Brunch at Friends of Ours

London Cafes | Friends of Ours

With so many places selling quality food and drink in London, it is a recommendation in itself to have gone back to the same spot more than twice. 

Friend of Ours is one of these gems, and one of my favourite places for an antipodean-style brunch. 

Not your usual English caf, but still carrying all the full english essentials, FOO is so much more, regularly changing their menu with the seasons and experimenting with flavour combinations. 

As someone who has eaten over half of the menu (is that something to be proud of...?), my favourites are the chicken bao, courgette quinoa and roasted corn fritters, and the smoked ham hock benedict. Whatever you order, make sure you get a side of mushrooms. 

They also have quick cold lunch options and sweet treats on the counter if you're on the run or just want coffee and cake.

I sat down with English owner Anthony Dyer over some matcha and cherry french toast, to learn a bit more about this palace of Australian culinary delights.

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How do you describe the cafe to people who haven't been before?

Our ethos is to offer three things as well as we possibly can - food, coffee, and service. I'd describe the Cafe as a friendly neighbourhood place, with a constantly evolving menu.

How do you come up with the new dishes? 

Our Chefs are in constant contact with our suppliers to find out what ingredients are in season or tasting best. We use social media and other channels to keep an eye on food trends from around the world, but particularly from Australia.

Once a month we sit down and discuss any menu changes. If anything does change then the whole Cafe team are involved with tasting and giving feedback on new dishes.

How frequently does your menu change?

Seasonally. We like to make major changes four times a year. There are also changes to one or two dishes at different times, depending on seasonal changes or ingredients which are either tasting great or lose their flavour.

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Where did the name 'Friends of Ours' come from?

I wanted to create a neighbourhood place where everyone felt welcome. We make a conscious effort to get to know customer’s names and their coffee orders. Before I moved into this line of work, I often drank coffee at the same places every working day of the week. It was a source of frustration that staff would never make an effort to learn my friends and my order, or even welcome us back with a smile.

We are often the first people see when they leave the house in the morning. Sometimes the first people they will speak to every day. We want them to feel like our friends and to come back to us, not just for the coffee or the food, but also to us as people.

Where do you source your coffee beans?

We offer Dark Arts coffee at the moment. They only use single origin beans and they are a light roast. We prefer that style of coffee they leave acidity in the bean, which means loads more taste on the other end.

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Why have you decided to use oat milk instead of soy?

We tried lots of alternative kinds of milk with our coffee - almond, soy, oat, coconut, and macadamia. We found that oat milk tastes better, mixes better with the coffee and holds its texture for a good length of time.

The coffee we use is a light roast and they leave a lot of the great stuff in the bean - acid, fruit and flavour! Other alternative milks don't mix well, but Oatly oat milk goes perfectly.

You're very popular, how long have you been open and how did you start out?

Haha. Thanks! We opened in February 2015, so just over 2 years. I previously worked in finance, but food and coffee were always my passion. A very good (and kind) friend of mine owns a Cafe in Melbourne. When I decided to make the career change, he allowed me to move over there, live and work with him, to learn more about the Cafe world. This was a great introduction and allowed to see how another country embraces brunch & coffee.

Are you from London? What do you think makes this part of the city so special?

No. I'm a northern boy, although I've lived in London for over 14 years. 

I love the creativity in this part of London. A lot of our customers work at start-ups or emerging businesses, and it's great to see them grow. Occasionally it means we lose bunches of customers at a time, as they need to move away from the area to bigger offices, but it's great to watch them grow.

Anything else people should know?

Not really. Come and try us out.

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If you want to check them out yourself they are at 61 Pitfield Street, Hoxton, London N1 6BU

Friends of Ours | Dark Arts

A massive thank you to Anthony and the team for working with me on this feature. 

As always; this is a non-profit blog, this post is not sponsored in any way, and all opinions are my own.