EAT is full of friendly chaps serving up hot, fresh eats and brewing even hotter fresh drinks. I love EAT! A friend and I stumbled upon this hidden gem one morning (near afternoon) after sleeping off our jet lag. (Eat is of course a family-owned chain now, but this particular location [which I believe is the original opened in 1996] is tucked away down narrow Villiers Street near the Embankment tube station). Although they don't serve breakfast after 11am, we found some fantastic options to warm our bodies and fill our stomachs with good quality nourishment.
Part of their menu changes seasonally (and daily, actually), so you never know exactly what will be offered before you step foot through the door. During our first visit, they had a couple of delicious soups: fresh tomato basil and chicken pot pie (finished with a pastry on top). I didn't have the chicken pot pie soup, but I heard it was pretty good (although perhaps a bit lacking on robust flavor--but isn't that a British thing?) The tomato basil soup, on the other hand, was fabulous! It was so vibrant in color, you could just tell it was fresh. There was a lot of basil (and perhaps other herbs as well), which I loved. It seemed to have a bit of a kick (not sure from what), because it really opened up the sinuses! I consider myself a tomato basil soup connoisseur, and this was one of the best I've had (certainly the best soup I've had in England). Upon another visit (when I made it up before breakfast), I had the ham and cheese croissant. It's listed under the "cold" menu, but they flat ironed it and it morphed into a delicious toasty treat that did a great job holding me over until lunch.
I am also a fan of chai lattes, so I ordered one on my first visit--loved it so much that I never ordered anything different on following visits (even though I love my coffee drinks as well). In all of their drinks, they use organic milk, (and they even have it sitting out on the table to add to your drinks). EAT offers a variety of sweet baked goods too, which are also quite delightful. They have really fast service, and most people come in to takeaway it seems (they don't have more than a half dozen seats in the place, so it is the logical choice...although we never had a problem finding room even when there were 4 of us). Although I didn't try anything from the cooler, I saw tons of people stopping in for juice, salads, noodle soup, parfaits, etc. Seems to be a popular place.
For "fast food" in London, EAT is the best I've had. You should check it out! read more