Cafe Route

Another weekend another brunch. This time on Saturday, feeling slightly worse for wear I wondered down to Cafe Route right next to Dalston Junction. I had decided to try this spot after reading about it in The Dalstonist’stop 5 brunch spots in Dalston.

This time despite being tempted by a few things on the menu – I went for an old friend whom I hadn’t visited for a while... Eggs Benedict. Call me boring but this is my most common order when eating brunch out.. Be it Eggs Benedict, Florentine or Royal – there is something about a massive pile of Hollandaise sauce which can instantly make you feel better. Plus it’s something I can never really be bothered to do at home for just the one lone bruncher, so I only have it when out. On the other hand – this does mean I have a pretty high standard... 

The use of parma ham instead of normal ham was something I hadn't had before. It was nice if a little chewy! The hollandaise portion was nice and generous too - nothing worse than stingy hollandaise portions. 

Amelia had the vegatarian breakfast which looked nice. A good selection of different veggie bits and pieces made it look interesting and not hard done by as most veggie brekkies can be. 

Now there was one little glitch with our brunch.. after about 20 minutes of waiting we were about to ask about the food when a sheepish waitress came over to explain that our order seemed to have gone walkabouts. She put the order through again and asked if we would like something whilst we waited on the house. I had a pressed apple, ginger and lime juice and my brunch partner had another orange juice. In a way when something goes wrong in a restaurant/ cafe/ bar it tends to be a good way of judging the customer service. Here they were extremely apologetic and did offer us something to keep us going so we weren't too disgruntled at all. 

Route Cafe is also a delicatessen and I had a great time having a little gander through the fridges checking out the different sauces, olives, hams ect. Next time I'm definitely going to stock up on their homemade pesto and other antipasti bits - a picker's paradise. 

All in all Route is a nice addition to Dalston's brunch scene in a great little spot conveniently located next to the station. 

Cafe Route

Unit A Gaumont Tower

Dalston Square

E8 3BQ 

0207 249 6202