Paddington, this one's for you.

Treatz Dessert Parlour

When I was a child I had a Paddington Bear book in which he pined after a knickerbocker glory. It instilled in me a reverence for the dessert as some kind of ultimate exercise in reckless, childish sugar-abandon. Before now, it had existed merely as an idea in my mind; this day it would become reality. As soon as I saw it on the menu, I knew it: I had a date with destiny.
 

You don't get named 'glory' for nuthin'. 

And so I introduce to you 'Treatz' in Slough, complete with localised spelling (how considerate of them). The decor of the place is in an upbeat, funky purple, with everthing from the soft-backed chairs to the lampshades giving off a modernised 1950s diner effect. As well as various ice cream-based desserts they serve waffles, crumbles, crepes and more.

When the Knickerbocker Glory I'd ordered arrived (minus the trumpet fanfare I had been expecting) it turned out to be a bit of a behemoth. Layers of sauce, various ice creams and cream, slathered with seemingly every sauce they had on top as well as sprinkles and strawberries, with a couple of wafers thrown in for good measure. Glorious indeed. I was going to need that long spoon. My first, incautious mouthful led to a combination of sauce flavours that clashed a bit. Undeterred, I picked my spoonfuls more carefully, chiseling away at the beast like an artist and exploring every bit. Mango, strawberry, chocolate. Taking a deep core sample brought up several ice cream flavours all at once. And then, just when I thought I'd seen it all, a hidden piece of juicy, sugared fruit in the jam-like base ambushed me. Delicious. Could the good run continue with the next dish?

The raspberry and apple crumble was bit different to a traditional type, having an interesting granola-like topping. I suppose it was less 'crumbly' for this but it provided a wonderful varied texture between the oats and other toppings, held together in a slightly sticky way -perhaps with honey or treacle. The apple inside was perfectly balanced in softness and the raspberries were fantastically plump; though I would have liked a few more of them. The topping was a little oversweet alone so the slight tartness of fruit without excessive sugar balanced it nicely. Unfortunately the custard was unremarkable and lacking in depth of flavour which makes me suspect it was from instant powder. Thankfully it wasn't too sweet but with such a nice crumble it could have done with an upgrade to match. 

Because warm custard and crumble helps digestion of ice cream. Obviously.  

 

Mint tea in lovely dainty glasses 

The mint tea was a great palate-cleanser and in itself was really quite tasty with a wonderful aroma. Opening the pot we found a couple of bags of Lipton yellow label mixed with plenty of mint leaves. Light and refreshing, it was definitely the right choice to have with rich desserts. 

There is a TV playing films, there are lots of kids around and some of the kitchen machines are rather loud so it can get quite noisy in there. It's a fun little date place but not intimate or romantic. It has more of a bustling, energetic vibe, bordering on overload. Still, you can have a conversation, most of the time. 
The desserts with two mint teas came to £12.24 which I would say is mid-range for town. All in all, definitely a place worth visiting and I'll be going again. A child on his way out emphatically said, "thank you very, very, very, very, VERY much!" He's not the only satisfied customer (and possibly not the biggest kid there either).

1 JUN 2013

Layer upon layer of sheer childish glee. The mint tea makes it all grown up (and helps with the cream moustache left after tackling this beast).