Inspiral Lounge

I've heard a lot of hype about Inspiral since it opened a couple of years ago. The main reason for visiting was their cakes, of which Tiramisu was the most exciting.



Camden is more or less how I remember it - a mass of tourist tack and overpriced imports, marketed at middle class rebellious teenagers and wannabe hippies. An endless warren of market stall selling more or less the same stock. There are exceptions to this and a few good shops (such as Oddballs juggling shop just over the bridge), but in general it's best avoided (or visited at 10am on Sunday when at its quietest).

Inspiral was, how shall I say this? Not my cup of tea.

It was overcrowded with smoky incense and small, oddly shaped tables (i.e. not in a good way). The cakes were overpriced (£4 a slice) and disappointing. The tiramisu cake was not tiramisu how I remember - whilst well presented it seriously lacked any kind of flavour, let alone tiramisu. The peanut butter cake was over sweet and unimpressive for the price. We had a scoop of icecream which according to the board was meant to come in a vegan waffle cone, but instead came in a paper cup.

For some unknown reason they use wooden cutlery, which as well as being bad for the environment is unpleasant to eat off (try licking a spoon made of wood, ick).

Inspiral sell all sorts of things we didn't try, so there's a chance that at a less busy time it's more pleasant and I'd consider returning. All in all this time however, it wasn't for me.

Edit: Their website says their tiramisu cake has a money back guarantee! I feel an email coming on....