Nikki’s Bakery

This became one of my favorite finds during my October visit to London! Delicious food and lattes and, most importantly, the most sincerely kind waitstaff. I’d highly recommend!

I read with horror that the two 1* ratings compare an independent coffee shop to Nero or Starbucks as even being viable options for… well…anything! Hopefully the intelligent Unilocaler will see right through that kind of nonsense. Chiswick is admittedly starting to get a bit crowded in the coffee & cake category which is the main reason it took me seven months to even check this place out. Having done a few tweaks on the interior lately and hearing they’re taking the competition for business seriously, I thought it was time to try it out. The facility runs pretty deep and is nice and bright throughout. If you’re by yourself or just with a friend, grabbing a seat at the front near the window (or even outside) is a good strategy as the mums & prams tend to disappear into the back. I usually shy away from cafes where the ‘mummy brigade’ is likely to congregate with their screaming kids (and this is such a place), but Nikki’s is laid out in such a way that for some reason it is actually possible to co-​exists. Coffee is fairly average but the food is delicious.

Cakes! The cakes are amazing! It’s homemade and it does taste like it.
Ok it is a bit pricy but definitely worth it.
On the first days the service was a bit hesitant but now it’s way better.
If we could have more places like this and less Starbucks and Nero that would be great.

This was a standard little bakery. Nothing blew me away but nothing really detracted, either.
You order at the counter, take your number, and find a table. There are plenty.
Pros:
1) Children’s toy corner. This is Chiswick. It’s welcome.
2) Plenty of seating
3) Tea — Full pot and milk
Cons:
1) Muffin (American) was not very good
2) Service is a bit nervous, rather than confident and swift
3) Sign outside said free wifi. Couldn’t figure out what network/​password, etc.

So, I literally think that today is the grand opening of Nikki’s Bakery, or at least I hope it is. I happened upon it whilst running errands and decided to stop in and see what it was all about, considering the large number of people sitting at the tables outside.
The interior is newly renovated (being that it was a The Picture Man prior to its existence). It tries to give off a modern and clean look but there is something about it that feels very IKEA even though I couldn’t spot anything from IKEA as I looked around.
Ordering was a bit of a chaotic mess. There is a long counter and it was not clear if I could order from anyone behind the counter or if I ordered at the till. I successfully ordered but I still don’t know what the process is. To order, I asked what flavor the cupcakes were and then the nice dude asked if I wanted one. I said yes and selected the chocolate one. It was dry — not something I would ever order again. I think every single staff member was working when I was there and no one knew what was going on. There was one staff member who was standing in front of the counter/​glass case and would walk in front of me as I was browsing. He was oblivious to anything and everything going on around him.
Aside from the usual pastries, coffees, and teas, they offer sandwiches and milkshakes though, given my experience (and I’m probably being too harsh since they JUST OPENED), I don’t think I’d return. There is simply too much competition in Chiswick amongst bakeries for me to walk all the way down to Turnham Green station (or pretty close) when I can head to Gail’s or even Starbucks and have a less chaotic experience and reliable wifi.
I took a seat at a four-​top table near the back. The good news is that there are plenty of electrical outlets for gadgets. The bad news is that their wifi (free) was not working. I was able to connect and my wifi wave icon thingy was lit up but I could never connect to the internet. So, I had to leave and when I left, I left half of the super dry cupcake as well.