Route Restaurant
The main aim of me heading to the city was to grab a present for my mother, who's birthday I missed due to being in different countries, but who'll be with me for mother's day. I figured it'd be nice to celebrate her birthday and mother's day together, and a nice gift would be appropriate.
I have a dear friend who lives in the same vicinity as the gift shop I needed to visit, so I decided to hang out with her afterwards. The rest of the day was clear of appointments for me and her, so we could relax and catchup. It'd been nearly 2 years since we met in person, so I was excited.
We met in her neighbourhood, so she recommended this cafe to me via text message. I followed the sat nav to the location. Had she not pre-warned me that it was located in a square that was being renovated, I'd have turned back thinking I was at the wrong place. Even then I wasn't totally un-shocked by the amount of renovation going on.
It's not a brand new complex, but it's relatively modern. Since the Grenfell Tower fire in London, there have been some legal requirements for structural changes in certain types of buildings. I believe the buildings in this complex are currently being brought up to adherence with the new regulations. It's no simple task. Apparently this particular renovation has been going on for quite a while. I can't imagine living in one of these flats with all the disturbance.
Route Cafe/Deli/Bistro is a Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Dalston, East London. The closest train station is Dalston Junction, which is an Overground station. It's a very busy part of the city and is served by numerous buses. It's also walking distance from other stations such as Dalston Kingsland and Haggerston.
I found the sign under some heavy scaffolding. I first was apprehensive about the place, but one peek inside changed my mind. I spotted a beautiful cake with a reddish top, and immediately asked what that was. It's an "orange drizzle with passion fruit topping". I ordered a slice even before ordering coffee haha. It looked so good.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
My fried was making her way down as well, but I went ahead and ordered an Americano with the cake. They served it in a very nice looking cup along with a jar of water. The jar was what stole the show from the coffee and even the cake. It was made of solid silver, and felt quite heavy. It first thought it was steel, but was told it was silver. I'm not sure why they weren't afraid of someone running away with it. I'm sure it's worth something melted down, or even the way it was, especially now with silver being in the news because of the economic situation.
I didn't realise how hungry I was until the cake came and I devoured it within 2-3 minutes even before taking a single sip of coffee. Normally it should be slowly enjoyed along with the coffee, but hey :). When my friend finally came, I only had half of the coffee left in the cup, and the jar of water. She also ordered some coffee and cake and we talked for a couple of hours over coffee and water until it became too cold in the outdoor sitting area and we decided to go elsewhere.
After catching up about life, work and family, the conversation turned to crypto and the current state of the economy. We've known each other for a while and used to work in the same financial company way back in the day. We've known each other through at least one "global" financial crash and we bought perceive the same "vibes" that preceded the 2008 sub-prime mortgage catastrophe that led to the crash. We talked about house prices being way too "hot" at the moment and needed to be "corrected". We both envisaged a world where we owned multiple properties we could sell now in anticipation of a crash, after which we would buy back in. Much dreaming :)
We later found an even nicer place that was quite vintage and indoors. I will write about that place in future. It deserves a whole post by itself ☕️
Peace & Love,
Adé