An intimate neighbourhood café, Lanka has a long-standing reputation for serving French- and Japanese-styled patisserie of the highest order. Polite staff pleasantly greet you over the counter, ready for you to take your pick from a dazzling galaxy of cakes and pastries.
Shelves on the wall display a range of packaged teas, cakes and greeting cards for sale, all neatly arranged in wicker trays. Staff swiftly mop the floor and rearrange furniture to ensure the café looks neat and tidy at all times. The whole places exudes an air of precision and attention to detail.
Though the space is small and narrow, with white, unadorned walls and stripped-back interiors, it somehow manages to feel cosy, not clinical. Well-made coffee from Monmouth is served filter-style, or there are freshly brewed and fragrant loose-leaf teas. But it’s the cakes that are the showstoppers. We tried the baked cheesecake (a firm, glazed slice with soft, savoury insides) and an indulgent green tea roll, which was creamy and loaded with fresh strawberries and kiwi fruit and had hints of that green, grassy matcha aftertaste. Though everything is available to take away, if you decide to stay (there’s a handful of seats at the back), you’ll find yourself in a sugar-laden oasis: an escape from the busy main stretch of the Finchley Road.
BY: GEETA DHAR