It's Love I Think - Pop-Up Cafe London review

On a lunchtime errand near London's Liverpool Street station, something unusual caught my eye across the road - a shop front filled with purple teddy bears. I crossed the street to have a closer look and realised it was a cafe - very pink, with cuddly toys and neon signs adorning the walls. Of course I had to go in and have a closer look.

It's Love I Think is both a pop-up cafe and an immersive art takeover by the artist Eve De Haan that claims to be a space for retreat, positivity, wellbeing and nostalgia. Inside you will find inspirational slogans on neon signs, comfy and slightly furry chairs and clear perspex coffee tables stuffed with pink teddy bears. Look up the stairs and you'll spot a cluster of large purple bears; look around and you'll also notice the vintage record player, a bookcase full of wellbeing books, a cutsey milk carton sign and the mystery surprise vending machine. It was only £1 so I popped in a coin and twisted the handle to get a surprise for my seven year old daughter - which turned out to be a fluffy creature of some kind on a key ring and a hairclip in the shape of a bean.

There was a wide selection of hot and cold drinks and some delicious looking bakes; being a hot day - and being in a thoroughly pink cafe - for me it had to be an iced pink chai latte. 

Open until December 2025, It's Love I Think is located at 57 Old Broad Street, and is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 8am to 4pm. Also, 10% of the profits go to Choose Love, a charity supporting women and children in need. So as if you even needed an excuse to grab a coffee and a selfie in this pink paradise, you'll know you are helping do some good at the same time.

Restaurant review: Hixon chophouse Salisbury

My birthday celebration this year included a trip to see Hamilton at the Mayflower in Southampton - excellent seats for a fraction of the West End ticket price, and a fantastic cast, especially Billy Nevers as Aaron Burr.

We stayed in a hotel in Salisbury and had dinner at Hixon, a chophouse which only opened in 2023 but is due to close after two years very soon in June. If you get a chance to visit before it turns into a Mexican restaurant then I strongly recommend it!

The food was excellent though the service was very slow. We both wanted steak so both opted for the fillet (£35) though my husband was disappointed there wasn’t an option for bearnaise sauce - he had the garlic butter and I had mustard cider (an extra £2.50 each).

We had to wait 15 minutes for someone to take our drinks order and eventually when our food came our drinks still hadn’t arrived and we had to ask for them again. I also noticed the server had told the couple dining at the next table what the specials were but didn’t mention any specials to us. We also had to wait a long time for our desserts later. 

I had a French martini cocktail which was very good and for dessert a passionfruit Brule with mango sorbet (£8) which I enjoyed while my husband had a very good sticky toffee pudding (£8.50).

We enjoyed the food and the ambience of the restaurant though did find it a bit expensive even for a good quality steak - this was £35 for a 7oz (200g) fillet; my yardstick for steak is Hawksmoor in London which is expensive as it’s London but also some of the best steak I’ve ever had, and they charge £44 for 275g which is actually (slightly) more per gram, and it definitely wasn’t better steak, and I wouldn’t expect to pay London prices in Salisbury. The service was also remarkably slow; even so I think it’s a real shame Hixon is closing as I would have gone back the next time I wanted to have a celebratory dinner in Salisbury.