We just fell in love with this new cafe, and you will too

You know when you walk into a new place and you immediately fall in love? That was exactly our experience with Two Little Giraffes. This new cafe specialises in coffee and gelato and has opened on Thessaly Road (just across the road from Battersea tube). It is well worth the 5 minute detour the next time you’re shopping in the Power Station.

Run by joyful husband and wife duo, Nicholas and Veronica, Two Little Giraffes opened in December. The cafe reflects the origins of the owners, who are from Rome. So yes, they’ve got the coffees and pastries as you’d expect in a London cafe, but they’ve also got some Italian additions that you won’t want to miss. Their bakery counter is full of freshly made focaccia sandwhiches which are stuffed with tempting things like charcuterie meats or avocado and eggs. Pistachio features heavily too; there’s croissants bursting with the stuff and we spotted a pistachio latte on the drinks menu too…

It being one of the coldest days of the year we’ve had so far, we were in desperate need of a warming drink so the pistachio latte it was. We had absolutely no idea what to expect with this one; pistachio? In a coffee? Surely not! But there are moment in life where you’ve got to throw caution to the wind and this was one of them. We were impressed with the lack of syrups; it was pure pistachio butter going into our coffee and the result was an incredibly smooth, silky latte with just a hint of natural sweetness from the nut. And no, it doesn’t make your coffee bright green. It does make it delicious though.

The ice cream is made once weekly by Nicholas. He is a real gelato pro having been in the biz for over 2 years and having properly read up on the craft(there’s a mini library of books on the science of gelato. It’s a lot more complex than you’d think). The proof is in the pudding. He’s proud of the flavours he makes and his simple milk gelato is his favourite because it shows off the quality of what he is doing without hiding behind any flavours. The base is simple: milk, cream and sugar, but the result is far from simple. Nicholas was kind enough to let us sample a few of the flavours and each one was unique and properly tasty. The vanilla was vanilla-ing, the crunchy pistachio special was a textural explosion, the hazelnut was indulgent and the raspberry sorbet was so intensely fresh and vibrant it might as well have been one of our five-a-day. With out a doubt this is some of the best gelato we’ve had outside of Italy.

There are a few things that really stood out to us with Two Little Giraffes. The quality of the food is one. Nicholas really emphasised that the quality was something he would never compromise on. He said: “We knew opening an ice cream shop in December was going to be slow, but it gives us time to build up the business properly“. They’re taking their time to implement their gelato making process during the colder months so that when summer hits they’ll be properly versed in their system and will no doubt be churning out cone after cone of the very best standard.

The second was the atmosphere of the cafe. Both Nicholas and Veronica have fostered an experience in Two Little Giraffes that will mean that you won’t want to leave. They’re happily chatty and we were unsurprised to hear that they’ve already gained a loyal customer base. Both appreciate how important it is to feel welcome in a cafe and we loved something Nicholas said; “I wouldn’t even call it customer service because it comes from the heart“. He hit the nail on the head there. Everything in this cafe certainly comes from the heart.

The thing is, there’s no shortage of cafes in London. So to find a cafe that sticks in your mind is hard, but Two Little Giraffes is certainly one of them. Nicholas and Veronica have made this place a haven from the busy London streets outside. We have absolutely no doubt that, whether you’re in there for 2 hours or 2 minutes, you’ll be leaving with a smile.