Lowry & Baker

£10 / British, Vegetarian options

339-341, Portobello Rd, London

Opening hours

8AM-4:30PM

Sunday 8AM-4:30PM
Monday 8AM-4:30PM
Tuesday 8AM-4:30PM
Wednesday 8AM-4:30PM
Thursday 8AM-4:30PM
Friday 8AM-4:30PM
Saturday 8AM-4:30PM

Charming Cafe with Incredible Brunch Delights

In the vibrant chaos of Notting Hill, beneath the shadow of the great Portobello Market, lies Lowry & Baker—a quaint café with charm abundant enough to hold its ground against London's omnipresent Starbucks blitzkrieg. On entering, the aroma of fresh coffee whispers promises of peace from the bustling streets outside, tugging you towards hearty portions of brunch classics. There's Andre in the kitchen, orchestrating his culinary symphony with the precision of a conductor who’s clearly tutored taste buds into sweet submission. The French toast flirts with perfection, embodying just the right blend of sweet and subtlety that insists there is no point resisting. You see, Andre knows that breakfast isn't simply a meal but an offering—a rite of passage into the day.

Yet, for all its culinary abundances, Lowry & Baker might seem a tad inflexible. If you've dreamed of settling with just a coffee and cake on a languid London day, you'll find your fantasy somewhat rebuffed—policies akin to modern art: open to interpretation until strictly enforced. Should you hope to lounge casually on a weekend morning with nothing but conversation as your company, expect a brisk "takeaway only," a quirk nestled in a framework supposedly meant to reserve breathing spaces for actual patrons of eggs over bevies. But maybe that's their genius—a meticulously crafted ambience that, by tethering in those seeking an honest meal like me, remains largely undiluted by zombies clinging to laptops for free Wi-Fi. It’s a call to something truer here—a reminder that some things in life, like brunch, are meant to be savored with only a fork, knife, and perhaps, a smile. — Penelope Savory