Why we'll never take bookings
It's not stubbornness, we promise. Here's the thinking behind walk-ins only.
We get the question most weekends: “Can I book a table?” The answer is always a friendly no — and not out of stubbornness, we promise. There's real thinking behind walk-ins only.
It keeps the room relaxed
A booked-out floor means tables sitting empty, held for people who might be running late, while folk who are here right now hover by the door. Walk-ins let us seat whoever's in front of us, keep the room full, and never make you feel like the table's on a timer.
It also means no awkward two-hour slots. If you want to sit with a coffee and the paper long after the plates are cleared, that's exactly the morning we're hoping you'll have.
How to beat the wait
Weekends between about half nine and noon are the busy stretch. If you'd rather skip any wait at all, come a little earlier or a little later — the light's lovely at both ends of the morning, and the kitchen's a touch calmer too.
And if there is a short queue when you arrive, hang in there. It moves quickly, and there's almost always a seat by the window with your name on it.
Pancake purist. Will not be rushed on the hollandaise, and whisks the batter by hand every single morning.
More from the kitchen
RecipeHow we get our pancakes that fluffy
The secret isn't fancy — it's buttermilk, a gentle hand, and knowing exactly when to stop whisking. Here's how we do it on the flat-top every morning.
RecipeThe five-minute weekday eggs that taste like a weekend
You don't need an hour and a sink full of pans. Here's the soft, savoury scramble we make on our own busy mornings.
Cafe lifeMeet Rosa, the baker behind our weekend pastries
She's in before the birds, laminating dough by hand. We sat down with Rosa between trays to talk butter, patience, and bad weather.