Kalimera is Greek for "good morning", which is a bold name for a business in a town where most mornings begin with a stand-off over the last space in the station car park. Undeterred, Kalimera, a new Greek bakery and café, has opened on Leyton Road, and it is doing its level best to convince us the sky above it is Aegean blue rather than its customary shade of damp dishcloth.
We haven't eaten here yet, so a proper verdict will have to wait for a return visit, fork in hand. But Greek baking tends to deal in filo, honey and feta in quantities that don't ask permission, and with Bread Ahead now open on the High Street too, Harpenden's pastry prospects have rarely looked rosier. Our waistbands are bracing themselves.
The Kalimera Cheat Sheet
- The Location: 14B Leyton Road, Harpenden. Look for the navy shopfront and the lemons.
- The Offer: A Greek bakery and café, with seating inside and a bench out front.
- The Look: Cycladic whitewash, bougainvillea and enough citrus to garnish a decade of gin and tonics.