TJ’s
57 Sheen Lane
Mortlake
SW14 8AB
020 8605 3555
by Mustapha Sausage
This is standard café business - no frills, a cross section of locals and multiple copies of all the regular newspapers scattered around the place. The staff can be a tad coarse but were friendly enough for 9am on a Sunday.
I ordered cheese on toast with two poached eggs, additional beans and a cup of tea. My vegetarian pal surprised me by joining me on this slightly irregular choice, while her ever-optimistic boyfriend hit the ‘Big Breakfast’. He was asked to choose five breakfast items from a list of around nine and did so wisely, putting together a basic fry up, choosing black pudding over sausage.
Vege-pal and I were swiftly presented with an underwhelming interpretation of our order: white sliced bread blanketed in far too much cheddar cheese with eggs and beans both over-cooked. The spongy bread had been absorbing the fat from the cheese and toast it was not! While I was very hungry and managed most of it, she wasn’t so forgiving and retired back to the Observer lifestyle supplement after eating only a third.
On the other hand, optimistic boyfriend (who’d had a slightly longer wait) was very happy with his. The eggs and beans were far better and the black pudding was excellent.
Overall this place delivers the basic goods and certainly seems popular with the locals. My tip is: stick to the basic formula and you shouldn’t be too disappointed.
4 comments:
genius name dude!
Good place to grab something fast on the way to the train.
Opposite is Cafe du Gare. Smaller, less 'workman-y' but a proper fry up, good quality sausages blah blah.. To their credit they also do proper coffee and fresh juices BUT without making it into some sort of ponce-a-thon. Best breakfast in the area... unless you're round at my house.
The person who says Cafe du Gare is in any way better than TJs needs to put down their smack-pipe and step away from the keyboard. TJs does what it says on its tin (at least it would if it had one). I recently moved from the area, but still wake at night pining for a dose of their double poached egg on toast with bacon + hash browns. Its not consistent or even excellent, but it fulfils a deep-seated need. If its a carb-o-thon you are looking for, you have found nirvana. The atmosphere is delightfully proletarian, but safe enough for the odd poncey bourgeois to feel welcome. Cafe du Gare may have its coffee and juice, but so does Mohammeed (the man at Mortlake station) and he will even source you your smoothie of choice. But always remember, TJs owns the manor........
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