We don’t mean to waffle on, but Bake does create some rather pretty ice creams.
Now this is what you call fin-tastic ice cream… This Soho bakery, pretty aptly named Bake, churn out waffles cones with a difference; namely, that they’re shaped into fish.
Much like the nearby Chinatown Bakery, the catch of the day here is made of waffles, an homage to the traditional Japanese Taiyaki. Both whimsical and refreshing, it’s merely the most ‘grammable of the delights on offer at this quaint little bakery.
Bake’s fishy ice cream cones are filled with soft serve ice cream, which is available in vanilla, chocolate, or a delicious matcha green tea flavour. Judging by Instagram, it is an unforgivable sin to not snap a picture of it in front of the iconic Chinatown arch. Seriously, it’s an epidemic.
That’s not the end of the fish, however. Bake produce fish on a pretty large scale (apologies for that one), with a shoal of mini waffle fish filled with custard also favoured by punters. Also on the menu is more traditional fare, in the form of red bean taiyaki, and pandan lotus pastries.
They’re a dab hand with a cake, too. Small cakes come disguised as Garfield, Angry Birds, and other unidentifiable animals. Meanwhile, the disorganised amongst you will be happy to learn that Bake create bespoke cake designs with as little as 24 hours notice – so you can salvage a birthday party in a pinch.
Aside from desserts, Bake bake a host of tasty Asian savouries, with their runaway bestseller being the char siu bao – steamed buns stuffed with barbecued pork. They’ve also earned a reputation for pork floss spring onion buns, and black sesame rolls, which’ll balance out that fish-induced sugar rush nicely. What can we say, Bake is a place with a lot of tails to tell…
Location: 9 Wardour Street, W1D 6PF. Nearest station is Piccadilly Circus. See it on Google Maps.
Opening hours: 10am-9:30pm (Sun to Thu), 10:30am-10pm (Fri and Sat).
Price: the taiyaki ice creams are £4, small cakes are £3.
More information: on the Chinatown website.
Featured image: @sonchicc