Boulangerie Bon Matin

Arkady

If the bridges were a bit bigger Miss Annie could use the area under them to store her shoes.

Thomas

I always think that if those bridges were at the Angel end of Islington, they would have never been allowed to get into that state... Was in a meeting a while ago at FinFuture and the bridges were mentioned - they are the responsibility of Network Rail and were shortly due for maitenance and rennovation (especially to stop the water coming through from above which is partly resposible for the mess underneath). that a few years back though so maybe the recession hit.

Rebecca B

I tried out BBM on Tuesday for lunch. Like others have mentioned, I was impressed by how busy it was. Most tables were occupied and while we were eating there was a steady footfall getting take away. For 2 of us it came to £13.
The address is 178 Tollington Park, so close to junction with SG you can't miss it.
I had a savoury crepe (mushroom)- delayed since I missed out on pancake day. My friend tried the coffee and said it was good, so mixed reviews on that front. Next time, I definitely want to sample the cakes and tarts on display, they looked very tempting.
If you are trying it out, make sure you bring cash. The staff told us the card machines are due in next week.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Arkady

Enormous. Could crush a small village.

Roy

I never like walking under the bridges when it's raining and you get water dripping down. Remember that there are a lot of trains still in service where the toilets discharge onto the trackbed. So we think the blue/green lights are just decorative? I'd wondered whether they were there to discourage drug users, but there seems to be too much normal lighting for them to be very effective for that. -roy

dorothy

When I'm on drugs, I quite like those lights.

gardener-joe

...

coffee boy

love the place but unfortunately the coffee is still lacking. when will we get a cafe serving square mile or monmouth coffee? anyone know where to get a good flat white in or around N4?

miss annie

I honestly don't understand the obsession with overpriced coffee. I've yet to find anywhere, Sunshine being the notable exception, that provides a decent cup of ordinary tea.

dorothy

I find the coffee a bit samey in Stroud Green. Coffee Circus opposite the Harringay Arms do Union Coffee, which they seem to take trouble over. Their cakes are nice too.

WillM

At the risk of starting a daily diary on this, the coffee this morning was definitely improved on last week's, and probably the best take-away coffee in Stroud Green. The staff seemed pretty engaged this morning, though perhaps mainly due to there only being two people serving and a queue of five. Hopefully they'll staff the morning rush better in the future?

neilf

Went in today (at about 2.15). Had a nice toasted sandwich and cake. However, the coffee was just awful. Actually, I think they'd just done something wrong, rather than that being how it's supposed to taste -- it was that bad. I had a few mouthfuls and threw it away.

Having said that, I'll definitely be going back, and I hope it's a success.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

norn iron

Hi - I don't often add a comment but felt compelled to add to this thread - had a delicious scrambled egg on rye and a BIG cup of Earl Grey tea for Sunday breakfast yesterday at BBM. The back room was warm and sunny, and met a few of the neighbours there too - what more could you want?

Ali

It must be loads better than the previous efforts of bakeries/cafes on SGR, remember the one which used to be in what is shortly to be the Mexican. Dudley’s tried pizza pancakes I was wondering if there is such a things as a Mexican Pizza

Ali

and how long to posh cakes turn up in Tescos as they react as they will

tomp

@ Ali

yep http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlayuda

Ali

I was only joking I wonder what roasted grasshoppers are like ?

fabrizio

A friend and I tried Bon Matin the second day after it opened. We initially felt quite optimistic that somewhere pleasant had opened on Tollington Park and sauntered in mid-afternoon.

The Good:
The design is invitingly fresh - the cakes on display in the window look fantastic - it's a slight shame there isn't more space to sit by the window. As it was mid-afternoon, there were a lot of mothers with children running about happily.

I tried a croissant and my friend had a lemon cake. Both tasted authentic, and the cake in particular was decadently delicious. My only quibble was the price, which seemed a few pence too dear.

The Bad:
The coffee. My friend's latte was passable; my "cappucino" didn't resemble one in the slightest and seemed to have almost no coffee in it.

The Ugly:
The service. This is probably forgiveable as the staff were still finding their feet, but how it took five people behind the counter ten minutes to make two coffees was bewildering. Also, I believe most of the staff are French, and the girl who took our order misunderstood our request to 'eat in' compared to 'take away' - maybe just youthful mumbling on my part - but there wasn't any need to be surly and argumentative about pouring it into cups.

Overall - slightly disappointed. An alternative to the Front Room Cafe but not better. Maybe time will tell?

barnesbq

I popped my head in the door on their opening day and asked if I could have a look in whilst walking to the station. The staff were not overrun at this point and all said hello! the manager came out to show me a few details - like the tiles on the floor, and said he was happy to be in Stroud Green and hoped to stay. How nice of them all!
I called in on my way to work this Monday and they were all still chirpy French people. The coffee was good, my croissant just a little stale and the price was extremely affordable.
WE NEED MORE OF THIS IN OUR AREA

tosscat

Stale croissant is not good at all. Shouldn't they be baked in the morning for sale the same day? That wouldn't be tolerated in France.

barnesbq

yes - clearly a leftover Croissant from Sunday.
It wasn't bad, but I like mine super-soft.

I will give them a second chance, as I am not French

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

gardener-joe

...

Mirandola

On a more cheerful note, the crepes are really good.

miss annie

There is a little cafe at Wells Terrace just before you turn the corner onto SGR. It is the size of a shoebox but they manage to bake their own croissants throughout the day. The coffee tastes nice but I'm no connoisseur, the tea is splendid.

helen

I like BBM. So there.
Good scrambled eggs and the coffee is OK. Frankly overall it gets an 8 out of 10 from me and in comparison to the scrambled eggs and coffee I had at The Savoy this morning, BBM is utterly great. The only difference is that I probably won't bump into Juan Antonio Samaranch at BBM...or does that detail of my day go into celeb spots???

helen

hang on...can't be samaranch.. he's dead. Is it only thursday...

mr bergkamp

have visited a few times since the opening i have found it a welcome addition to the area. The cake display looks good in the window.The coffee is no better no worse than other places in SG. The floor tiles are very pretty and the back room very light. The service is average for the area.

I would like the people who posted earlier re the staff atitude to suggest where or when they last got good service. For me i dont expect anything on that front when out + about and am then pleasantly surprised when treated anything above cordially.