Salvation Jane - City Rd EC1

I have always been a big fan of Lantana - I remember thinking that I had finally found somewhere in London that did breakfasts like I remembered from Melbourne.  The fact that I only worked round the corner was an added bonus and I have bought a lot of coffee, many breakfasts and way too many blondies from Lantana.  So I was delighted when I heard that Shelagh, owner of Lantana, was planning to open a sister cafe in Shoreditch and have been hanging

 to check it out.  As an aside, for some reason whenever I talk about Salvation Jane, I keep referring to it as Proud Mary, not quite sure why....  Anyway I finally made it there yesterday - I had a lovely Saturday East End coffee adventure (more to come on that) and made sure that Salvation Jane was on the itinerary.  Situated just where the East End morphs into the City, this is a really different location for the Lantana crew and the interior is also very different from what regulars are used to in Charlotte Place.  It is much more industrial and modern than the mothership - but it kind of fits into the locale.  I perched myself up

 at the bar and ordered a flat white and a blueberry friand.  I was presented with this rather fine specimen

with an expertly poured swan on top - the coffee is of the same quality as Lantana and I loved my flattie made with Square Mile beans.  I am a late convert to the friand but have taken to them with gusto and this blueberry version was a perfect sidekick to my coffee.  So nice one Shelagh - you've opened a really cool cafe to your (hopefully) expanding empire, long may you thrive.