Blackbird Bakery — Restaurant in London

Tasty food and drinks, sadly the Streatham branch is let down by poor staff who are nonchalant, inattentive and frankly rude at times. It's no wonder that this branch seems deserted, when other near by branches are much busy during the weekends. I was unable to get through to their phone to book a table, had to call their Balham brunch to ensure they were open. Upon arrival there was NO acknowledgement by ANY of the staff. We proceeded to find our own table. Note the bakery was empty with only two or three tables filled. It took over 15 minutes for any one to bring us menu's or even just say hello or welcome. Throughout, staff were discourteous and seemed like they did not want to be there and likewise did not want us/anyone to be there either. We had to wave down staff for anything we wanted, cutlery, the bill...you name it. Needless to say, I was brought the wrong order of a hot chocolate instead of a Mocha. To top it all off, a few serviettes had been dropped from the table on the floor, staff(instead of doing their job) asked us to pick these up of the floor! Of course, I did so without question, because had no intention of causing a scene/wasting my time. However, the manner in which I was asked to do so, was without any curtesy and was plainly rude.

I write this review to advise those seeking a relaxing and pleasurable coffee with friends to go elsewhere/another branch. Blackbird Streathams staff need training in customer service, better management and perhaps just a sense-check in common manners. I've visited both the Herne Hill and Balham branches and had a great time, it's a shame standards have slipped so much in this location. I'm not one for slatting places I visit - take a look at my other reviews which are mainly positive, but I left today with a sour taste in my mouth and definitely will not be visiting Blackbird in the near...

l used to be a very regular client of Black Bird when my son attended school in Streatham, there's about 4 years since he moved and I never came here again until today. I bought 4 sourdough breads which I absolutely love, I can't find a better sourdough nowhere else. I usually freeze them as soon as I arrive home, I take the slices I need 10 minutes before I eat them and they are exactly like the day I bought them, they can be freeze in the paper bag they come in. We’ve decided to have our breakfast here and couldn't have chosen a better place. My husband had a Black bird smoothie and a sausage roll both delicious and I had a sourdough toast with jam and butter, a chai latte (the best I ever had), and a cinnamon roll. The only thing I didn’t like it was the glacé on top of my cinnamon roll, it was too sweet and I didn’t feel it was a good combination but I’ve removed which made all the difference. This is not a cheap place but not also the most expensive. I’ve spent almost £40 for 4 breads and the breakfast for 2 which is reasonable nowadays in London. They no longer have a menu, unless you ask you’ll not know that they serve the sourdough toast with the butter and jam as is not advertised anywhere. They used to have a menu and a table service, and that’s why I know that they have the toasts. They also no longer have a table service for you to order, you’ll need to get to the till, queue up, place your order and pay in advance. I’ll...

We used to come in here most weekends for a nice breakfast, however, the last time we visited it was very disappointing. I ordered a bacon roll with halloumi and roast tomatoes and I don't know if they have changed chefs lately, or the menu, or how their rolls are made but it was just awful. It seems that the bacon rolls come from the front counter - undercooked flabby bacon in a nice bun that gets wedged into the panini press and flattened, crispy on the outside, soggy on the inside. That gets brought over. Meanwhile, the halloumi and tomatoes seem to be coming from the kitchen. As I was inspecting my sorry little roll, the waitress notices how bad it looks and tells me she'll bring another. Then the halloumi and tomatoes arrive. 5 minutes later a new roll returns...so flat and crispy it's like a bus ran over it. Bacon inside still not cooked. Still, I persist and try and make the roll I ordered by squeezing the now cold halloumi and tomatoes inside. It's barely edible. There was a time when this roll would arrive from the kitchen fully assembled and perfectly cooked...but that time is now a distant memory. To make things worse my friend ordered fried eggs and received scrambled. Then asked for brown sauce and was brought ketchup. So...now we go to either Brookes & Gao or Brickwood. Both have delicious food with consistent service. Shame about Blackbird. Their cakes are...