Gitane

3 Reviews on “Gitane”

• Food Diaries London

  Here I was one late night, scrolling through my Instagram feed staring at photos of food (doesnt everyone do this?!) and I saw the most scrumptious looking Tachin (made with saffron rice, spinach and tomatoes)The food detective in me came out and I wanted this food ASAP! On further stalking, I landed on Gitanes website. A modest Persian cafe tucked away in the ever popular Great Titchfield Street (opposite The Riding House Caf)I LOVE Persian food. Its one of my go-to comfort foods or the top choice whenever I am eating out. The aromas, fresh ingredients, technique of cooking and taste is so appealing! When I read they do brunch on Saturdays, I HAD to go and visit them. How had I not heard of their brunch before? This situation had to be fixed asap!Gitane, Love-Food-People, is exactly that! The moment you enter this lovely cafe, you instantly feel at home. There are very few places that have the ability to do that. Its such a cosy space and full of bright light even if youre sitting away from the window. The interior has been expertly done and is super cute!! You can easily bring your laptop, grab a hot cup of coffee and work away.Anyone can open a cafe or restaurant but if its a result of your passion then it will always shine through. Such is the case with Gitane. Run by a husband and wife dream team Bahman and Negar decided to share their dream with everyone in 2012.While during the weekdays Gitane serves busy workers in the area with their quick snacks, on weekends they offer a much wanted respite from the craziness of the high street.Brunch every Saturday from 9:30am till 2PM makes it even more special. Honestly, given the choice between The Riding House Cafe and Gitane, Id pick Gitane as how often do you get to try Persian brunch and theres no hassle of queuing.When it came to choosing our brunch dishes, we were spoilt for choice. They dont have an extensive menu however all the dishes sounded so good that it made it harder for us to choose! We got there in the end :PWe decided to go for a mix of sweet and savoury!First off was the traditional Persian omelette. Very similar to the masala fried eggs we make back home and I also shared the recipe a week ago with you guys 😀 They came cooked in a skillet, ready for us to start eating them right from the pan. Fresh sourdough breads were a perfect accompaniment. The portion of tomatoes used in this recipe are perfect and do not overwhelm other flavours in this dish.Next up was a sweet version of the omelette called Khagineh. As the food is made fresh to order, you can taste every single ingredient in the dish. The maple syrup and generous sprinkles of pistachios took this dish to another level. It was the perfect amount of sweet. Even though I am more of a savoury person, I still loved this version of the omelette.And last but not the least, the lovely host Bahman. Such a humble and down to earth guy! The passion really shines through and you understand why he gave us his job in the city to work on his dream along with his lovely wife Negar. The dynamic husband and wife duo have some great ideas around expansion of their baby.They also do supper clubs so if youre interested in those.On my way out, I cheekily grabbed a takeaway of Tachin- after all thats what united me with one of my favourite cafes and brunch places in London. I highly recommend this place! You will not be disappointed 🙂 foodiarieslondon.com

  January 11, 2016, 11:54 am

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• Felicia Tan

  I first visited Gitane quite a while back, after Kaffeine, which is just a couple of doors away, was too packed. And I’m glad that it happened, otherwise I would never have stepped into Gitane and discover what a lovely cafe it is. It may not look as hip as Kaffeine, but it is really nice and cosy inside, with a delicious selection of Persian dishes and salads. And of course they also serve sweet and tasty cakes, and coffees. Service is also very friendly and pleasant.I usually order my usual flat white, which I love, and a cake or two to nibble on. I love their blueberry loaf cake and the little round peach one. I have recently also tried the Persian quiche which was very tasty. Situated on Great Titchfield Street, it is just a few minutes walk from Oxford Street, and a relaxing place to chill.I would definitely recommend a visit if you are working or shopping in the area. dancing-in-high-heels.blogspot.com

  November 9, 2014, 11:33 pm

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• SuperfoodieUK

  Gitane used to be my favourite lunch place until I quit the job just around the corner from it. However even before the career change, my rating of this cafe was downgraded from 4.5 to 3.5. It could even go to as low as 3 however the diminished quality of food is balanced out by the friendliness of stuff and a pleasant atmosphere in this cute little cafe in the heart of Fitzrovia. My biggest concern was about the salad bar which used to be absolutely superb and then all of the sudden has lost half of its taste while at the same time has slightly risen in price. Whether it was a new chef or a greedier manager to blame, I never found out but did cut the frequency of my visits from 3 take-away lunches per week to an occasional visit for a work meeting.Overall, the menu is pretty stable with a selection of 4 salads, a vegetarian rice tachin (Persian dish), roast chicken or salmon, dolma, and pretty good cakes. They also serve some good-looking croissants and a mouth-watering salmon sandwich for breakfast. Will definitely go check it out when in the area to see if they are back to 4.5 stars! superfoodie.org

  May 9, 2014, 9:18 pm

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