First of all, this place has a lot of locations, but we’ve only been to the one near Regent Street (4 Heddon). I suspect, though, that they are all quite similarly decorated and they do all have the same menu.
This place is cute and charming. It’s like a little corner, French café with a nice vintage/rustic, but clean vibe. The wait staff could be more pleasant, but nothing offensive – just less upbeat than I would’ve expected. Chalk it up to a bad day.
What I love about the place is that they have all day brunch on weekends. I’ve come to realize this is generally only found in American or French places, otherwise it seems that most of the UK wants to switch menus at noon, even on weekends.
That being said, the food here isn’t spectacular, the portions are small, and it’s quite expensive for what you get. The food is good and solid, with no specific problems, but it isn’t worth actively seeking out.
Tartine d’avocat – avocado toast with slow roasted tomatoes, toasted seeds & poached eggs. We asked for the poached eggs well done, which they immediately accommodated. The dish is really quite small and very surprising for the price (£10.50). It’s two very small pieces of toast with some avocado, one egg on each toast, and seasoning. There is a large pile of unspectacular greens on top and a few small tomatoes on the side. Tasted good, but wasn’t very filling.
Omelette – the omelette is served plain, with a surcharge for any ingredient you add. Quite a steep charge per ingredient, so we just took it plain and I’m quite convinced we made the right choice given that there probably would’ve been quite a small portion of whatever we added anyway. We did request egg-white only, which again they immediately accommodated. It was served with a slice of brown toast, cut in two, and tomatoes on the side (fresh and not grilled per request). The omelette was fine, no complaints.
I do like that they provide complimentary bread and butter to start. It’s a touch that most places don’t have anymore.
What I will say, though, is that the Caesar salad next to me looked just amazing. I know you’re thinking, but a Caesar salad is mostly just a pile of lettuce with cheese and croutons, how could it look particularly amazing? Well it did. I might get that if I went back. In fact, in reading through their salad menu again, I’d say maybe that’s the way to go.
