Where: bakehaus, 71 King Street, W6 9HW
Tube: Hammersmith
Had: "German" Cheese-topped Bagel with Camenbert Cheese, Curd Pastry, Diet Coke
Paid: £3.60
King Street in Hammersmith is another paradise for chain shops. The hungry but bored by McDonald's, Nero and similar pedestrian could spent hours to find anything at least slightly out of the ordinary. Having had a breakfast that consisted solely of a chocolate bar I spet about 15 minutes going "Nah, not again..." and "How much?!" I spotted the most recent addition to King Street's cafe scene.
bakehaus (sporting a funky umlaut which I don't have on my keyboard) opened its doors only this Wednesday*- you can tell: Neither of the two coffee machines work (I have a cold drink in the end) and the staff are still trying to master working the till.
First things first though: as I walk in I'm slightly disappointed. The atmosphere is about as German as a BigMac. The right hand side wall is made up of a help-yourself shelf. Pretty much everything is help-yourself- even the coffee machine. The contact with the very friendly all-German staff is limited to paying. For a place calling itself a German bakery this is wrong on so many levels.
The German bakery is worlds apart from Greggs. It's a place for which you get up at 8 on a Saturday morning, a place in which you have to talk to the friendly lady at the till to get you one, a place from which you can about 20 different types of bread (bakehaus has five). When I'm saying "The German Bakery" I'm referring of course to the bakery of my childhood as modernisation hasn't stopped at the German border and help-yourself bakeries have become increasingly popular in my native country, too.
Seating is another point I'm not entirely happy with. Incredibly long and high tables with matching chairs make it very difficult
a) to find a private place to sit and eat
and
b) to get up there.
"Enough moaning about the interior," I hear the patient reader. "Tell us about the food!" This is an altogether different story. The bagel is baked to perfection, topped with gorgeus melted cheese- and the filling, the filling. Creamy camenbert and fresh, crunchy cucumber make a smashing combination. Only the tomato looks a bit dodgy.
Having said the pastry exceeds all expectations. Curdy, lemony and just the right amount of sweet. Whoever thinks that English and German - go to the bakehaus and try one of their pastries.
Verdict: Hmmm, hmmm. I don't know their food can, as intellectually as possible, only be described as YUM-MY but the interior is a real let- down.
* 3rd Nov 2010
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