Penny Blood's Black Book – My Independent Guide to London - Penny Blood's eclectic collection of favourite places in London to drink coffee, eat cake, have tea, eat out, buy clothes, watch movies, kill time, read Voltaire, quote Baudelaire and write this blog.

A.Gold is straight out of a Victorian picture book. Large jars of old fashioned sweets, Eccles cakes, fruit cake, Battenberg cake and toffee in beautiful tins adorn the shelves. It’s heaven for any tourist visiting London but it doesn’t stop there as they also serve sandwiches to go with a selection of British cheese and various other fillings of the best quality.

www.agoldshop.com

A. Gold, 42 Brushfield Street, London, E1 6AG
020 7247 2487
Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm Saturday – Sunday 11.00am – 5.00pm

Verde and Co. is one giant Victorian display case of fine chocolates, preserves, old fashioned tins of tea, coffee and wicker baskets full of organic vegetables. There’s a tiny seating area with weathered furniture and old oil paintings and shelves stacked full of jars, but it was the beautiful Victorian theatre sets displayed in the windows which originally drew me in. I find myself wanting to buy something just so that I can feel like I have a piece of the place. They also do delicious and elaborate sandwiches and salads to take out. Between A.Gold and Verde & Co. it’s like a Victorian theme park.