Love love love the cakes display (and taste) at Thomas’s located at the end of Burberry retail store on Regent Street in London. Let me explain….

Blenheim Design were after of a well-deserved treat at the end of a back to back meetings in central London this February.

The shopfront exterior remains classic Burberry and Thomas’s have taken over the end of the store and made it into a café – co-incidentally branded as such with large gold vinyl applied to the main window. Beautiful original bronze double doors frame the curved glazed portico and on the doors are an understated applied Thomas’s logo in a classic gold script style.

The interior hard finishes remain seemingly intact as Burberry would have had them, in a pop-up conversion conservation heritage style. The inlayed marble and stone floor is a testament to the original craftsmen as it is as timeless now as it was when originally laid. The interior showcases the original building fabric with minor alterations here and there, perhaps the sandstone fireplace is reclaimed and newly installed with a bronze chain curtain, and the timber moldings, skirting, columns and walls appear to be original but now painted in a monochromatic chocolate brown colour.

Farmhouse style spindleback armchairs and simple beech skandi round tables are dotted around the floor for diners, as are some white painted scaffolding planks crudely turned into fixed seating in the corner directly opposite the main window. Brass discs with exposed filament bulb lights drop from the ceiling but they are ineffectual for giving any real light effects are less and more of a subtle statement to break up the high ceilings.

Around the café area there are several areas for Burberry items to purchase including wall shelves and a long central table in front of the grand staircase. I found this a little contrived as they aren’t displayed as well as the main store area and they gave the impression they were shelf filler items which could devalue the brand.

Besides the interior review we were here for another purpose and that was C.A.K.E. The sumptuous display directly on the table in front of the entrance doors had us hooked and we weren’t disappointed. The blood orange and chocolate tarte was large enough for two to share and was clearly decorated with artistic flare, I mean it had sugar coated rose petals and real gold leaf on chocolate shavings amongst dried sliced orange.

There was a more elaborate menu to choose from, which included whole lobster, and a high tea offer which was a bit pricey for the average person but the inexpensive cost for truly handcrafted desserts is worth mentioning if you ever find yourself nearby, you can afford to try them out.

Location

Regent Street, London