Kipferl Restaurant & Patisserie

"Kiperfl started life as a small Austrian delicatessen near Smithfield in 2003, with the ambition to promote Austrian food culture in London. It quickly gained a reputation before finding a new, bigger home in Islington based on a Viennese coffeehouse, where the kitchen is open all day offering the full breadth of Austrian food and drink. Kipeferl’s most popular cake is, unsurprisingly, the Sachertorte. The queen of Austrian cakes, this dark, dignified, grown-up chocolate cake, painted and layered with apricot jam and glazed with a glossy ganache shell, exists in a realm apart from the two extremes of billowy buttercream frosted layer cakes or naked loaf cakes that dominate London’s modern cake baking scene. However kitsch, there is something enchanting about seeing a shiny sachertorte stood proud on an elevated glass cake stand, or the stark silhouette of a slice served on an elegant plate with a tiny cake fork and a big dollop of lightly whipped cream. Kipeferl’s restaurant and patisserie in Angel is open daily, and cakes are available for London and nationwide delivery." - Emma Louise Pudge

"Austria’s Emperor Franz Joseph was partial to pancakes, which he liked chopped up, sprinkled with icing sugar and served with fruity bits. It’s tricky to find his Kaiserschmarren creation outside his homeland, but it’s on the menu at cosy Kipferl alongside raisins and apple compote. The menu and décor are Austrian themed, but stylishly so: less Sound of Music, more mid-century ski lodge." - Emma Hughes, James Hansen

"A lot of Islingtonians come to Kipferl to soothe a hangover, and they’ve come to the right place. This hearty Austrian cooking is perfect for the fragile-headed—order the Bauernfruehstueck, the Austrian equivalent of a full English, and the Bergkäse omelette. The menus go right through to dinner, but for us, this is more of a daytime place. Jammed at weekends, it’s a good choice for a weekday lunch (daily soups are great) or afternoon break. Please eat cake with your kleiner brauner (Austria’s version of a flat white)." - Richard Ehrlich