The Connaught Patisserie
IT WOULD REQUIRE SUPERHUMAN restraint not to allude to Marie Antoinette in relation to The Connaught Patisserie. While it’s generally accepted that the ill-fated consort of the equally ill-fated Louis XVI did not in fact recommend her starving subjects to ‘eat cake’, it’s safe to assume that, should she have been transported to present-day London, she’d have found plenty to delight her here.
Opened as recently as October 2020, the Patisserie is grounded in the extraordinary expertise of Nicolas Rouzaud, executive pastry chef of the adjacent Connaught Hotel. The French classics – the Paris-Brest, the St Honoré – take pride of place, supplemented by all manner of original confections, such as chocolate and tonka tart, and peach mousse with redcurrant compote and lemon verbena whipped cream. Derived from the hotel’s logo, the aristocratic ‘Connaughty Hound’ changes colour and flavour with the calendar, turning red for Valentine’s Day and buttercup yellow in high summer. Beside the mouth-watering cakes, a selection of freshly baked breads, croissants and pastries are available from breakfast-time onward, with gluten- and nut-free options for those whose allergies dictate. Small tables in an ultra-contemporary interior bathed in soothing shades of pink invite customers to take caffeinated ease as they watch the denizens of Mayfair come and go.
See also: The Connaught, Fortnum & Mason
