Chapter 52- Tina, We Salute You, Dalston
This was really the holy grail of cafes that I never thought I'd get to visit before leaving the land of tea and scones last week. It has the most unusual name for well, anything. I did some research online as to why the cafe pays tribute to a woman called Tina- it turns out that Tina is the name of a painting by an artist called J.H Lynch that the owners of the cafe (two men who take their coffee very seriously) like. Unusual tributes aside, what brought me to it was yet another farewell meeting- this time with my history department academic advisor: the way-too-cool-for-school Dr. Erica Wald, who made life at university and London much nicer and pleasant amidst all the greyness and coldness of the City. One of the highlights of this cafe outing was also hanging out with her new baby girl, Asta (who I swear has one of the most adorable eyes).
It turns out Tina, We Salute You is Erica's frequent hang-out in the uber-hipster area of Dalston. Here, independent or hipster cafes are plenty abound- but I'm told that Tina's a pioneer. It's (though I'm tempted to call the cafe 'her') off the main road (47 King Henry's Walk, London, N1 4NH) but Erica assured me that it being off the beaten track has not prevented it from being extremely popular and crowded on weekends: proof that you really do have to go the distance for good coffee.
The cafe isn't very big but what immediately caught my eye were the many noses that were being exhibited on the walls. Besides being a regular cafe, Tina often exhibits artwork by local artists and the artwork in the cafe changes every 8 weeks. I've seen paintings being hung out and exhibited in various cafes but seeing noses being stuck on the wall as part of an art installation was really something else.
Given that the artwork and interiors of the cafe change nearly every 1-2 months, the furniture and counters in the cafe are appropriately minimalist and jet black. There weren't many patrons when we arrived at about 3.45 so Erica, Asta and I grabbed a corner of a large table facing the serving counter. The barista was really friendly and told us to take our time to decide what we wanted and according to Erica, the people behind Tina are not coffee snobs or too hipster to take the time to explain to coffee-newbies the difference between a latte and a cappuccino.
There were cupcakes and other cakes on display (which are all homemade by one of the owners of the cafe, Steve).
As usual, deciding what should accompany our coffee choices (Erica: Americano, me: Mocha) was a pickle but in the end, the choice seemed rather simple- Red Velvet Cake for Erica, and a vanilla cupcake with Crunchie topping (who can resist a Crunchie!!) for my awfully sweet tooth.
The coffees were served quite quickly and my mocha looked absolutely beautiful: for the first time in a long time, I got a cup of coffee where chocolate powder was not the ingredient choice of decoration; all hail chocolate sauce. It was love at first sip- the baristas at Tina do justice to the Square Mile coffee beans used and this was one of the nicest mochas I'd ever drunk (another one being at Wild & Wood near Holborn).
Although Erica found her red velvet cake to be a bit too sweet for her liking (the icing was indeed a sugar overload), the cake was nicely red and moist- as was my cupcake; the crunchie topping added to the sweetness of the icing but was a nice touch. I was a very, very satisfied person by the time I finished my cupcake and had many mouthfuls of Erica's cake. As we enjoyed our cake and coffee, many, many people started streaming in and pretty soon Tina was occupied and bustling even at its last hour of business (the cafe shuts at 5pm on Mondays, but 7pm from Tuesday to Sunday).
I think it's safe to say that Tina is a hidden gem of Dalston and do not make the mistake of subsuming it with the general hipster scene of the area; it is a true pioneer in promoting local art and the coffee-scene. Visiting Tina was really a cafe discovery that was better late than never, and ending the cafe-hunt in London (for now) with a salute to Tina was truly fitting. Glad to have met you Tina- I look forward to seeing you again soon.
It turns out Tina, We Salute You is Erica's frequent hang-out in the uber-hipster area of Dalston. Here, independent or hipster cafes are plenty abound- but I'm told that Tina's a pioneer. It's (though I'm tempted to call the cafe 'her') off the main road (47 King Henry's Walk, London, N1 4NH) but Erica assured me that it being off the beaten track has not prevented it from being extremely popular and crowded on weekends: proof that you really do have to go the distance for good coffee.
The cafe isn't very big but what immediately caught my eye were the many noses that were being exhibited on the walls. Besides being a regular cafe, Tina often exhibits artwork by local artists and the artwork in the cafe changes every 8 weeks. I've seen paintings being hung out and exhibited in various cafes but seeing noses being stuck on the wall as part of an art installation was really something else.
Given that the artwork and interiors of the cafe change nearly every 1-2 months, the furniture and counters in the cafe are appropriately minimalist and jet black. There weren't many patrons when we arrived at about 3.45 so Erica, Asta and I grabbed a corner of a large table facing the serving counter. The barista was really friendly and told us to take our time to decide what we wanted and according to Erica, the people behind Tina are not coffee snobs or too hipster to take the time to explain to coffee-newbies the difference between a latte and a cappuccino.
There were cupcakes and other cakes on display (which are all homemade by one of the owners of the cafe, Steve).
As usual, deciding what should accompany our coffee choices (Erica: Americano, me: Mocha) was a pickle but in the end, the choice seemed rather simple- Red Velvet Cake for Erica, and a vanilla cupcake with Crunchie topping (who can resist a Crunchie!!) for my awfully sweet tooth.
The coffees were served quite quickly and my mocha looked absolutely beautiful: for the first time in a long time, I got a cup of coffee where chocolate powder was not the ingredient choice of decoration; all hail chocolate sauce. It was love at first sip- the baristas at Tina do justice to the Square Mile coffee beans used and this was one of the nicest mochas I'd ever drunk (another one being at Wild & Wood near Holborn).
Although Erica found her red velvet cake to be a bit too sweet for her liking (the icing was indeed a sugar overload), the cake was nicely red and moist- as was my cupcake; the crunchie topping added to the sweetness of the icing but was a nice touch. I was a very, very satisfied person by the time I finished my cupcake and had many mouthfuls of Erica's cake. As we enjoyed our cake and coffee, many, many people started streaming in and pretty soon Tina was occupied and bustling even at its last hour of business (the cafe shuts at 5pm on Mondays, but 7pm from Tuesday to Sunday).
I think it's safe to say that Tina is a hidden gem of Dalston and do not make the mistake of subsuming it with the general hipster scene of the area; it is a true pioneer in promoting local art and the coffee-scene. Visiting Tina was really a cafe discovery that was better late than never, and ending the cafe-hunt in London (for now) with a salute to Tina was truly fitting. Glad to have met you Tina- I look forward to seeing you again soon.