WA Cafe London – Authentic Japanese Patisserie

Does the “Wa” in WA Cafe London comes from the word “Wafu” meaning Japanese style or “Wa” meaning harmony? In fact it comes from both and it has the third added meaning of peace. The concept of WA Cafe is to create a tranquil and elegant Zen-inspired space in the bustling capital. They did such as great job at their first location in Ealing Broadway that they opened a second branch in 2018 in Central London near Covent Garden.

So if you are missing those delightful cakes you find in Japan, don’t worry as WA Cafe has you covered. They have a fantastic selection of Japanese bakery goods too. This includes Shokupan milk bread, Matcha chocolate croissants, nostalgic Melon pan, and recently fruit sandwiches!

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We discovered WA Cafe London through their Instagram account which is brimming full of their stunning frappes, lattes and Japanese teas. Oh and we did we mention the mouth-watering desserts? Needless to say, it wasn’t long before we headed over to the Covent Garden branch.

WA Cafe London – Convent Garden

Japanese cafes really do a great job of producing seasonal desserts and WA Cafe is no exception. Our choice of cake for our first visit was one of the spring menu classics – the Sakura roll. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at 4pm it had already sold out for the day! As there was plenty of other cakes to choose from, we went with the popular strawberry shortcake.

On our second visit, we timed it to arrive before anything ran out but due to the underground delays (District line looking at you), we got there just before midday. A lovely feature about WA Cafe in Covent Garden is their well-presented glass display which allows you to see all the beautiful cakes available. Luckily, we could see this time from the shop window that we were in luck.

As you will probably know, Sakura means cherry blossom. However the naming of this roll is not just because of the pink colour. The Sakura roll consists of a core made of sweet white an (bean paste) combined with cherry blossom leaves. Talk about authentic! And yes it is too pretty to eat but eventually it had to be done. It is one of those experiences you wish you could savour but the soft sponge is light and gone in a flash. Then you get to the delicious whipped cream and the Sakura An in the middle. It really is divine and the right balance of sweet with a hint of saltiness from the cherry blossom leaves.

Fruit sandwiches for the next visit?

This is already a done deal. We really love WA Cafe. It’s not just the amazing drinks and food but the minimal interior really does make us feel like we are back in Japan. It is more than likely this blog will get extended in the very near future. Possibly the fruit sandwiches deserve their own blog to be honest as coming across them is a unique aspect of any conbini visit.

If you’ve been to WA Cafe London, please let us know how the experience was for you. Is there anything we missed? Please feel free to comment below.