The Table Cafe

We held our annual company party at The Table a few weeks ago. Sean and his team helped organise the event brilliantly and were fantastic on the night. The food was delicious and they had a good selection of wines. We also made use of their in house Jazz band. Everyone had a great time... It was our best party yet!
Comment on this reader review

9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Good but not great we thought - first time visit on Saturday and we could sit out on the candlelit terrace on a balmy October evening. Slightly off notes were the lack of complimentary bread (£4 for focaccio but it's just nice to have a piece to nibble on while you wait, not a huge basket of the stuff) and the ridiculously over priced sides - £3.50 for half a dozen semi-raw runner beans!! My husband's char-grilled belly pork was 80% char and 20% grilled and the garlic wedges were soggy and didn't taste of garlic at all. On the plus side, my onglet was fabulous as was the parsnip mash which accompanied my husband's pork. The cheeseboard was pretty good, and good value at £7.50 and the wine was excellent. So a bit of a mixed bag, but at £80 for two for 2 courses and a bottle of the cheapest wine, we expect better.
View/Add comments (1)

Jane Lancaster
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, October 02, 2011

My partner and I have come to know and love The Table Cafe over the past year or so. As a usual Saturday requirement, we stop off for breakfast on the way to weekly shop at Borough Market. Getting there when they open at 08:30 is a plus as within 45 minutes the place is usually packed, with a queue by 09:30. While some might consider the menu limited, the choices are great indeed. The chefs know what they are doing in turning out great food at a great price. (As an American in London, I have to say I wouldn't mind seeing some breakfast potatoes or rosti on the menu!) The service is always friendly, favourite things remembered, and apologies extended if something isn't available, isn't quite right, or our usual table taken by someone who arrived earlier. If our routine had to change through no fault of our own, I can honestly say the start to the weekend would probably be less enjoyable. All this said, to the owner/manager of The Table, I would just ask one question: "What happened to the lovely, friendly, smiling waiter Mariano (probably misspelled, apologies!)? He is sorely missed and would be a treat to see him back. Thanks to all that work there.
Comment on this reader review

Mark D Bailey
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I went there with my partner on a Saturday , rather early in the morning. The place filled rapidly but the general atmosphere kept being very relaxed and friendly. The staff is one of the nicest I have ever encountered in any restaurant. Really helpful and friendly. They went to all kinds of trouble fixing a highchair for a little baby.

We were quickly served , the food was very well presented and of very high quality.

Coffee especially was wonderful. I had the pancake with banana and my partner had "the full english". In my opinion all was reasonably priced.

I loved the open kitchen concept and I was impressed by the neatness and professionalism of the work there.

Next time I'm in London I will definetely will go here again.
Comment on this reader review

Sabine Pietercil
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, December 17, 2010

I went to the Table for breakfast this morning (there is a Boris-bike docking station right outside) and was very impressed.

Buzzy atmosphere, long wooden tables Wagamama-style, and delicious fresh food served by super staff. My eggs, bacon and tomatoes on toast were excellent and my colleague's eggs benedict will be my choice next time. Coffee, fresh mint tea etc - lots to choose from, and you can check in advance what you want on a good website.

Not particularly cheap (my plate cost around £8.50) but well worth a visit. There is an outdoor sitting area, but it was not being used today with the temperature hovering around zero!
Comment on this reader review

James - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 26, 2010

I went to the Table for dinner with a group of my friends, the service was great, very friendly and we were served quickly and unintrusively. We were quite a big group and despite this we all got served together which was good as no one was left waiting.

The food was great, very tasty with a varied choice on the menu but not too complicated and busy.

The atmosphere was fantastic. Lovely lighting making it very personal but also so I could see the person sitting in front of me!

I will definately go again, infact I've booked our work christmas lunch there.
Comment on this reader review

10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 29, 2010

Went to The Table for lunch this Saturday. It was about half-full, and the atmosphere was quite nice. However the service was incredibly slow. We had to wait 15 minutes for anyone to take our order, another 15 minutes for a glass of water (which came in a dirty glass) and the food took over 25 minutes. Considering it is pretty standard cafe-brunch food, there is no reason for this. everyone knows how long it takes to poach an egg.

The food was pretty good - uncomplicated, but tasty. However I was so hungry after waiting so long for it, I would have eaten a scabby horse.

At one point I counted nine members of staff (there were about 15 diners) who kept huddling together for chats. When we were trying to get someone's attention for the bill, they miraculously disappeared, apart from one waiter who was obsessively filling sugar bowls despite the three tables all waiting for their bills.

The service was inattentive and we were not asked if everything was ok. Though they were very thorough when it came to adding the 12.5% service charge (which was handwritten on the printed bill). We didn't pay the service charge, and no one looked up when we left.

I find it hard to believe this was just an off-day, as they weren't that busy, and there were plenty of staff. They just didn't seem to have a clue how to run a cafe. There's laid back, and there's backwards.

I won't be going back.
View/Add comments (2)

Waltshaw - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Monday, July 19, 2010

Nice food but wouldn't recommend Sundays, too busy. When I complained that our order appeared to get lost I was told they had 'More customers than they could cope with'. A lesson there I think. Be aware that the discretionary 12.5% service charge is at their discretion not yours! Don’t sit by the door either, very windy!
Comment on this reader review

veggie - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, November 15, 2009

A few months ago, when I first began my journey into the world of twitter, I saw that one of my twitter foodie ‘friends’ was following a place called The Table Cafe (TTC) near Southwark Bridge on the South side of the Thames. I read some of their tweets and was impressed with their daily changing menu. I vaguely remember looking at their website too and noting their seemingly meticulous selection of suppliers, which ticked a lot of boxes (local, organic, etc.). Plus, they listed Monmouth as their coffee supplier, which is a good thing in my book. I kept telling myself the next time I was in that neighborhood (which is very rare), I must drop by and see what it was all about.

Mrs. LF and I were headed to Borough Market last Saturday to buy some pork from Peter Gott’s Sillfield Farm. This is so far the best pork in London I’ve had in the UK, which I first had at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen a few months back – see here, and especially comments from Peter at bottom of the post. Given that we would be in the general vicinity of TTC, I thought we could stop by there for brunch en route – and we did.

Welcome to Sweden, can I take your order

Walking into TTC, I felt as if I was entering someplace very familiar, but not exactly British. As far as I understand, TTC functions as the canteen for the firm of architects whose ground floor it inhabits (as well as the nearby office buildings). The exterior of the building is mostly glass, accented with angular flashes of bright yellow. Once inside, the clean modern lines and the use of simple and warm wood tables and benches immediately made both of us think of Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular for me. In fact, quite disturbingly, it reminds me of a particular haunt of mine in Stockholm.

The fairly modest square room is replete with red rectangular sheets of metal on the ceiling, a long and narrow kitchen, a stock room that is half on display, a stainless steel espresso machine, and a wooden table on top of which some assorted juices, cereals, milks and fruits lay ready and waiting. As you can see from the photos below, cutlery and napkins are provided on the tables and the place settings are the paper menus. You order at the counter.

The credit crunch brunch - I would hazard to guess that TTC’s main business is the weekday lunch crowd, and for that they have a daily changing menu which sounds pretty good and is amazing value with dishes from £2.85 (for a Spanish Tortilla made with free range eggs, heritage potatoes and sautéed white onion) upward. I say ‘amazing’ value because even the most expensive dishes (just under £8) are made from very high quality ingredients and seem very hearty.

One of the staff members said they’ve only started opening on the weekends in the last few months and are still not set on exactly what times they should open for and what menu they should use (i.e. should it just be brunch all day, or brunch then lunch, etc.?). On our visit, the weekend brunch menu was available. It sounded very appetizing and, if any good, would be much better value than most places offering similar brunch menus in the West End.

We made our decisions and sat back and waited for the food to arrive over a cup of tea. It was a Twinning’s tea bag of Earl Grey by the way, which was surprising as all of their other suppliers seem to be so carefully chosen. But I like their Earl Grey the best of the major brands, so no complaints.

After a good ten minutes, one of the chefs brought out the still hot plates to our table. We were a bit giddy as it looked like American sized portions, and visually both plates held a lot of promise.

Mrs LF said the following about her breakfast stack: “The toasted bagel was an original alternative to muffins, which are usually associated with poached eggs with hollandaise sauce. In this dish, the eggs were perfectly poached with a beautiful orangey yellow yolk as it was split open. The homemade baked beans were yummy, perfectly done and very special; how many places bother making their own baked beans these days? When it comes to baked beans, I tend to like Heinz, actually! But these were as much more delicious and satisfying. The hollandaise sauce was excellent in terms of taste (creamy and with the right amount of tang) and consistency. The chorizo sausage, however, didn’t stand out (maybe they forgot to put it in?) as I don’t actually remember eating it. Overall, it was very different compared to the breakfast we usually have at our favorite brunch places, which all tend to have the same items on the menu: English Breakfast, Eggs Benedict and so on.” 8/10.

My pancake looked and smelled beautiful. And I certainly wasn’t let down by the taste either. The large and very thin pancake had been cooked through exactly right: the edges were slightly crispy and the middle was soft and fluffy but not at all doughy. The sweetness of the maple syrup and caramelized bananas contrasted well with the saltiness of the extremely crisp and thin streaky bacon. I know this is a very American flavor combination, and I personally love it, although I can understand how some people are not the greatest fans of the extreme sweet and salty combination for breakfast food. For me it all worked together perfectly, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. 8/10.

Well worth the detour

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at TTC. It had a nice, laid back vibe and the food was well sourced, honest, wholesome and satisfying – with nice little twists to many of the dishes on the menu. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who lives in the area or anyone who might be passing by the neighborhood on the weekend and fancies a good brunch. In fact, we are thinking of taking our nephew there when he next visits from France. If I worked in the area, I would certainly be down there most days if the weekday food is anywhere near as good as the brunch and seems to represent great value for money.

By the way, in case you are curious, we slow-cooked the pork we got from Borough Market for about 5 hours and it was to die for. So full of flavor, perfectly crispy crackling, and served with cooked and slightly sweetened red cabbage and cooked apples.

Rating - Ambience: 8/10, Food: 8/10. *Note: I have only dined at The Table Cafe once for weekend brunch. Hey, that sort of rhymed!*
Comment on this reader review

laissezfare - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, September 21, 2009

I'm really surprised with the previous negative review. We live round the corner and think that the weekend brunches here are fantastic. Great fresh produce, service is friendly, and the prices are really reasonable - the most expensive dish is about £7.50 for "eggs royale" - two perfectly poached eggs, fresh english muffin, masses of smoked salmon and a lovely hollandaise. Would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.
Comment on this reader review

Victoria
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, June 16, 2009