Back to London for our final UK installment introducing Daylesford Organic Cafe.
Before diving straight into our experience in their Farm Store and Café in London, I’d like to begin with a bit of background story for how I came to know Daylesford first.
Daylesford is a farm in the Cotswolds that has pushed organic farming and very cleverly expanded into several lateral industries. I was initially recommended Daylesford for their cozy cottages as “a proper taste of pretty English villages in the Cotswolds”. I was told, “Everything is so well done there from food to rooms and they have a gorgeous spa too!” I had tried booking a few nights in one of their 5 cottages as a post-wedding retreat – a “mini-moon” if you will, but it turns out Daylesford is already a popular winter get-away as all their cottages were fully booked more than 3 months in advance!
Daylesford Cottage: The Potting Shed
Daylesford Cottage: The Egg Store
Daylesford Cottage: Their Honeysuckle Cottage
Another bonus to staying in their cottages is the proximity to their Farmshop and The Cookery School at Daylesford, which is housed in a beautifully restored stone barn, surrounded by stunning Cotswold countryside and 2350 acres of working farmland from which they source their ingredients. Offering specialised courses like Artisan Bread Making, Nose to Tail Butchery and Ferments to Eat and Drink, their practical and unique culinary workshops are also offered alongside garden, floristry, mindfulness and yoga workshops.
Gutted that I wasn’t able to book a full Daylesford experience in the Cotswolds, I was delighted to find a Daylesford Organic Farm Shops & Cafe directly across the street from our hotel in Kensington, and it turns out that they have a few dotted around London – specifically on Pimlico (where we visited), Notting Hill and Marylebone.
Let me first state that this is more than just a cafe, it is also a store that sells Daylesford produce and would be for me at least a very dangerous thing to live next to. I can easily see myself popping in and spending far more money than I intended because everything looks so good! From the premium quality of the produce to the beautiful packaging and tempting table displays, I was restraining the urge to buy the whole store. While this is probably not a place normal people go to do their main grocery shop for the week (unless you happened to have just sold your latest software company), but a place you can enjoy a beautiful, healthy meal and find organic, specialty produce that make for great gifts and souvenirs to bring back home!
Artisan Breads Made Fresh Daily
Organic Fruit & Vegetables from their Farm
Daylesford’s award-winning ‘real meals’ – freshly prepared soups, stews, broths, and curries are made by hand by a dedicated artisan team in the Kitchens of Daylesford on the farm
Range of Packaged Organic Nuts and Snacks /Cold-Pressed Juices, Kombucha and Shots of Sea buckthorn, Tumeric and Ginger
Homeware + Dishware
Homeware & Gifts
2nd Floor Cafe Dining Area
Breakfast Menu
We arrived at around 10:15AM to meet a friend for brunch. After perusing the breakfast and a la carte menus, decided we wanted to try bits from both, to make it a real brunch.
Cappuccino (£3) and 275ml Kombucha (£4)
Kombucha, fermented tea, is one of those things we always get if we see it on the menu because it’s just so rare to come by. It’s pricey at Daylesford, but we still got one at brunch and one more for take-away to have later on. I love the carbonation you get with a good ‘buch.
If you’re interested to know where to get this in Beijing, Tribe, Woo Kombucha, Papp’s tea and several other places all sell Kombucha.
Protein Porridge with Walnuts, Black Quinoa, Raw Cocoa, Coconut, Vegan Cashew Cream, Dates, Pistachios, Seasonal Fresh Fruit (£8)
If the protein porridge doesn’t leave you feeling virtuous about your health, I don’t know what will. Chock full of every superfood ingredient I can think of, it also tasted nice and chocolatey. This kind of chocolatey though is like good dark chocolate, that has a touch of bitterness alongside the sweet.
Organic Chicken Bone Broth with Kimchi (£5)
From the a la carte menu we had the bone broth with kimchi. I was pleased by how thick the broth was and there was so much flavor in each spoonful!
While some may be averse to kimchi because it’s so potent, I would still recommend a dish like this where the sourness is controlled by the flavours of the other ingredients. The health benefits of eating fermented foods like kimchi are well known and it is worth your time to find dishes like this that you can eat regularly.
Poached Eggs Benedict, Outdoor-Reared Daylesford Gloucester Ham, Toasted Sourdough (£12.5)
The poached Eggs Benedict were perfectly cooked. Eggs aside, what really impressed me about the dish though was the Gloucester ham – definitely a cut above the ham I grew up with in California!
Daylesford Farmhouse Breakfast with Pork Sausage, Streaky Bacon, Fried Eggs, Tomato, Mushrooms, Toast, Black Pudding (£14)
The Daylesford farmhouse breakfast is a really good traditional English breakfast. Ingredients were all great quality and the portions are surprisingly generous for the price.
Daylesford was a hit on the wallet as we expected, but there is zero regret. The dishes we ordered were all really solid – tasty and decent portions, I think it’s fair value for the premium quality of ingredients. A casual, comfortable cafe that serves hearty food with organic ingredients, this is a great way to start the day and feel better after indulging night after night at Michelin restaurants! #balance
For those who live in London, they offer door-to-door delivery if you spend over £100 on their online shop. Daylesford also has Personal Shopping experts on hand to assist with bespoke orders for UK delivery. This team really has all the bases covered!
Daylesford Farm Shop & Cafe Details:
Notting Hill Branch
- Address: 208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London, W11 2RH
- Tel: 020 7313 8050
- Email: [email protected]
- Daily Hours: Monday: 8AM-7PM, Tuesday-Saturday: 8AM-9:30PM, Sunday: 10AM-4PM
Pimlico Branch
- Address: 44B Pimlico Road, London, SW1W 8LP
- Tel: 020 7881 8060
- Email: [email protected]
- Café Hours: Monday-Saturday: 8AM-6PM, Sunday: 10AM-3PM
- Farm Shop Hours: Monday-Saturday: 8AM-8PM, Sunday, 10AM-4PM
Marylebone Branch
- Address: 6-8 Blandford Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 4AU
- Tel: 0203 696 6500
- Email: [email protected]
- Daily Hours: Monday, 8AM-7PM, Tuesday-Saturday: 8AM-9:30PM, Sunday: 10AM-4PM
About Kristen
Kristen Lum has an accomplished background in PR, communications and events in China. Born and raised in California, Kristen has been based in Beijing since 2006 and is founder of the lifestyle blog called LumDimSum, covering mostly restaurant news and reviews alongside upcoming events around town that relate to Beijing’s muti-faceted, quickly-developing creative industries like art, music, film, health and fitness, fashion, nightlife, charity events, and travel tips.
