Maison Bertaux

Maison Bertaux had been on my hit-list for a while, so as I found myself ambling along Shaftesbury Avenue after a great swim at Oasis, I knew that MB's time had come.

Now this may seem like a slightly strange thing to say, but I feel that it's only recently that I've really, really got into cakes. You may feel that you can recall a stack of instances from the past which would disprove this delusional idea, but what I mean to say is that I seem to have acquired a new catholicism when it comes to cakes and I have begun to embrace the cakeness of cakes, for whereas I formerly looked for the cake which I thought would be the stodgiest, heaviest and sickliest, and said "I'll have two of those", I now seem to be going for what I believe people consider to be more classical cakes, full of cream, cakes that totter, cakes with fruit, cakes that look cute, goddamit, cakes that can even be light in their own way. It was thus that I came to pick my cheesecake in MB on the basis that it was the most singularly wobbly cake I have ever seen in my life. I usually like a stiff, solid, cheesecake that majors on the biscuit base and the cheesy topping, but there was something quite irresistible about the quiver of this particular cheesecake.

But let me not get ahead of myself overmuch, for the cheesecake was but a pudding, and before that I had a slice of excellent pizza which was quite unlike other pizzas in that it was made on some kind of flaky pastry, much more patisserie than doughy, and all the better for it. In truth, the slice of pizza itself was a reasonably substantial meal, but after big session in the pool, who doesn't deserve some cake for pudding? The top of the cheesecake was remarkably creamy, with just a hint of sourness from the cream cheese and, I think, either, lemon or lime, and washed down with a Diet Coke, it made for one of the most satisfying lunches I've had in ages. Sat outside on Greek Street the people spotting ain't bad either, and when you have a giant wobbly cheesecake sat on your table, it;s quite amazing how many people cannot resist staring at the cake, wishing that it was theirs!