Breads Etcetera

Bread was nice but was not clean and sold juice as freshly squeezed but it was Tropicana at best... very overpriced cheap cafe!

Always freshly baked goods! When I get some bread from here it always disappears on itself before I put it on for dinner - it is that delicious!

Get real people! You want a breakfast to die for (just go for the Cowboy Brekie with the best baked beans ever), terrific bread - toasted as you want it and excellent coffee, then buy a sourdough loaf to take home. My Sunday started brillianty here but leave it too late and you will have to queue.I'll be back.

We have been to Breads Ecetera on Saturday morning in an attempt to have breakfast. I arrived and said we would be two for breakfast and I was told to wait outside and that I could not sit unless my friend arrived. I asked whether I could sit waiting for her to have a coffee and I was told in quite an abrupt manner that it was. It possible that t was he policy and that I was to wait outside. I asked to sit for a one person table then finding the whole thing quite ridiculous and I was told that I could not be given a table since someone We have been to Breads Ecetera on Saturday morning in an attempt to have breakfast. I arrived and said we would be two for breakfast and I was told to wait outside and that I could not sit unless my friend arrived. I asked whether I could sit waiting for her to have a coffee and I was told in quite an abrupt manner that it was. It possible that t was he policy and that I was to wait outside. I asked to sit for a one person table then finding the whole thing quite ridiculous and I was told that I could not be given a table since someone else was to come later and was not there yet. I ended up leaving and we have decided to have breakfast in a more welcoming atmosphere!! Breakfast may be good there (I did not get to try it) but they'll definitely need to work on customer service. the young girl at the counter also claimed to be the manager - which I doubt was the case. 

I am not entirely sure why some reviews here have criticised the owners attitude towards them. I had an entirely great experience. I am not very familiar in the Clapham area but was going for breakfast with a friend. We both had not been there before but were suggested to try this by a friend.
 
We were seated straight away and got menus. When we left around 12.30pm on a bank holiday people were waiting outside so coming early might avoid a wait. My friend ordered a fruit salat while I took the pancakes (see picture). They were simply delicious and staff was very friendly. The quality is right but to be honest, this does not come cheap.
 

 
Although the visit was a nice and delicious experience, there were a few things I would like to see improved:

- we waited more than 45 minutes for our food - too long!
- service charge was automatically added to our bill - if I don't come in a large group I would like to decide myself how much I tip - big minus!!
 
Overall, this is a great place to enjoy brunch or breakfast. If you can, come on a quiet day during the week and be prepared for large portions. While the quality of the food and friendliness of staff are great, there are a few things that can be improved. In any case, DO TRY THE PANCAKES with fruit, maple and cream - delicious!

I find Breads Etcetera to one of Clapham’s redeeming features. If you can find a time that doesn’t belong to the middle of the weekend, it makes the visit, as I imagine similar to the chilled out vision it’s often describe as.

I’ve been three times: for scones, for pizza, and for toast (finally). I knew id like it web I stepped in because it was deserted and playing the Juno soundtrack. To conclude, scones are surprisingly delicious, pizza is yum, and bread involved a Duallit toaster. Not only fun, but allows you to avoid the slightly poor-on-occasion service.

They set the oven off smoking last visit but it was quite amusing.

As I said, choose the right time and it’ll make you feel more a fan of clapham than stereotypes would have you believe.

So in my blog (http://thehappinessprojectlondon.wordpress.com) one of my rules is that I won't review places I don't like as everything has to be smiley and happy and positve on it.

So I'm going to only review this place here. Ahem.

My problems with this place is:

- we had to wait 20 minutes in the rain on Sunday morning to go in. No place is worth this on a hangover.

- this place is called Breads Etcetera, so it is famous for its bread right? Well the bread is great but the butter is CRAP - why would you have butter in little wraps when you SHOULD have giant blocks of delicious salty butter on each table, in fact like Esca across the road (which is way better)

- too cramped, which meant we couldn't read the papers, there was no place to put them, and the chef thought his chair was going to break and I thought the table would fall over, and I could hear the woman with the annoying voice next to me too loudly which made us the opposite of chilled, which is what hungover Sundays are all about

It was otherwise a nice full English breakfast, a nice touch no the home-made baked beans but a little tasteless. Sausage was goooood. I'd have liked to see eggs benedict or similar on the menu too.

Not worth the wait sadly - why do all these people queue up? Gimic of course is the toaster on every table but I have a toaster at home so I wasn't that excited.

And now I'm back to being happy :) x

I absolutely loved it. No queues at brunchtime on a Wednesday, got a table straight away. Service was prompt and with a smile. I had the muesli/porridge and fruit platter which was absolutely devine. My OH had the full english and loved it. Will definitely return next time we are in London.

I have been going to Breads Etcetera for years.

When I first started going there it was relatively unknown and rarely busy. On a weekday I would spend hours monopolising their free wireless and trying all the different jams with my toast. As it's become more popular the place has changed, it's much busier and the atmosphere not as relaxed as it used to be. But this is in no way a complaint. I am very happy that business is booming, and I'm not surprised, the food is wonderful.

The DIY toaster on the table is a great little gimic. It gets you trying all the other types of bread they have on offer rather than sticking to the usual. I think it's reasonable as well. Especially as it comes included in the price of any breakfast you order. I usually spend about £10-£12 in here on a Saturday, but can be there for HOURS! In my eyes this is totally reasonable, borderline cheap, based on the quality of the food and the atmosphere.

The cooked breakfasts are well worth a try. I was disappointed to read someone making fun of their home-made baked beans. Not everyone wants their beans to come straight from a can laden with sugar.

The baked eggs are wonderfull, I usually have mine with smoked salmon, spinach and gryuere cheese. Yum yum!

As I have a wheat intolerance I also buy their spelt and rye breads which are absolutley delicious. Sometimes I have found it hard to find the wheat-free bread in the DIY basket, but when asked the waiter/waitress has always provided plenty of spelt and rye alternatives.

They also do a good range of coffee. They've been serving a flat white for years when I could find nowhere else that did. They always come with a little chunk of bronie or cookie which is a nice touch.

I've met the manager a few times and he is utterly enthusiastic about what he does. Never met a man so excited about bread, and it's catching. I found myself heading home with a bag of flour and spending all night baking.

The service can be a little slow at the weekends, but then I dont want or expect fast food style service. I want to enjoy my time with my friends or by myself. The queues you can face on a Saturday are a testiment to how good this place is. I personally would be put off by an empty restaurant serving brunch on a saturday.

All in all this place is well worth a visit. You'll become a regular in no time.

We popped in to Breads Etc for brunch last Saturday. I wasn't sure it'd
be worth queuing just for toast, but my goodness it was!
Probably the best English breakfast I've ever had (though I must say
the lack of black pudding was a bit of a niggle) - especially the
bacon. And the toast! The sourdough bread is excellent, and I
LOVED being able to toast it myself at my table - just how I liked it,
fresh and hot -and a decent selection of spreads and jams. Makes you wonder why no-one else has had this idea...
Well worth a visit. And the home-roasted coffee's excellent, too.

Overpriced, poor service: a good idea that let mission creep destroy a good bakery with pretensions of a full service eatery. Go for takeaway not eat-in

Overpriced and poor service yet a pre-included service charge. Very disappointed is an understatement. As previous comments have said the concept and decor of this little cafe are good and lured us in, but aside from the bread the food was pretty poor. In addition to my DIY toast (GBP 5) I was charged GBP 2 for 4 thin slices of flavourless supermarket cheddar cheese and 2.50 for a tiny glass of orange juice. The waitress said they only had bought juice, when we queried the bill, another waiter claimed it was fresh squeezed juice. It tasted like average carton orange juice. To top it all, there was a service charge automatically added to our bill. I paid just under 11 pounds for a poor cheese sandwich and a mini taste of orange juice. We won't be going back and we won't be recommending it to friends. The bread however is good, so I would use it as a bakery.

I have been to this place several times and normally have a reasonably good time (the food usually saves it) but after my experience on Saturday, I will NOT be going back there again!

The owner/manager is a moody little thing and on Saturday when my boyfriend and I were queuing up with others, he came rushing out the door and repeatedly yelled at us all (and I do mean yelled!) to get onto the curb, then said "I know it's raining - TOO BAD!!!" I absolutely could not believe that an OWNER would treat his customers that way!

The food has been good the times that I've been there but I will NOT tolerate this sort of manner by staff and neither should anyone else. When I complained to the staff member by the door, he just shrugged and said the manager was stressed. A manager/owner being stressed whilst doing the job they choose to be in?! Seriously?!

This cafe ruined my breakfast and my Saturday morning. Don't let it ruin yours too!

I finally arranged to meet friends for breakfast, which i never get round to doing because a. my bed is far too cosy and b. by the time I get up i can't decide if it's breakfast or lunch.

I got there about 10am, and the place quickly starts to fill up. Staff seem friendly enough, and service was quite quick. You get a toaster on each table and a huge selection of breads that you can cut up, along with jams, spreads and other such yummies....

I ordered the cowboy, which consisted of egg in bread, bacon and some sausage spicy onion beans. Very yummy. This food is enough to keep you going until dinner... looking at others plates of the full english and aussie breakfasts along with the bread you'll be pretty much sorted for the day!

Priced average, and well a visit, I must try dinner. Oh and remember - cash only!!!

So I finally came here at the weekend. I've been meaning to come in for breakfast for about a year now, but i've always been put off by the long queues of pashmina wearing peroxide 20 somethings and Hooray Henry's.

So what's the verdict then? Well, some things were excellent, some what you'd expect and some bits need a lot of work. Let me explain:

Excellent things:

- Delicious soft boiled eggs and very tasty bacon. Some of the best i've had in SW4.

- Tasty, soft bread which you can toast yourself at your table.

- Friendly, efficient staff who are willing to take the time to look after you

No so good things:

- Music. Absolutely terrible. Saturday morning at 10am is not the time to be playing shitty Euro House.

- Credit cards no accepted. I don't care who you are, if you're operating on Clapham High street you need to accept multiple forms of payment.

- The People. As i mentioned above, it's pretty cramped in here so you're going to have to listen to your neighbours conversation. Unfortunately, Breads Etcetera attracts the kind of people that give Clapham a bad name. Don't say i didn't warn you!

I'll be back, but i think i will be coming back at a time when it's not quite so busy and I'll be sure to sit next to the stereo so i can persuade the staff not to play crap music.

Magnificent.
I have been there for dinner, without any particular expectations. First, you are brought several breads, tasting like heaven. Then, the main course is just perfect, cooked during hours and hours. Last but not least, deserts were fireworks, impressive by their simpleness and quality.
I have talked a lot with the manager and once you've met him, it seems obvious that this man loves his products, his restaurant.
This love is omnipresent in everything prepared there.

yum yum yum in my tum- I spent a charming evening here and left very pleasantly surprised at how simply delicious everything was. We started with their freshly made breads- the walnut was my favourite (and award winning), followed by a chicken stewed in Somerset cider and heaps of creamy mash- not very girly but just so tasty!
Pudding was chocolate brownie with whipped cream and fresh berries.... I would happily go back there for lunch today. I want to go back for Sunday brunch as I hear rumour that you get giving your own toaster and are left to your own devices- I'm in bread heaven!

Trust me guys, as a French person, I’d say that I am supposed to be in the right position to criticise that kind of traditional food restaurants. But yesterday “Breads Etcetera” gave me a big lesson of food. I ate one of the best bread ever. Actually, it was not only just one bread but a full range of awesome & fresh breads: whole breads, olives herbs breads, nuts breads, Etcetera. You’ll love that place for all its symbols: a friendly & smiley staff, a casual and warm atmosphere will make you feel like home.

High recommended, that place can’t be missed.

You need to come to this place especially now its coming into winter, they do i would say some of the "BEST SOUPS" i have ever tried not only that fresh delicious bread,

i cant recommend it enough for a cozy night dinner which will leave you full warm and a little glow on the outside

all needed now is a open fire ha ha

well done guys GREAT place

I hope breads Ectera forgive me for focusing on one item they sell. It is maddness really as they have great coffe, a good cooked breakfast, and some nice staff to go with it.
But… there was one thing that had me squealing for joy…
LAMINGTONS!
Any antipodean (or visitor) knows what I’m shrieking about, but I’ll fill you in. Squares of coconut and sponge and chocolate. I have been told similar thing exist else ware, but as it happens no one who has tried a lamington will ever go back to their plain substitutes.
Thank you ever so much Lord Lamington for your dessert quandary that brought about this gift (or lady Lamington, but probably their hugely underrated chef now that I think about it). The man himself had his fill of “those bloody poofy woolly biscuits” but I tell you what… he didn’t live in London!