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Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue

New people have taken over what was Skylight Cafe on Northfield Ave - and it's brilliant! Great coffe, sandwiches and hot food for lunch and best of all - beautiful patisserie. Proper lovely delicate patries and rich gateaux. Fatal for the waistline but oh so delicious.It's strangely rare in Ealing to see stuff like this - plenty of places do stodgy cake or mass produced stuff that has no flavour but these are works of art! For a true indulgence, have a coffe and a choux bun shaped like a swan - gorgeous!

Cassie Blake ● 5601d10 Comments

I went on Saturday. A couple of observations:The patisserie section looked great. If they are all hand-made on site that is impressive. The croissants looked like those you get in Sainsbury. Don't know if they are made on site or bought in frozen.The coffee was a little insipid. Asked for a double shot latte but in comparison to Munson's or Cafe Freddo the flavour didn't come through. I find time and again shops and cafes selling coffee spend little or no time researching coffee and educating the staff to barista standard. Very good beans cost little more than rubbish ones but make a massive difference in the flavour. I won't be going back for the coffee. There was a chef making something on the stove in the kitchen area. I would have liked to have seen what it was. There is a blackboard with the prices of drinks and patisserie but I got the impression there was more available.The coffee is cheap. Too cheap in my opinion. The owners are missing a trick here. I don't mind paying £2.20-50 for a good cup of coffee. But it has to be good. The floor is white tiles which, as you can imagine, got very wet and dirty in the snow. The manager used a rag of some kind underfoot to mop the floor. Didn't look great. The interior decor doesn't match the quality of the exterior. It looks a little stark. Maybe more effort could be made to create a more unique experience. I'm sure this is a cost/vision thing.The manager was polite and pleasant but needs to move with more confidence and vigour. My order of a latte was laboriously written down and then handed to someone who had to make it, then passed back to the manager who then very slowly and nervously walked over to my table with it. This took too long. I don't like the big chains but their serving process is always quicker. As is Munson's. Maybe I'm impatient but I hate sitting at a table waiting for a coffee to come. To sum up, I would go for the patisserie. I had a great strudel, but there isn't anything else that would make me go out of my way to visit and that's a shame because the staff seem nice and the exterior looks very welcoming. Best of luck to them.

Darren Halford ● 5588d

Tried it at the weekend - good recommendation. The coffee was good - as was the croque monsieur and dessert flan. All food is made at the premises apparently and its to be applauded. Well worth the walk down Northfields in the snow.

Niall Connolly ● 5588d

I'm definitely going to give it a try. I love the way it looks from the outside and there is absolutely nowhere in Northfields that makes a good coffee. The best coffee I've found in Ealing can be found at Munson's and Cafe Freddo but they're both a long way from Papillon  so I look forward to trying the coffee there.

Darren Halford ● 5593d

Oh Juley! How cynical and suspicious you are! Let me state for the record I do not own or indeed have any personal connection with Papillon. Perhaps I am mistaken but isn't this forum all about the sharing of information among local people? When a new business opens don't they often get comments? Papillon is something a bit different and fills a gap left by the sad closure of Skylight. Anyone brave enough to open an independent business deserves a fair review and I just thought I would share my experience. Have you tried Papillon yet or are you connected to another establishment in the Avenue?

Cassie Blake ● 5594d

Papillon is a clearly a class act. Lovely food (all of it, including the pastries, made fresh on the premises as far as I can tell), nice ambience, friendly staff. Specifically, my wife and I tried their Croque Monsieur, which was pleasingly authentic i.e. not the usual cheese toastie sans bechamel sauce. The evidence is that these guys really know what they are doing.All in all, a very welcome addition to Northfield Avenue.

Alex Weel ● 5595d

I can also vouch for this place. Friendly staff, good facilities for young children - high chairs, changing table, delicious food (though portion sizes are a little skimpy) and a great atmosphere. I was a big fan of the Skylight and sorry to see it close but this place does make up for it.

Anne Pugh ● 5597d

Generally blatant self promotion with no declaration of interest comes from first time posters - and Cassie certainly isn't that.

Sara Nathan ● 5597d

Can I just ask Cassie if you own the cafe or have an interest in it which is why you are promoting it!!!!!!

JULEY HARDING ● 5599d

I have walked passed here and it has been busy with the Northfields Mum's for tea! I will promise myself a visit and a treat soon as it sounds lovely.

Diane Gill ● 5601d

BTW I for got to say that it's NOT expensive. Anyone who has eaten at Terracotta will be pleasantly surprised, if not shocked,  at the prices which are very reasonable.

Cassie Blake ● 5601d