South of River: Battersea and Nine Elms

A two pastry kind of Sunday.... Darby's

Every Sunday, we used to hop in the car and head to Brentford to go to Rye by the Water for some of the best pastries we have ever eaten (including some croissants we've had in France). Rye by the Water always had a queue out the door, with a get your pastry before it is gone, mentality. This also meant that they were constantly bringing fresh pastries straight out of the oven, for the hungry and desperate: i.e us. After fighting with children to get our pastries, and pulling Pilot away from other dogs, we would sit out, overlooking the river, and shove our usual pain au chocolat and a marmite and cheese pastry (my husband is just a bit weird, don't know what else to say about that) in our mouths. It was our Sunday tradition, and we loved it. Pilot patiently waited for us to finish, scouring for crumbs, before heading home or to the park.

Unfortunately, they've recently closed their Brentford location. Which is not only a huge loss for us personally, but for the area. The pastries have not left London entirely however, and it turns out that they have a location in Nine Elms, as a bakery addition to the American restaurant, Darby's. This morning, with very little cajoling from me, my lovely husband offered to drive us there for a Sunday pastry treat. I heard they served sourdough bagels and was looking forward to having their pain au chocolat again. Darby's was lovely- they had beautiful modern decor on the inside, marble tables and outside seating that overlooked a small pond. It was a fun task afterwards trying to get Pilot to walk across the stepping stone path that overlayed the pond, but I digress.

Pilot was welcome, both inside and out, and there were other dogs around for him to stare at longingly. Unfortunately, we found out that their bagels were not availalble on a Sunday, and it was pastries only for the day. We opted for a strawberry tart, and my favourite pain au chocolat.

Both were delicious, and the coffees were decent, if not stand out. I don't know if it was because we didn't have to fight for them, or that they weren't freshly out of the oven, but the taste was slightly lacking to what I remember. Admittedly, they were both still very good pastries, with a nice buttery crunch.

I would definitely come back to Darby's (although I am not sure I would make the trek in our car with London traffic again), if not to try their bagels, but to test their lunch and dinner menu. Tozi- Battersea Power Station

We went here on our way home. Battersea Power Station is incredibly dog friendly in general, and also, with Battersea Park so nearby, it is a great place to take your dog for a long walk to tire them out before dragging them around shops. Pilot loved the massive greenery, and was practically docile by the time we made it to the shopping centre. Although that did not last long. We didn't go here for breakfast, but I would happily eat a foccacia sandwich for breakfast any day, and they did have doughnuts and pastries. Further, in addition to their small indoors cafe, they have a grand cafe which is more restaurant-like and includes a full breakfast menu: which qualifies Tozi for the list.

The foccacia sandwiches were out of this world: I ordered the special which included burrata, salami and rocket, R enjoyed a salami sandwich with tomato jam. The fillings were delicious, but the bread itself was incredible: light, fluffy and oily. We also ordered a Maritozzi: an Italian bun filled with cream. The bun itself was dry, but the sandwiches more than made up for it.

Honestly, they tasted better than I could've hoped and would order it again in a heartbeat.

Pilot was also welcomed inside, despite being a barking terror. He barked at a Chow and a Spaniel before we managed to calm him down. I like to think he was just tired from the sun, but he was probably just being a brat. C'est Mon Vie.

My brat, resting.