Last week my instagram friend, Emily, was in town for the morning so we decided meeting for brunch was a perfect plan. As Tom’s Kitchen, a small restaurant chain by the chef Tom Aikens, had opened a branch in Canary Wharf we met there to check it out and eat waffles galore.
Even though I’ve lived in London for my whole life, I’d only ever been to Canary Wharf in the Docklands once before on a school trip. It was a rainy day and I was like 14 so I wasn’t very enthusiastic, but my return was so much better. Knowing the history actually made me appreciate being there so much more, I’ll give you a bit of background because it’s actually pretty interesting. In the 20th century it used to be where large ships would come to dock and unload their cargo, mainly materials for manufacturing. By the 1950s the decline in manufacturing in the city, ships becoming too large to access this area and bombings from WWII meant that the docks became extremely run down. The government built a plethora of crappy tower blocks there to try and solve housing issues but they weren’t the greatest places to live so the docklands remained quite desolate and dodgy. In the 80s a corporation (the LDDC) was set up to regenerate the area and with ~£300 million worth of (mainly private) funding the Docklands were completely rebuilt. New housing, London City Airport, the DLR and lots of offices were built. It’s now mainly a business hub (quite a lot of finance and newspaper offices around there) for all the suited up, fancy Londoners. It’s clean and modern so I can see why Tom’s Kitchen fits in well!
Geography lesson over! Sorry if that was boring as heck. Food time!
The restaurant itself is large and airy with light wood, marble and white tiled accents, it has a composed, chic ambiance. As it was a weekday we were ordering from the breakfast menu but we were dining at 11am so it was more like brunch. Of course this meant that the waffles and French toast on the menu were our picks. We both ordered cappuccinos which arrived quickly, although mine was a bit over-foamy the coffee had a nicely balanced flavour – not too milky! The only downside was that £3.50 for an alright cup of coffee seems quite steep to me.
I ordered: Crisp Belgian waffles with blueberry compote and chantilly cream (£9). I was taken by surprise at how crisp they truly were! I’ve made waffles myself, of course, but never previously managed to get that lasting bubbly, crispy exterior. I think possibly a lot of butter and whipped egg whites were involved… The blueberry compote was thick enough to have not made the waffles soggy and, coupling it with that billowy quenelle of cream, meant that I wasn’t left aching for something like maple syrup for dipping. Bonus because this was a very generous serving size! One of those massive, circular jobbies which is spilt into 4 wedges. I wasn’t hungry until supper!
Emily ordered: The brioche French toast with caramelised waffles and cinnamon cream (£9). I’m lucky that she was generous enough to let me try a corner (the best part!) of the French toast. As you can see from the photos, it was a very thick slice so again this was a good amount of food. The toast had caramelised edges and a meltingly soft middle thanks to that illustrious combo of feather-light brioche and custard coating. The apples it was served with were still slightly firm which I liked as they contrasted that silky texture of the bread and cream. I personally couldn’t taste the cinnamon but I think my overzealous use of that spice in so much of my food means I am sliiiightly desensitised to it!
Overall we were very happy with the food, excellent service and quite reasonable price (especially for an area where bankers are aplenty). I’d definitely return if I was in the area, but if my brunch cravings were too strong I’d probably head to the Chelsea outpost as it’s closer to home for me.
Go for: those marvellous crispy waffles!
Brunch and coffee for 2 (with service): £27
Public transport: Canary Wharf (tube station) or Canary Wharf (DLR)
11 Westferry Circus,
London,
E14 4HD
I was invited to dine as a guest at Tom’s Kitchen, all opinions are my own!
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