Karim’s Restaurant Review – The Table Cafe (in London)

Karim will now be reviewing restaurants in London. 

There are only a few things I would tolerate waking up to on a rainy Sunday morning in London. Sunday brunch is certainly one of them.
Infamous for various food markets, London south of the river is only recently marking its way on the city’s trendy restaurant scene and The Table Café is by all means at the heart of this uprising.

As the name implies, the place has a simplistic approach to its décor, centred around long communal wooden tables and plain, modern finishing with a splash of red faux-plafond on the ceiling, bringing in just the right amount of colour to a gloomy morning. Keeping a modern NY-style eatery look, the place offers several of the perks that we look for to delay our Sunday blues. Good-tasting coffee, delicious bread, and an eye-catching global selection of Sunday papers to flick through at the entrance easing the twenty minute wait for a table. Good company also does the trick.

As the food arrived, I was having regrets for ordering the eggs Florentine – my vegetarian choice was a result of avoiding the Royale to stay away from repeating my previous day’s meal at The Wolseley. Yes, it’s been a brunch marathon weekend. The Florentine – lacking the salmon I was craving but offering spinach instead – was just satisfactory. On a delicious muffin bed, the Hollandaise sauce was missing that sour taste that accompanies the rich, thick buttery texture. I would’ve liked the poached eggs to be running more as well, 30 seconds less of cooking time would have probably done the job.

Despite the disappointing Florentine, the buttermilk pancakes were a huge success. The dough itself thick and moist, with caramelised bananas and bacon, topped with generous amounts of maple syrup. What a treat. The sharp salty taste of the deep fried bacon breaking through the whorish amount of sugar is a perfect harmony. I have to blame my recent obsession with maple syrup on my Canadian company.

In spite of the short-of-ideal eggs, The Table Café offers brunch-lovers the Sunday morning experience we’re looking for. It gets a B+ for pleasant décor, delicious coffee, and a highlight dish of pancakes. If you happen to be south of the river on the weekend – this is your breakfast spot!

 Karim Rating
B+