Boulangerie Bon Matin - Local discussion Discussions on stroudgreen.org

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.

Misscara

@ Arkady - are you saying she's got massive feet?

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

Thanks to all here for the address. At 4pm today (Sunday) I took a break from the desk to give the place a go, thinking "Mmm lovely cakes and coffee are just what I need right now".

The shop was pleasantly busy. There were plenty of staff behind the counter at the front, but no one acknowledged me as I entered. Not very French! Then as I hovered there unsure of the etiquette, I caught the eye of one of the several people behind the counter and selected my cake, but as I did so was told to take a seat at the back, and order at the table; btw the space at the back is very nice.

However, after a full five minutes, no one came to take my order so I went back to the front - where there were still plenty of staff talking to each other - and just chose some cake and ordered a cappuccino, returning to my seat and my newspaper. Although a place number on a stick was soon placed on my table, another full five minutes passed. As far as i could see no-one was doing any serving, either to seated customers in the shop or to take-out customers at the counter. In fact, when I looked about, a lot of the people around me had no cups or plates on their tables, but were just talking to each other or reading papers. Odd.

By now I was getting a bit unsettled, and wondered just how long does it take several people to put a piece of cake on a plate and make a coffee? I just left. No one on the staff seemed to notice (or care?).

Now the menu I saw looked great, the sweet things i saw at the counter seemed delicious, and the whole place seems really pleasantly done out, and I will give it a second try.

But, please, just up the 'bonjour Monsieur/Madame' type engagement level a bit. Not being looked in the eye and acknowledged is a bit off not only in France, but also in England too i might add. I am not unusually disfigured or socially unpleasant by the way!

There is no shortage of staff to do this customer engagement, and something less impersonal might make me at least feel a little less out of place.

The patisserie might be achieving French standards but the service (on this occasion) is not. Even in quite modest cafes in France we could expect on arrival, courteous attention from someone who appears to been in charge, so that at least we know we have been noted as new arrivals needing service.

We shall see what happens next time ...

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.

Misscara

I got a coffee and a pain au chocolat from there this afternoon. Coffee was disgusting and undrinkable. Pain au choc and a lot of their cakes and tartes were what I recognise as standard bulk-catering defrost and serve or bake-from-frozen fayre, disappointing considering their prices. That said, it is a nice space and the back room is very nice. If they sort out the coffee I can see myself going there more often, as it stands I'll probably leave it for now.

If anyone from there is reading this <theperfectcup.co.uk> give very good barista training.

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

Misscara

I popped in yesterday, coffee still not right and too many staff stood about doing nothing while I waited to order food. Had previously tried to order at the counter but was told to go and sit down (it wasn't busy). Wifi was up and down all the time and it was very draughty in the back room. When I eventually ordered I got a filled baguette which was delicious and very good value but the lemon tart was standard 'bought in' type and the pastry was stale. The staff were all very friendly and apologetic about me waiting so long and the manager(?) seemed like a nice guy. I will probably go back because it is a nice place and a good place for meeting people that's not the pub, but I hope they iron out the service and coffee issues. Also, there's no excuse for serving stale goods.

gardener-joe

Misscara, and Fabrizio: I am glad to know I am not the only one who found the service somehow lacking ...

and as for the rest of the recent postings, well, the story seems to be getting worse not better ... oh dear ...

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.

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19 June 2013