Clapham has a stellar new Australian brunch spot.
It’s called Juliets Cafe & Bar, and it’s the first offshoot of Juliets Quality Foods in Tooting. Which itself used to be called Milk Teeth. Which itself comes from the founder of legendary brunch spot Milk in Balham. Who himself comes from Australia. We could keep going until we get to Captain Cook, but you get the idea.
And in the spirit of cutting long stories short, it’s one of the best brunch places in London, full stop. You’ll find it in Studio Voltaire, the beautiful red-brick chapel that now acts as an art gallery just off Clapham Common. Juliets has taken over the venue’s sizeable cafe space, adding warmth to its polished concrete floor and its steel-topped tables by scattering sunflowers & wooden seating throughout.
In the warmer weather (i.e. now) the double doors are swung open, and seating spills out into the rather picturesque courtyard outside filled with stone, tile, and handsome shrubs surrounding a small fountain. It’s really quite beautiful, thanks mostly to the fact that it was designed by artist – and Turner Prize–nominee – Anthea Hamilton. Just one of the many benefits of being in a gallery.
The menu changes with the breeze depending on what’s in-season (and “what we feel like eating”, according to the owners) but the openers include the likes of lamb braised with creamy Mogette De Vendée beans & a punchy wild garlic Bagna Cauda; a squash blossom soup served topped with bright orange squash flowers; some satisfyingly crispy broad bean & halloumi fritters; and biblically thick wedges of grilled banana & cascara bread topped with salted espresso butter that slowly melts into the bread as you eat it.
To drink, there’s all manner of brunch-appropriate coffee & tea, but they’re also brewing their own kombucha, as well as fancier stuff like aronia berry & cassia bark soda. And the place is open until 5pm, so you can pop in for a beer (made down the road in Deptford) and a low-intervention wine, should you fancy it.
It’s always hard being the youngest sibling in a family renowned for its brunch-based culinary esteem, but Juliets certainly lives up to its lineage…
NOTE: Juliets Cafe & Bar is open now, 9am-5pm Wednesday-Sunday . Stay up to date with more details via their Instagram here.
Studio Voltaire | 1A Nelsons Row, SW4 7JR
More new openings you say? Take a look at our restaurants and bars opening soon guide.
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