Forum Topic

WANTED: Good cafe on the South Ealing Road

This is a call to all budding local entrepreneurs - there is a fantastic gap in the market for a decent cafe on the lower half of South Ealing Road. There are hungry workmen during the week and hungry residents at weekend and a complete lack of greasy spoons! No poncey patisserie that can't make toast - this isn't Northfield Avenue. We just want a Full English made with some heart.There are several empty commercial properties between the Popes Lane junction and the cemetery that would be perfect. This is a great opportunity to become a local institution - lets face it, what little competition there is are well past their sell-by dates and lack any authenticity. For the sake of all the rumbling bellies of South Ealing someone hear my plea!

Andrew Benfield ● 5472d36 Comments

No thanks, been there, heard the expletives, returned the food. Marc.

Marc Races ● 5463d

The Walpole is a horrible place staffed by horrible people. No concept of customer service.

Marc Races ● 5463d

Stephen's Walpole...See the text on their website.

Jim Lawes ● 5463d

I'm shocked to see no mention of The Walpole. Just by TVU on St. Marys Road. Will give you black pudding, fried slice and bubble and squeak if it does ya!Proper cooked ham on the bone to!www.walpole-ealing.co.uk

Stephen Neill ● 5463d

What a laugh!  A few years back I was invited to a Champagne Breakfast at a posh (non-masonic!)place in St James's at which the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of York attended. There were to be about 50-60 people attending.I was so excited at the prospect of having a breakfast fit for Royalty! I dreamt of having laid before me the top bacon, best sausages, gorgeous eggs, outstanding beans or tomatoes, and surely the toast would just be divine. What would they do for sauce I wondered! How would the porridge be? Would the jumbo oats be better than Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference"! Nell's wouldn't be the same again surely!The reality was champagne on an empty stomach before 10am (I'm diabetic!) and a stand up (and don't sit down!)performance..with waiters and butlers offering miniscule tasty nibbles..from time to time.Being me,I thought this was just a preamble to something more substantial in an adjoining room! But no that was it.Feeling somewhat feint afterwards, I wandered into a coffee shop in Jermyn Street to recover from the shock! So, I'm sorry, I'm NOT available for the Royal Wedding Breakfast...but thanks for the invite!!

Jim Lawes ● 5463d

Yes, the toast was probably a bit soggy..which was poor planning on my part..but I'm sure there were other slices of unsoggy granary toast just out of view!!You will have probably missed the second Irish potato farl buried under one of the eggs..but you're forgiven as there was so much to take in!!If you venture to Nell's in Northfield Avenue, I'm sure you'll find that they have both black and white pudding available...together with..we haven't mentioned... sour bread.Irish newspapers there mingle with the Sun and Mirror...and if you want to read happy news...go for the latter two. The poor Irish economy and fiddling past Premiers make for lousy accompaniment!.Haven't had fried bread for ages. Isn't it illegal?

Jim Lawes ● 5463d

Ah, black pudding - yes, so sadly missed.It's not been nearly the same since the EU wallers got to it with some rule about not using fresh blood (or some such)...

Tony Colliver ● 5463d

personally, I prefer my toast soggy.Crisp around the edges and soggy in the middle (preferably from baked beans and not tomatoes).Yum yum!

Tony Colliver ● 5463d

What's going on! Why no mention of our dear old friend the black pudding.An endangered spiece nowdays I know but don't let that put you off as the are still some being breed for for use by the common man.

Frankie Power ● 5463d

Didn't the tomatoes make the toast all soggy? And you really need a fried slice for a proper artery-clogging full English.

Susan Kelly ● 5463d

Here is a Waitrose special.. for a big boy!But it's a do-it-yourself!Decided one day to buy the ingredients from West Ealing..and rush home to get on with the joyous experience.From the left: Smoked back bacon, Herbed Pork sausages,Irish potatoe farl,toast (granary bread),Tinned Tomatoes with herbs, top fried eggs..and importantly ..with HP Sauce.Yorkshire tea served in a celebratory Croatian mug!Hope my doctor doesn't read these Forums ;0)

Jim Lawes ● 5463d

Sense of humour bypass by any chance?

Tony Colliver ● 5463d

Hardly. Not all of us want to die young!

Marc Races ● 5464d

Agree with the Horseshoe comment. I must speak up for the Park Cafe on Northfield Ave. between Tesco and Lammas Park. Very friendly Polish staff, HP sauce, properly cooked, items priced individually so you can have just what you want. I usually take mine away in a roll, which is big and crusty, and fresh. Seems to be popular with trucker/builder types which I always think is a good sign.If you're ever in Acton Vale, More Munchies (corner of Larden Rd) is wonderful.

Andy Williams ● 5467d

Hi everyone! Must get to those recommendations sometime.However, I'm stuck at home this morning..so I've got to do i the honours m'self!PS: bought the 1950's Bush radio in Northfield Avenue years ago.. it's got a nice deep sound.

Jim Lawes ● 5467d

I am always put off by Leon's decor (circa 1980) and big sign on the door warning you that they have CCTV cameras. What do they think their customers are going to do! Also went there for a Cheese, Ham and Pickle baguette and they didn't have pickle (didn't even know what it was) *sigh*I am with Tony on the sauce issue. The sight of a shoddy catering brand sauce is always a turn off. You simply can't beat HP!

Andrew Benfield ● 5468d

> cooked in vegetable oil! Wot?  No lard?That'll be where they are going wrong.

Tony Colliver ● 5468d

A good effort, but don't you think they've overdone the greens a bit there at the expense of a more appropriately sized portion of potato?

Tony Colliver ● 5468d

Serving proper HP Sauce as well!If an establishment can only offer 'brown' (yuk!) sauce then it doesn't get my business.

Tony Colliver ● 5468d

Cafe Provence was very expensive. The proprietor would always try and get you to have toast, this that and the other. By the time he had finished the breakfast costs twice as much as anywhere else. The customers voted with their wallets!

Marc Races ● 5469d

Try Leon's (opposite the Co-op). All food is healty and cooked in vegetable oil! Does a veggie and a meat breakfast.

Marc Races ● 5469d

I'm afraid I cannot avoid the lure of the chip, even for breakfast. I heartily recommend The Regency Cafe just off Horseferry Road (has been used in several films and adverts). Okay I know it's not Ealing, but it has tons of character and real chip fryers in the kitchen. The husband and wife team bellow your orders out when they're ready and general add to the authenticity of the place.

Andrew Benfield ● 5469d

Jim you should definitely go into Frank's and photograph the full English - it's the biggest, most daunting breakfast I have ever seen. Even the greedy, 6ft 2 inch son with the hollow legs, found it a challenge.

Sara Nathan ● 5469d

Jim - you are the Patron Saint of the Greasy Spoon! Keep the recommendations coming. My post was partially stimulated by a truely awful breakfast in one of the cafes further up South Ealing Road last weekend. The best I have found so far is the utterly charming 'Horseshoe' at the top of Boston Manor Road.

Andrew Benfield ● 5469d

As a purist, I do not think I can agree to chips with breakfast. So few breakfast places offer black pudding, or even a fried slice. I had the most fantastic black pudding in Dublin the week before last! Hope they give the Queen some.

Susan Kelly ● 5470d

If you venture to Brentford High Street, opposite the Court and next to the Magpie and Crown you could enjoy the sight of a good English Breakfast.Sadly, it didn't taste as good as it looks (5/10) but ought to be tried again as it does get well reviewed by local beer bellies!Look at those eggs!

Jim Lawes ● 5470d

And here's that South Ealing Road one at Brook Road North...just in case you're in the area. Only 6/10 recommendation.. but if you like bubble and squeak....

Jim Lawes ● 5470d

Hi Peter, this is two spare tyres speaking! It's quite fun taking photos of meals and plonking them on Flickr.Here is Frank's cafe in Churchfield Road, Acton that Sara mentioned..haven't called in there for double egg, bacon, sausage and fried slice :0) myself.(plus HP sauce of course) but was just admiring the road and it's shops.Let's have more recommendations!

Jim Lawes ● 5470d

Jim,That is what i call a gourmet guide!! better than michelin and with this one you get a spare tyre.food for thought eh.cheers peter

Peter Chadburn ● 5470d

You've got me going now! On the Brentford side of South Ealing Road, there has long been a cafe/ greasy spoon on the corner of Layton Road and Brook Road North.This 6/10 dish was served to me about a year ago. Bubble & squeek comes with everything!

Jim Lawes ● 5471d

But the Liver Bacon with Mash and vegetables at Nell's Northfield Avenue is the tops for me....indulged in once a fortnight..least I get too fat!Just £5.70 including tea, bread and butter and free water for your diet pill!

Jim Lawes ● 5471d

Some of us travel great distances to indulge in a favorite greasy spoon.I can't say that I've stopped anywhere in South Ealing Road in my 35 years touring round in a van.Top spot in recent years has been Nell's in Northfield Avenuenear Oscars Watch Shop. The Albanian Couple there do terrific food. The tea is lousy though and in recent times a whining air extractor has annoyed..but the experience is still a knock out. Here is No 3 for £5!

Jim Lawes ● 5471d

I need somewhere to have my full English after a fasting blood test at the health centre now that Café Provence has gone.

Susan Kelly ● 5471d

I fear it's already been tried in South Ealing.  Uppercrust Cafe, later morphing into Cafe Provence, (between North Road and South Road, next door to Balti Naz) shut up shop about a year ago - it was reasonable, but always very quiet.  The place is now used as an office for an importers/ exporters.:(

David Whitelam ● 5471d

There's a newish one that exactly fits your requirements in Churchfield road Acton - Frank's: huge portions, calorific, characterful and cheap.It is itself an offshoot of Harry's - apparently the same - on Horn Lane.Maybe you should wander along and make them aware of this stunning business opportunity - perhaps they are looking to add to the chain.

Sara Nathan ● 5472d

Northfield Avenue has the luxury of both - I suggest you move. lol

James Brown ● 5472d