Blue Brick Cafe

I took my non-vegan friend to this cafe and we both loved it. I had the vegan fried breakfast but they didn't have any baked beans so I switched it for their chickpea stew (basically chickpeas in tomato sauce) and the combination was amazing. They straight away offered dairy free butter for my toast and if I wanted non-dairy milk in my coffee, bare in mind this is a vegetarian cafe not wholly vegan. I could have sat there for hours as it's such an amazing and chilled vibe. If you're in the area I would definitely recommend going!
Wonderful staff and A* food

Tasty vegan breakfasts and, if you're lucky, vegan cake too. The staff were friendly.

I'd go again if I was in the immediate area but wouldn't travel for it.

Perfect for a nice coffee soya latte or lunch with decent vegan options and yummy cake

I went on a Friday afternoon with my future mother-in-law, so it was fairly quiet which did mean we were able to get a table straight away. The waitress was very friendly and went through the specials on the board with us explaining wha was veggie and what was vegan. Being vegan I ordered the 'sausage' casserole with brown rice - which was amazing!! The portions are perfect and the flavour was delicious! The prices are quite reasonable as well. In all honesty I couldn't fault this place at all! Oh! And their vegan chocolate brownie was simply to die for!!!

Today was our third visit to the Blue Brick Cafe.
The first time we were put off by the lack of vegan options, ending up with rather greasy and slightly dull spaghetti. The basic main menu for vegans seems to be spaghetti, curry and salads with things left off. Also lack of vegan desserts.
Second time (we reluctantly tried again), we hit late breakfast time and had a great breakfast, home made baked beans, mushrooms which were excellent, homemade veggie sausages, tomatoes, spinach and toast with good coffee. Couldn't fault it and we were offered vegan cake too!
Today we went again, especially for breakfast, no baked beans they'd run out, so they gave us two sausages instead, one of us doesn't eat mushrooms so they offered extra tomatoes but didn't follow through.Ended up a rather mediocre breakfast which could have been improved by a tin of shop baked beans, we'd still have been disappointed but it would have been more substantial.
So in conclusion, wouldn't go for lunch or dinner if vegan probably okay if veggie (lots of cheese), good for vegan breakfasts on their day but inconsistent, overall average but nice to have another veg place in South London.

You can taste the food has been well prepared. A great chef is the ikey to this cafe. More vegan options would be nice but the food is always excellent and at a reasonable price.

The Blue Brick Cafe is quite simply charming. Catch it on a sunny day and the outside, clad with bold blue tiles, wouldn't look out of place on the harbour in some remote fishing village in Cornwall. But here it is, just off the beaten track that is the Northcross Road, in it's recent reincarnation as a vegetarian cafe.

The simple, quaint style is continued inside, with old wooden school chairs and an eclectic array of bottles, vases filled with daffodils and other bits and bobs adorning the walls and windowsills.

Our first visit was on a bright sunny Saturday morning for brunch. The few tables on the pavement outside catch the morning sun and inside it streams through the large windows to brighten up the single room which houses half a dozen tables. Word has it though, that on a cold day it struggles to get warm inside.

I quite like the fact that the short, simple menu is typed out in old school typeface and you'll find specials up on the blackboard on the wall. I also love that the cup and saucer my coffee was served in matches the blue tiles outside. I'm clearly easily pleased.

We've been for brunch a couple of times now, so haven't ventured into the lunch or main meal menu. From what we've tasted, the food is simple and rustic. It's all homemade. I'm a sucker for homemade baked beans so their beans on toast suits me down to the ground. The mushrooms came sauteed with some baby spinach leaves.


The rest of the menu is similarly short which in my view is no bad thing. I always wonder how places with long rambling menus can possibly cook and serve fresh food (or maybe they don't...). They have soups and salads by way of lunch fare and mains like squash, spinach and ricotta lasagne and vegetable curries (none of which I've tried, so I can't vouch for them yet!). They seem reasonably priced at around £6-£8 for the heartier dishes and it's BYO (£2.50 corckage).

Last visit: April 2011
Cost: approx £2 for coffee, £4 for homemade baked beans on toast
Service included: No
Food: Breakfast, brunch, lunch, take away, coffee, cake
Buggy Ratio: Low (we were the only people with a child on both visits, but they do have a great old highchair so children and babies are more than welcome)
Outdoor Space: Yes (a few tables on the pavement outside)
Will I go again?: Yes