The London Review of Breakfasts

"Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper." (Francis Bacon)

Monday, April 04, 2011

Daley Bread, Fitzrovia

Daley Bread
20 Gosfield St
Fitzrovia
W1W 6HF
07980 751049

by Ronnie Oak

There’s no menu in Daley Bread. I look at a glass deli counter and I can’t even think of the word menu. I ask the woman what to do. Almost literally: “What do I do?”.

The counter is full of all sorts of stuff and after negotiations conclude we agree I’ll have a sausage and bacon sandwich. There’s an unholy amount of bread offered so I pick the last one on the list, which is ciabatta.

The man behind the counter hears my Irish accent and we talk about rugby. I’m glad I like the sport so I am able to dress phrases like “they just wanted it more” and “the best team won” in a suit of genuine conviction.

This conversational Garryowen hangs in the air for a while as I wait. Yes I want ketchup and I suppose I want it toasted. Mainly I just want it.

It arrives quickly. It’s huge. The sausage is better than most cafe sausages, which shouldn’t really damn it with faint praise if you think about it. The bacon is a bit disappointing, possibly overwhelmed by the amount of sausage. Perhaps I know how it feels. Not a bad complaint though. Some people in the world haven’t got two sausages to rub together God love them.

I get a bottle of water and pay. Jesus, the price of the whole thing is £3.50. I wonder if they charged me for the water as I expected to pay a fiver for just the immense sandwich. It’s great value. I’m pleased.

I like fancy things, and there’s nothing wrong with doing something perversely different than what it says on your tin, but sometimes even an intelligent person must praise utilitarianism.

This isn’t fancy. But it’s the first breakfast I’ve had in Fitzrovia with which I feel almost completely satisfied. I would go back.

5 Comments:

Blogger Jaco said...

What an amazing idea for a blog - I love breakfast!

Glad I found you!

http://jacabag.blogspot.com

4:02 PM, April 16, 2011  
Anonymous Forks said...

Wonderful. Great sandwich. Worth the rugby foreplay.

11:52 PM, April 16, 2011  
Anonymous Chris P said...

The owners are called Rob and Lynn. They are real Eastenders, lovely people to talk to and great sports fans. I have no association with them, other than the fact that I used to do a lot of work in the area and always used their cafe for a snack lunch from the day I found it. As the original poster said they give exceptional value for money, especially in an area which is not cheap at all, which is why I started using it. I continued to use it not just for that, but for the atmosphere generated between them and their regulars.

To sum up, if you are in the area and want very good plain food without having to empty your wallet, visit them.

9:42 AM, October 23, 2011  
Anonymous blackwatertown said...

It's a great place - good food and friendly people. I misjudged them here
http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/does-this-make-me-a-snob/

and am now putting that right over here

http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/does-this-make-me-an-arse/

What can I say. Arse!

8:59 PM, March 06, 2012  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Daley Bread has been the BEST cafe/sandwich shop in London for years. Go now before it's too late.
Sadly Rob and Lynn are retiring on 19 December and I am dreading having to resort to plastic pret or equivalent.......

2:55 PM, October 24, 2014  

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