Fleet River Bakery

Whilst London is awash with Subways, Prets, Eats and Greggs it still sometimes seems rather difficult to find somewhere to get your hands on a really good homemade cake.  Although baked goods are all around us, these establishments that are part of a chain make me feel rather cynical.  We’re told that everything is home made by some very clever marketing campaigns but I can’t help feeling that actually it’s all been mass produced in a warehouse in Bromley by some Polish refugees.  Plus every single sandwich, or even salad, you buy from these places seems disproportionally choc full of fat and calories.  For instance, I discovered the other day that my favourite superfood –type salad from one of these place actually had nearly 30 grams of fat in it which given that 20g is an indication of a high fat item and that the item I had chosen was a salad is not very impressive.  So I’m feeling rather cheated by all the big name, big PR-driven fast food machines and as a result I find myself turning more and more to real bakeries and cafes.

My latest discovery is the Fleet River Bakery at Lincoln’s Inn Fields near Holborn.  The bakery is mostly a lovely café serving fresh food and coffee to the local population of barristers and office workers from 7am – 7pm Monday to Friday and then opening again on Saturdays for a slightly different crowd for brunch.

Weekday breakfasts include porridge with banana or honey (£2/3), croissant with tomato and Brie, ham and cheddar or spinach and cheddar (£2/2.20), bacon sandwich on doorstep white bread with home made tomato chutney and rocket (£3/3.50) and scrambled eggs on sourdough toast (£4.50).  At the weekends, the menu is expanded to include pancakes with maple syrup (£4.50), eggs Benedict (£6.50), a full English (£8.50) or my personal favourite green eggs and ham (£6.50).  The bakery also serves fresh Monmouth Coffee Company coffee and a selection of soups, salads, cakes, biscuits and pies.  They also offer a catering service for breakfast meetings, corporate dinners, Christmas parties and the like.  So drag yourself away from your half fat, decaf, double shot, chai tea latte and mass-produced cheese and ham croissant and give somewhere a bit more local a try (www.fleetriverbakery.com).

Fleet River Bakery
71 Lincolns Inn Fields
London
WC2A 3JF

020 7691 1457