Picture of Poached, BR3 1AZ

Poached, BR3 1AZ

  • 07875 190957
  • 12a Beckenham High Street, BR3 1AZ (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
  • Mon-Fri: 6:30am-4pm (food served until 3pm); Sat: 8am-4pm; Sun: 8am-3:30pm

Coffee shop and brunch cafe in Beckenham.

It's a small space, in a single narrow shopfront just around the corner from Beckenham Junction Station. Seating is provided for around 16 people at half a dozen small slabby wooden tables plus a shelf with stools to one side. The wooden theme is continued on a feature wall and on the service counter at the back. A large window at the front provides a view onto Beckenham's car-choked High Street.

Kake has visited twice now, most recently in February 2020. Both times were on weekday mornings, arriving around 8:30am. There were three or four other sit-in customers both times, with several others in and out for takeaway coffees, and ambient music was playing, not too loud.

In March 2018 I had the Spanish breakfast (£8.40) photo. Poached eggs had properly runny yolks, but the whites were also a little runny in places, and one of them had taken on water which gushed out onto the plate when I cut into it. The figs and grapes were a little under-ripe, and some of the grilled courgettes were a little undercooked. The bread was good, and the crushed tomatoes on top were very nicely seasoned, but I did wish there had been more than one slice of it. The ham was good quality, and a generous serving.

In February 2020 I chose potato waffles with fried eggs and serrano ham (£7.20) photo. The waffles were nicely crispy. The ham was a little tough, but the eggs were very well executed, with runny yolks and crispy-round-the-edges whites. It all went together pretty well.

Earl Grey tea (£2.70 both times) was made with a Teapigs bag in a decent-sized but rather drippy teapot. The cup was pre-heated.

Service was friendly and welcoming, and a carafe of mint-containing tap water was placed on the table as I sat down. No service charge was added, and I couldn't see anywhere obvious to leave a tip.

They have WiFi (ask staff for the network name and password), and a couple of plug sockets. I wasn't the only person using a laptop.

Kake's verdict: Not all the details were quite right, but overall I thought it very promising. I'd come back if I was in the area.

Accessibility: A step to get in. No steps to the toilet, though it's a small space so a bit of a squeeze.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, February 2020. Opening hours taken from sign on door, March 2018.
OS X co-ord: 537451 OS Y co-ord: 169793 (Latitude: 51.410507 Longitude: -0.025004)
Last edited 2023-09-05 13:38:12 (version 5; diff). List all versions.