I remember reading once that Poilane would overnight courier their bread from France to a North American department store for sale the next day. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD and they were unwilling to have any one else bake their secret stuff.
Urban legend? I don't know. And, well, delightfully irrelevant since there are two Poilanes in Londontown!
Its reputation preceded it as my visiting Mum bumped into a woman from Australia last week who said that she returns "Down Undah" with a bag full of Poilane bread every time she makes it to London. Hardcore. I likey.
So off to the Sloane Square area I went, with the idea of both buying some carby schtuffs and also partaking in their open faced made-to-order sandwiches (available from 8:30, this is the only London location of their "cafe").
Annnnnd...I'm sold. I had an open faced sandwich with some kind of cured meat and sundried tomato that came with a side salad. I had fresh squeezed watermelon juice (refreshing!). I took home brioche (THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD CAPSCAPSCAPS) and an apple pastry-thinger-mabobber. All delicious.
Did I mention the bread, though? Amazing sourdough. They weigh the full loaves (i.e.: you pay by weight, not by loaf). I bought a 2.2 kilogram loaf, I'm that committed to their bread. Wanna come over for a sammich?
I'm also, let the record show, a big fan of the design of the place. There's a tree with circular bar-type seating around it (inside!). There's a (small) back patio. There is lecture-style seating (you know what I'm talking about: a solo chair with a little collapsible desk) for solo snacks...so much better using the desk for croissants instead of notebooks!
Yelp note: the Australian woman was on to something.
Also: it's just tucked away behind the craziness of Sloane Square: must have walked past it many a time...a (carby) gem! read more