Al's Cafe — Restaurant in London

Really strange experience here.

I was sat down for 4 minutes waiting for some others to join me before I was approached by a staff member and asked to move from the table I was sitting at or leave.

He said his boss was watching me and was going to fire him if he didn’t come to tell me ?? How sad!! Poor guy… he must hate working in such a hostile environment, I imagine the boss treats their staff very badly if they are being blackmailed like this :(

I’m still really unsure at what the problem was with me doing a very normal thing of sitting at a table & waiting to order.

I was made to feel very very unwelcome so I chose to leave as I don’t want to give money to an establishment that blackmails and bullies their staff. Clearly money hungry and don’t value their customers.

Shame for them as I had invited 3 other friends so they missed out on a fair bit of cash - the restaurant wasn’t full either.

Wouldn’t recommend. I would however recommend that the lovely man who I spoke to gets himself a new job where he doesn’t have a controlling boss.

If his boss felt that strongly - they could have spoken to me themselves rather than putting someone else in an very uncomfortable position. Classic abusive / controlling...

So I'm in London. Staying near London Bridge station. We decide to meet our children and friends at Al's.

Two are coming from Borough, two from Canary Wharf and one all the way from Stoke Newington, seven of us in all staying in the cafe for around 90 minutes. As you can imagine we arrive at staggered intervals. As you can also imagine, this might provoke mild annoyance from less welcoming proprietors – not so here!

Al's staff could not have been more helpful. We shifted from a table for two to a larger table and although we ordered at three different times it did not put them off their stride at all.

We all had some variant on the English breakfast – there are 5 or 6 to choose from – and it was no problem to add or remove items either. The orange juice was fresh and tasty and the breakfast was well presented with excellent bacon and a slice of very tasty sourdough bread.

The sausage was my least favourite item but it was at least well cooked and relatively tasty. The black pudding? Lovely!

For a small enterprise a little off the beaten track I could not have been better served. Given that my children are in the vicinity I suspect I will become a...

If like us you want a surprise of a breakfast brunch or whatever head into the intimate setting of Als Cafe. A bit tight in seating with a main door close by that makes for drafts chilling nearby tables, it serves generous steaming hot platters and plates full of tasty good food. The hostess (Oznar if I recall correctly) was beyond friendly helpful and smiling as she served us. I’d highly recommend her warm chat along with the food. My full English breakfast satisfied cravings of the same and kept me warm satiated and happy. Simple homely fried eggs (we requested for no runny yolks and they delivered well) on buttered toasts with ham slices, a large mug of steaming mocha and equally large mugs of coffee and tea were just the thing as it drizzled outside. The real surprise? It’s so cosy and pretty inside with a plaster colourful mural of the Tower Bridge, delicious aromas wafting from a busy kitchen like it would at your grandmas home. Loved it all! I understand it’s popularity as we got the last table and several people waited outside till they got a seat....