Breakfast at The Natural Kitchen (London) – Monday 16 January 2012

The weekend in London had turned out to be a bit of a foodie indulgence, and the morning of the last day was to be no exception. We’d walked past this place the previous day, and decided that since it was not far from the hotel, and on the way to the tube, it would be a good place to go for our last breakfast together before catching trains back to our homes.


The Natural Kitchen looked very tempting from the outside, with lots of produce on display, and a delicatessen counter that brimmed with delicious-looking food. We went upstairs to the signposted café, and found a table in the corner, where our luggage wouldn't be in anyone’s way.

Having been quite naughty previously this weekend, and eaten more gluten than my body could cope with, I tried to find something on the menu that was edible. Disappointingly I didn’t have much luck, but I asked the nice waitress if there was anything they could make up for me, and she explained that there wasn’t, but that I could go downstairs, buy a loaf of gluten free bread, take said bread upstairs and they would make me a lovely sandwich. This sounded to me like a viable option, so my friends ordered their breakfast, and I ventured downstairs for bread.


To my disappointment I was told that they did not have any gluten free bread on sale. I am not normally the sort of person who gives up, so I asked if there was anything else that I could take upstairs, explaining that my friends were eating there and the waitress had told me to find food downstairs. I was abruptly told that there was nothing that could be sold there and eaten in the café upstairs. Feeling rather disappointed with this news I sighed and asked again if there was anything at all that I could take with me, feeling frustrated with the miscommunication and lack of service, but trying to smile and be friendly. By this point the waitress from the café appeared, looking quite confused when told that there was no gluten free bread. I was promptly told off by the deli staff for being negative, but was finally rescued by a lady who offered a gluten free quiche with a side of salad.


Feeling exasperated and sad I headed back upstairs to await my food, finding my friends enjoying their tea. I sank down into my seat, wondering if anything would appear, and if so, what it would be like. It turned out that when food eventually arrived (we were jokingly wondering if they had to grow the food first, concluding it was a good thing that our trains weren’t leaving for quite some time) it was delicious. However, I don’t think that it was delicious enough that I would go through the stresses of ordering gluten free food there again.