The much hyped Porridge Cafe opened at 70 Paul Street in East London this week: the healthy antidote to the equally hyped Cereal Killer Cafe which is just a stones throw from where I live on Brick Lane. The Cereal Killer Cafe has been ridiculously successful, with queues around the block on busy days, but surely Londoners would like something a bit more tasty and nutritious for breakfast? Step forward Nik and Elly of the Porridge Cafe. Their street food business began in 2013 as the Bow Street Kitchen, specialising in feeding the hungry tech hordes of Hoxton and the surrounding environs. Having concentrated on the provision of modern ‘British’ comfort food: think bacon butties and steak and mash, they decided that a logical next step would be to set up a (slightly) more permanent base with a pop up cafe dedicated to the most healthy comfort food of all. Plus they knew it might be a savvy move, what with oats and porridge so much in vogue.
We went along to check out the cafe today, which is housed in the same pop up space where our TWWDNU prints were on show just a few weeks ago, and I am delighted to report that the very finest artworks (our A2 prints featuring 24 carat gold leaf by Cristian Grossi, Daria Hlazatova, Niall Grant and Mateusz Napieralski) are now on the walls of the cafe alongside some of the True Romance alternative cinema prints commissioned by East End Prints.
I tried to tempt Snarfle with some porridge mixed with a tiny bit of apple, to no avail, so I ended up paying for another plain portion which luckily he ate when liberally topped with honey (it’s his usual breakfast but we abstained this morning). For my lunch I opted for the parsley, aubergine and caper risotto (above), a colourful and intriguingly flavoured affair. I was left a wee bit hungry – maybe I’ll blame that on being pregnant – but the portions are relatively small, so make sure you top up with one of the delicious sounding fresh smoothies if you visit for lunch.
Roasted red pepper, chorizo and chilli barley porridge for lunch.
The porridge options for breakfast come with an assortment of fresh fruit, nuts, berries and milk: all of which sound delicious. Busy Londoners are used to splashing out on tasty food so I hope this place will become a success. If the Cereal Killer Cafe can do it surely Nik and Elly can? Make sure you check out our beautiful limited edition prints when you visit.
The Porridge Cafe offers a rotating menu that includes 11 different grains and is open until the end of March. The full menu can be found here. Read more about the story behind the TWWDNU prints here.
Opening times: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 8am-5pm, Sun 9am-4pm
Categories ,#TWWDNU, ,70 Paul Street, ,Bow Street Kitchen, ,Brick Lane, ,Cafe, ,Cereal Killer Cafe, ,Cristian Grossi, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,East End Prints, ,Food Review, ,Mateusz Napieralski, ,Niall Grant, ,Opening times, ,Pop Up Cafe, ,Porridge, ,Porridge Cafe, ,Restaurant, ,review, ,Snarfle, ,Street Food, ,True Romance
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