Black Truffle

Coffee, shoes, shortbread owls - I do like a hybrid shop, and Black Truffle's certainly one of those. Qype HQ may have moved to Fitzrovia a good two months ago, but I'm still discovering interesting places that merit another few visits.

Black Truffle is a dinky but sparse little place on Warren Street with high-quality takeaway coffees, cute snacks like the aforementioned shortbread owl, which was almost too cute to eat (yeah, almost) and a mini boutique. Stock seems to change pretty quickly, but they have quirky labels at good discounts (right now, there's Chie Mihara shoes and Falke tights, both cheaper than usual).

Black Truffle looked really warm and a cool multi-purpose establishment. Purchased a pair of boots for £135 by Esska that ticked all the boxes in appearance. After two weeks (5 wears) the leather showed bad scratches, marks, the suede trimming started fraying and the heel needed reheeling. I raised these concerns to the store and asked if they would consider repairing them. The assistant there refused, suggested I pay a cobbler. Returned several times requesting management call, no-one called. Finally caught the manager in store and though she seemed understanding when I explained my case and told me to return the boots, some days after this she called and suggested I had played football in the shoes or taken them on a building site. I had worn them to and from work in an office in the rain. Their customer service has been appalling. Their unwillingness to be reasonable in identifying that excessive wear and tear should not be apparent after two weeks (5 wears) no matter what the price, is bewildering. Their unpleasant attitude towards customer satisfaction and the long duration it takes to deal with complaints means I will never shop in there again. And for such a quirky, lovely looking shop I am deeply surprised!