Randomness Guide to London Menu

Small cafe in Crystal Palace.

Note: Prior to 2017, the menu was mostly vegetarian with some vegan and pescetarian options. It has now been overhauled and also includes meat, so some of the details below may be out of date.

Their weekly blackboard specials change slightly but (as of early 2016) always include a pasta dish, a pieminster "Heidi" pie (goat's cheese, sweet potato, spinach and shallot) with mash and onion gravy, burger with chips and salad, and a curry dish (sometimes featuring fish).

Bec and Steve first visited for breakfast on New Year's day 2015. Bec opted for the "build your own" with chips and chilli sauce (£3.50), beans (£1.05), and vegan bacon (£2.15). The chips were excellent — generously cut and very crispy, and the sauce had a flavoursome degree of heat. Steve had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon & dill on two slices of brown toast (£7). The eggs were well cooked and a good colour. We both ordered large cappuccinos (soya milk available for no extra charge).

Bec has since become a regular for weekend brunches. When I don't have a build-your-own cooked breakfast, I usually have a sandwich on their thickly sliced granary bread — the HBLT (humous, bacon, lettuce and tomato; £5) is my particular favourite. I've also sampled one of the blackboard mains, linguine with herbed tomato sauce and roasted butternut squash (£8.90 including a soft drink or selected cocktail), which was a generous but not overwhelming portion featuring excellent fresh pasta.

Bec's verdict: Excellent value for money in a welcoming and relaxing environment; I try to visit for vegan brunch at least once a month.

Accessibility: Toilets up a large flight of stairs.

Child-friendliness: On our January 2016 visit there was a large stack of highchairs and many children of varying ages present.

See also:

• Time Out review
• Yelp comments