We were up and about reasonably early last Saturday but I was feeling a bit shabby after a few Friday pints of Sam Smith's at the excellent Champion pub off Oxford St. A trip to the farmers market had failed to shift my sticky head though the woman at the bakery stall has suggested an eckles cake as a suitable cure. My lovely wife suggested we go out for breakfast and try her new favourite lunch spot "Cafe Phillies" down near High St Ken. The original plan was to walk but we thought we might combine breakfast with a Waitrose mini shop so on we drove. Walking around Phillimore gardens always makes me feel like a young boy again as I used to spend lots of time in the area in the 80's as my elder sisters lived in a flat in Stafford Court. Back then a trip to Safeways was an exotic treat but nowadays High St Ken and it's environs offer you a bit more.
"Cafe Phillies" is just opposite "Sticky Fingers" and from the outside looks like your typical cafe. Step inside and you are greeted by some lovely fresh salads on the counter and a wine rack that rises up the wall. It is a popular place as their were a steady stream of people come in throughout our meal. I ordered a lovely freshly squeezed orange juice which slew the hangover monster and a nice creamy mocha, my wife had an enormous hot chocolate. They did the obligatory full English but I thought I would be adventurous and have a chorizo and pepper omelette whilst my wife went for a feta and tomato one. We also ordered some bread and butter to keep us going. The bread was very nice, so sweet I actually just had it with butter. I was less impressed with my omelette, possibly onion and chorizo might have been a better filling. However my wife's omelette was really nice, soft and tasty. All in all pretty good.
It is a great place to people watch as you get a good cross section of Kensingtonites popping in. The couple sat next us with the newborn baby were very friendly and it pointed to a future where we might still be able to get out once in a while. Less reasuring was the next table where a man and his 3 sons were sat. As soon as he sat down he pulled open his FT and ignored them as they proceeded to chuck sugar sachets around. Service was quite stretched in there as they were so busy, it took a little longer than I liked to get the bill and a glass of tap water. The bill itself was pretty reasonable under £30 for the both of us. The lunch menu did look very good. I noticed another table tucking into some seriously nice dips and the aforementioned fresh salads. I am very keen to go back but possibly for lunch next time.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8