I know a bit about the gastro side of Gala as I’m often here on business. My proper PMiaV business, not just visiting cafes.
I had previously narrowed it down to Zola’s Bakery, the vegan café, as the place to go. Zola’s is small, just a couple of tables and a window plank with stools. It’s always run by one friendly vegan. Zola, that scandalous French novelist, was not present but you will be both unsurprised and sickened to know I’ve read loads of his racy books and they are great too. I think it is probably this Zola owns the bakery rather than it belonging to Zola Budd, diminutive RSA-turned-UK athlete or Gianfranco Zola. Who is something to do with a niche sport called soccer and an underfunded provincial club in Chelsea. I don’t see either of those Zolas necking the madeleine cakes in here and reminiscing about their glory days but the French chap surely would.
Zola’s has very good coffee. There are Dreadnought-size vegan cakes (which you only need to eat half of but in fact will consume all of) in unusual varieties such as a ‘Semla Bun’, Swedish apparently. One should sample the particularly good savouries. Especially the pies and huge not-sausage rolls. Yes, it is all vegan but so is bread, coffee, whisky and some wine so a PMiaV can easily make the best of it.
Zola’s a small well-dressed space with taste, not pretention. That window plank is artfully varnished and sanded and a pleasure to sit at, with similar shelves exhibiting a modest range of coffee kit held up by bits of pipe. The beans are from Girls Who Grind. Indeed. Infact, surreptitiously studying the ‘Girl Crush’ blend in the hopper I see that the staff really like ‘Girls & Coffee & Fuck the Patriarchy’. Amen to that. Not only do they do humour in Zola’s but they have style and love too. There is a wall-of-Customers-Dogs polaroid montage and ice cream, vegan ice cream, available for woman’s best friend. Everyone and their dog are welcome here.
Prices are very reasonable but I feel the only way in which the patriarchy can reassert its vice-like grip and eldritch influence is for me to point out that coffee, not that the coffee but also the cup and saucer are not very good, they are, but perhaps the coffee blend itself is….not that individual. Oh.
Patriarchal Man in a van? Patronising Man in a Van is harder to dispute.
You might be able to squeeze your van in outside Zola’s on Bank St, exercising your van-driving divine right of ‘loading’ for an hour or so of apparent inactivity but will more likely need to take an uphill left towards the school and immediately park on the street, free. I did, visited Zola’s and then had a tool round the charity shops. I always get something good in the Gala charity shops. Returning I remembered I needed to buy coffee beans, quite pricey in Zola’s. If only there was a coffee roastery in Gala…tbc
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