a nice cafe to come and have a hot or cold drink and I would definitely have had some of their food, if it had been covered. The cafe was quiet when I was there, as it was the earlier part of the day. There was a radio playing in the background but it wasn’t too loud at all.

Coffee Cake, 28 Broadway Parade, Crouch End, London, N8 9DB

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We went to this French restaurant for a friend’s birthday! On entering this restaurant, one of the first things that I noticed was that it was a lot more spacious than what I would have expected and the lighting was just right for an evening setting.

We started off with the goat’s cheese with walnut bread and date chutney. The goat’s cheese was of the perfect consistency and the date chutney had the right sweetness. The battered fried squid was not over cooked. The bread was really fresh too.

For the mains, we had the aubergine parmigiana and the steak frites. The aubergine and the tomato sauce went perfectly together; I could taste the sweetness of the tomatoes. The steak was Aberdeen Angus rib-eye steak and the au bleu (blue cheese) sauce worked well with the steak. The frites were really thin and great!

My friends had the sea bream and the roast rack of lamb. The dishes were all very well presented and the food was of the highest quality. The whole dinner was sublime!

We had room for dessert and so we opted for the honeycomb ice cream with white chocolate sauce. This didn’t disappoint us in any way as well.

We didn’t feel at all rushed with our meal. The service was fantastic. The staff were really friendly and efficient.

My friend’s were VIP members at Bistro Aix (this can be done for free on their website)! As we were dining at this restaurant for a birthday and we had notified the waiters about this, at the end of the meal, we were given complimentary champagne and cake.

We expected the cake just to be a slice for the birthday boy, but it was for all of us. There was even enough to be taken home! This cake was so delicious. It was a fresh berry layered sponge cake covered in meringue. The meringue was just gooey enough!  

Bistro Aix, 54 Topsfield Parade, Tottenham Lane, Crouch End, London, N8 8PT

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