Cest Ici

Sandwiched between great places like Wright Bros in the Kingly Court, this place is suffering from an identity crisis. It looks like a tacky patisserie and yet has a full (although pricey) brasserie menu. I was not at all impressed with the halloumi salad nor the sauvignon blanc which was barely drinkable. Service was fine, but nothing to write home about. I think the other restaurants in the courtyard have a bit more to offer even if you need to pay more.

L’endroit est super chouette, on y parle français et très bonne ambiance au coeur de Carnaby Street… Par contre, niveau CupCakes, j’ai connu bien mieux… et les serveurs sont toujours débordés. Trop touristique à mon goût.

Located inside Kingly Court, this is a hidden gem. We were greeted by a very enthusiastic staff who when out of their way to serve us. We ordered the carrot cake which was moist and flavorful without too much frosting to overpower the ingredients in the cake. We got samples of ice cream and settled on a dark chocolate which didn’t disappoint. It was intense and creamy.
We sat in the courtyard which has a great mix of exposed brick, glass and steel. It’s a great spot to people watch as there are other shops and restaurants around the court. I would definitely recommend this if you are in the area.

We went in very late after a Unilocal event in the vicinity.
The location– inside kingly court — is awesome. I understand their alchohol is not what they are famed for but all we had was wine and boy was it bad. 3 of us struggled to get through the bottle.
On this one experience — 2 stars. But definitely will be back later to try some of their ‘real’ food.

I guess there’s two parts to this place? Went in fairly late at night for a naughty treat after a terrible seminar at the yoga place upstairs (but that’s another review for later)
They have cute flavor combinations that sounded amazing and me and my friend couldn’t decide on just one! And the girl closing up shop was really nice and patient with us :)
I eventually opted for bonaffee pie cupcake.
And was completely disappointed.
Mind you I was not expecting bonaffee pie, but was hoping for something more original. It was basically banana bread with some sort of sugary treacle center and sugar cream frosting on top. The cake was really dry and the frosting was so overpowering it made me feel sick.
If you’re looking to take picture of really cutely decorated cupcakes for some photo project then go here. But maybe grab a dessert from somewhere else.
*actually their cakes looked amazing too and I never tried one. Someone go and be my guinea pig.

This location is listed on the Candy Cakes website but as a Candy Cakes shop not C’est Ici. I called before arriving, because I couldn’t find the location, and experienced some very poor customer service. When I went into their shop the man behind the counter walked away, mumbling something about being right back. Several minutes later someone completely different showed up and we were finally able to get our two Candy Cakes to-​go.
The Candy Cakes themselves looked a bit weary but they tasted okay. I won’t be going back though. Dealing with poor customer service for weary, expensive, okay tasting cupcakes is just not worth the effort.

Mmm cupcakes, I do love cupcakes.
So with that in thought I stopped in here on Saturday and picked up 4 cupcakes (can’t rate those candy cakes, they look bizarre beyond words). The cupcakes were… okay. The cake was way too hard, not sure if it was because they were overcooked or a bit old but not so delicious as it could have been. The frosting was yummy, really good on the Red Devil cake, a bit too sugary on the Strawberry and good on the Coconut and Banana/​Toffee cupcakes. Overall decent topping, not my favorite but for sure far from the worst that I ever had.
Only real negative that will stop me from coming here again is that the staff is soooo slow. It takes them 10 minutes per customer and for sure are never in a rush even when there’s a line out the door. Come on people! Even the most die-​hard of cupcake fans aren’t going await around until the paint dries if you know what I mean.
The quest for NYC style cupcakes in London is still on!

in search of a mouth-​watering cupcake shop… this was better than hummingbird by far. tried the basics because if you can’t get past the basics, how can you possibly make good cupcakes? vanilla was waaaay better than chocolate. chocolate was more fudgy than chocolate. both cakes were denser than what i appreciate in a cake (fluffy, moist) and didn’t appear to «rise» (as in a rising agent in the batter). can’t imagine what the other thicker frosting cupcakes taste like.
get cupcakes at c’est ici if you like to use your desserts as a weapon by chucking a cupcake at someone’s head to knock them out.

I’ve stopped by C’est Ici on a couple occasions for both food and for cupcakes.
C’est Ici is a Candy Cakes affiliate of sorts. Not as lovely and colourful as the actual Candy Cakes locations, but it carries the fun baked goods. They’re considerably more expensive at this location, though :((but they do the loyalty card as well!).
As far as food goes, I got terrible service but great food when I went for dinner. It took me trying to get 3 people who *weren’t* my waitress to get someone to bring me my check as I sat at my table post-​dinner (I was alone, the table had been cleared, and was sitting with my wallet out obviously hoping for someone to notice me asking for the bill). This was on a weekday night. It shouldn’t have been a problem.

This is slightly quaint place to have a sit down and some afternoon tea off the main drag of Carnaby Street and Regent Street.
It’s located in the middle of Kingly Court, a little 2 storey collection of shops. C’est Ici does lovely freshly squeezed OJ and some nice gateaux and pastries. They proudly proclaim to serve Candy Cakes cupcakes but I find them too fluorescent and sweet for me
A good alternative venue for some more original food would be nearby Canela, which does Brazilian pastries

I still feel rather bloated after stopping by this café/​patisserie where I decided to opt for not only the chocolate fondue but also a slice of tiramisu. I was sharing, don’t worry am not that much of a pig. Excellent position, in the oasis of Kingly Court situated near the lovely, open plan Chinese noodle bar Cha Cha Moon.
Good service, European style outside space. I was only perplexed by a dollop of coconut ice cream lobbed on top of the fondue, is this customary? I was most upset, but scraping it off revealed a bountiful, coco delight.

wow — i ordered a caesar salad and it was mayo on old lettuce. this has to be the most tragic food and terrible bitter service in london. i will not eat here again i advise you against eating here.

Macaroons, gateaux, pastries, oh my! You’ll find me at C’est Ici, face pressed up against the glass, begging for scraps! This cute little place is a bakery out front with al fresco seating and restaurant in the back. Don’t get caught up in the social convention of having actual food for lunch, just have cake instead!
C’est Ici stocks the garishly colourful Candy Cakes muffins, but my advice: resist their tempting plumage and opt for a fruity tart or boozy slice of gateaux instead. Be warned, the staff speak very fast in incomprehensibly thick French accents and you can find yourself agreeing to anything. They can also be a little brusque if you try to linger in front of the cake cabinet. Morto!