The Knot Churros – South Kensington, London

It’s been barely a month since The Knot Churros opened, but there appears to be no denying the fact that this little cafe in South Kensington has become every Instagrammers go-to selfie venue.

That only means, of course, that we too head on down to witness for ourself what all the fuss is about.

On entry, you’ll instantly be wowed by the interior decor, designed as it has been by the creative owner herself, Anisa, who just happens to be an interior designer.

Be it the beautiful flower display hanging from the ceiling; an adorable swing seating area for that perfect picture; cute booths; or the sophisticated lighting, everything works in harmony to create that dream-like ambience.

It’s evident that Anisa has a great passion for her newly launched business, having spent two long years in developing churros that will deliver something unique.

One way she’s achieved this, is to have all her churros baked, that’s right baked, as opposed to fried.

She has also ensured us that all ingredients used on the menu are suitable for vegans while being entirely Halal.

Cream Cheese Salmon – Cream cheese, smoked salmon, avocado, lemon juice, dill, cayenne pepper or black pepper, £3.50
Crushed Chilli Tuna Melt – Tuna mix with mayonnaise, a pinch of salt, pepper & crushed chilli flakes. Add an optional slice of cheese, £3.50
Caprese – Mozarella sun-dried tomatoes, basil leaves, rocket leaves, salt & pepper, £3.50.

Now although The Knot Churros is essentially a dessert cafe, and famously known for its churros and shakes, it does offer four savoury bagels as part of its lunchtime menu only.

Of the three we tried, the Cream Cheese and Salmon Bagel was our favourite. Accompanied by avocado, this had a hint of citrus running through the background along with a touch of heat too courtesy of the cayenne and black pepper. A really flavoursome sandwich and one seafood lovers will love.

The Caprese bagel was filled with mozzarella, basil and rocket leaves, with a touch of salt and pepper. Now caprese may sound a little dull, but in this case, it was anything but, with the pungency of the sun-dried tomatoes perfectly tempered by the familiar piquancy of the mozzarella. Everything was nicely balanced as a result.

Finally, the Crushed Chilli Tuna Melt was tuna mixed with mayonnaise, pepper and chilli flakes. Hence, if you enjoy your heat, then you’ll appreciate the kick delivered by the chilli flakes. Another solid one.

We also appreciated the finer details too, including these bagels being presented on cute little painted plates, which succeeded in delivering that little taste of luxury.

Lots of love from The Knot Churros!

It was not an easy task choosing which of the 15 churros to go for. Our choice was made easier by the fact that these have been categorised under: Dipped Cinnamon; Glazed; and Chilled.

Belgian Chocolate £4.90

From the cinnamon section we tried the Belgian Chocolate, which was accompanied by an ultra-smooth chocolate dipping sauce which, if we’re being honest, could have been a little more chocolatey in nature.

The churros themselves were crispy-cum-crunchy on the outside, soft on the in, and had the taste of the cinnamon coming through well.

Dipped Cinnamon – Strawberry £4.90

It was the Strawberry version, however, that we’d recommend of the two. This was sensationally good – sweet, yet not overpowering, with everything working well together, in spite of the apparent sugar content. Very well done!

Somewhere over the Rainbow £5.90

Somewhere over the Rainbow indeed! If these cinnamon-glazed churros – dipped in Belgian white chocolate and sprinkled with rainbow stars before being presented on heart-shaped wooden boards – don’t bring a smile to the hardest of hearts, we don’t know what will.

Unlike their fried counterparts, these didn’t have a speck of oil on em. Having said that though, while these certainly tasted great, they were a little hard in texture, and not lightly crispy as we would have preferred. What’s more, the heart-shaped sprinkles added an additional crunch to the whole thing. Close, but not quite.

(Left-right) The Magical Unicorn – Cinnamon Churros dipped with vanilla chocolate, sprinkled with unicorn sprinkles, blue candy stick, soft serve ice cream;
The Little Mermaid – Cinnamon Churros dipped with strawberry chocolate, sprinkled with pink glitter and pink pearls, pink candy stick, soft serve ice cream – £6.90 each

These chilled churros really were busily put together to excite the senses. The Magical Unicorn and The Little Mermaid were both delightful to look at, with uber pink clouds of whispy candy floss giving great height.

Thus, sitting in a tub of soft velvety ice cream were sticks of candy with either unicorn sprinkles or pink pearls and glitter. However, the story here was a tale of two halves (no pun intended). Whilst the ice cream would have been perfect on a British summer’s day, being fresh and utterly creamy, the churros – the stars of the show – turned out hard in texture, with the pearls making the entire thing even more difficult to eat.

Had these been served with perfectly executed churros, this would have been quite the experience.

Thoughtfully presented in beautiful sets of bone china!

MilkshakeDrinking ChocolateTeaLatteCoffee

Pretty in Pink – Strawberry milkshake with edible glitter, pink pearls & candy floss £4.90

With the Pretty in Pink currently the trending milkshake at this place, we had to give this one a go.

Essentially a strawberry shake with edible pearls and a large swirl of amazing pink candy floss. As for the shake itself, then its failure in delivering on the strawberry turned out to be to its advantage, because it resulted in a perfect balance of the sweet. As such, we’d highly recommend that you try this, but without the superfluous edible pearls.

Candy Floss Hot Chocolate – Pure hot chocolate with wrapped candy floss, £5.20

Our “hot chocolate with candy floss” dreams totally came true with this. A cup of pure hazelnut hot chocolate topped, with candy floss on a stick, which is what’s meant on the menu by “wrapped candy floss”.

In any case, while the hot chocolate wasn’t presented in the pretty bone china cups that the other hot drinks were, the candy floss was by far the best we have sampled thus far.

In fact, it was so addictive that one of us ending up devouring four sticks alone. By contrast, the hot chocolate lacked in depth of flavour, which was a pity.

Sencha Green Tea £3.10

The other hot drinks, however, did not fail us, at least not in presentation. This Sencha Green Tea, served in an ornate bone china cup, was soothingly refreshing and without a hint of bitterness.

Just Peppermint £3.10

As for this fresh mint tea, then it was our way of readying the digestive system for the desserts. Presented in an adorable wee clay pot set, this was another super refreshing beverage; in fact, all the teas and coffees served at The Knot Churros are from the renowned T2 brand.

Blue Butterfly Latte – Organic blue butterfly pea flower powder, £4.90

Gotta love the design of the saucer and cup, particularly when chosen to aesthetically complement each respective drink.

Having said that though, and this could be because this is an acquired taste, but we felt that the Blue Butterfly Latte, while looking the part, was not only far too strong for our collective palates, but didn’t really taste of blueberries.

Flat White £3.50

Admittedly polished while hot, this Flat White was super smooth, tasted fabulous, and though a Brazilian coffee, was on the right side of strong.