Randomness Guide to London Menu

Cafe in Purley.

Entry is into a small area dominated by the service counter, with seating provided at five small tables. Further back is the main seating area; a light, airy room with pastel walls, wooden flooring, varnished wooden tables topped with fabric flowers in vases photo, and a large skylight to let the sun in.

The menu includes breakfasts, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, salads, and hot meals such as chicken curry, beef chilli, sweet-and-sour tofu, and meatballs with pasta.

Kake visited on a Friday lunchtime in January 2016. There were half a dozen other customers in when I arrived around 1:15pm, and it emptied out rapidly after that; the owner did say it'd been very busy earlier though.

I went for a vegetarian breakfast (£5.25) photo and a cup of tea. The tea arrived in an own-branded pale blue cup, along with a tiny saucer for the used teabag — a very sensible touch that most cafes don't bother with.

The breakfast consisted of two eggs, two hash browns, a grilled tomato, baked beans, mushrooms, and a Quorn sausage. I asked for the eggs to be poached, and they were done very well; nice compact shape, runny yolk, and properly set white. The hash browns were slightly undercooked, and not very structurally sound. The tomato tasted slightly fishy, which was a bit confusing since they don't have fresh fish on the menu so cross-contamination on the grill seems unlikely. Toast was seeded and not pre-buttered.

Service was welcoming and helpful. My order was taken at the table, and I paid at the till afterwards.

They have free WiFi. According to a sign in the window as of January 2016, they have gluten-free cakes.

Kake's verdict: Despite the fishy tomato, I'd come back for more eggs if I was in the area.

Child-friendliness: They have toys and games available to use, and at least two highchairs. There's a pull-down nappy change table in the lobby of the toilets, accessible to all genders. They have a children's menu with fairly limited choices.

Accessibility: A large step to get in. Two more steps to the toilets and the seating at the back. Access to the toilets is quite narrow.

See also:

• Photos of the menu as of January 2016: page 1, page 2, page 3
• Croydon Advertiser article