Little Bread Pedlar — Restaurant in London

My favourite local place for a weekend takeaway pastry, loaf of bread and sometimes a coffee. Bread is way better than Gail's.

Atmosphere is slightly off-beat, like a permanent Wild East pop up. Might not be to everyone's tastes but I find it charming in a slightly laconic fashion. Service is generally efficient and polite, I sometimes have an amusing chat with the staff, depends how busy they are.

It's perhaps worth emphasising that this is a takeaway shop in a bakery. The sit down cafe round the corner closed a while ago, but there's still pictures of it up on Google.

I was amusing myself looking at the reviews on here and they seem a bit schizophrenic, like it's either the best place in the world or the worst. It's hard to see how it can be simultaneously both. Some people seem to complain about service being 'rude', 'hostile', 'unfriendly', 'stale' and such like. Not my experience I have to say. Saturdays tends to be busy with a queue and inevitably the service can get a bit mechanical, but it's a takeaway joint after all- who expects to go into a busy takeout style pub, cafe or kebab shop or whatever to be met with open arms, enthusiastic bonhomie, and friendly chats like they are some kind of visiting dignitary or best mate? So perhaps some customers are upset this isn't Bermondsey 19th Century Weekend Market Disney Land where they are met by the wide grinning smile of a Pearly King clad Barrow Bow who puts on a little Lambeth Walk song and dance show for them when they walk in. All I'd say is if you are looking for entertainment, love, validation, friendship, a harbour from the brutal uncertainties of life etc. you may be in the wrong place. Perhaps try a church? Or a brothel? Or the Samaritans? But if you are after a pastry / loaf of bread / coffee to takeaway you should be fine.

I guess anyone can have an off moment, or an off day, but I've also heard that they take Diversity, Equity and Inclusion very seriously at the bakery and often employ people suffering or recovering from problems, who might struggle to get a job elsewhere. Someone said one of the younger front of house was recovering from a ketamine addiction, albeit to be fair I sometimes wonder if at times he's still on it. I also wondered if one of the baristas is a bit autistic, seems to get a bit upset if the cups aren't in the right place and such like. There's also the guy in the cowboy hat who seems to think he's American even though he isn't. I heard a rumour that he's an ex Army veteran who fought in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD, one symptom of which is the whole 'cowboy' thing. And may account for why he sometimes looks a bit glazed over, like internally he's elsewhere, perhaps on a dusty battlefield in some distant war torn land facing a brother in arms who's just had his leg or some other limb shot off by the Taliban / Mujahadin?

But I guess the point is if someone serving you has looked at you slightly odd or you think their manner might be slightly off or they've maybe put the bag down on the counter slightly too roughly or not treated you like a visiting dignitary / best mate / long lost love or whatever, maybe before you take to Google to write a 1 star revenge review to try to get a disabled patriot on minimum wage fired because you feel existentially slighted / to make you feel better about your miserable day / life maybe check your bourgeois consumer privilege / self-entitlement first and consider whether your rage is more about yourself than what's gone down in the brief moments of buying a take-away pastry? ...

I have been going to Little Bread Pedlar so often now that I can honestly say it has become one of my favourite places in London. From the moment I walk in, I feel welcomed and uplifted, almost as if I have come home to something wonderful.

My dearest friend Martin, who is also the owner, is nothing short of extraordinary. He embodies kindness, artistry, and generosity all at once. At first, I only knew him through his creations. I kept visiting all of his places, tasting his breads, enjoying the food, and feeling the joy of his hospitality. Eventually, I had the chance to thank him in person, and from that moment he became not only the visionary behind this gem but also a friend whose warmth and passion inspire everyone who meets him. His dedication to excellence is not just about perfect crusts or beautiful flavours. It is about creating moments: moments when strangers become friends, moments when simple food lifts your spirit, and moments when you leave feeling more alive than when you arrived.

Alongside him is Alejandro, and I hope I have spelled his name correctly. He manages the place with such grace, efficiency, patience, and care. He carries both calm and joy in equal measure, and every visit shows me the strength of his touch. Everything flows smoothly, from the service to the atmosphere, and there is always a sense that nothing is ever too much trouble. Alejandro makes every guest feel seen, heard, and valued, whether it is through helping choose the right bread, answering questions with care, or simply sharing a smile that brightens the day.

Little Bread Pedlar is far more than a bakery or café. It is a place of connection, a place where the aromas of fresh baking mix with the rustic beauty of the space and the laughter of people gathered around small tables. Together these elements create not only food but also memories, and the experience nourishes the soul as much as it does the body.

Thank you to Martin, to Alejandro, and to every person who works there. You have built something magical, and I will keep coming back for as...

Used to get my weekly supply of sourdough from here but the quality has really deteriorated and probably not worth the price now.

Whilst I understand that they are still trying to set up the new location and make a transition to a cafe structure, I don’t understand why do they have to compromise on quality and hygiene.

The new structure of picking your own loaf of bread is absolutely unhygienic. While LBP has kept tongs, I saw a well dressed couple pick up their loaves using bare hands. This is absolutely disgusting! I don’t want other people to be touching my loaf of bread. For all I know this couple might have just come from the tube and touched the bread without dirty, unsanitised hands.

FYI - their toilets aren’t functional yet so obviously I don’t expect people to “wash” their hands before picking up their bread.

Cheese toastie/ sandwich- not worth £6.5+. It was a very normal cheese toastie and I could hardly tell the difference between the two types of gourmet cheese that they claim to have put in toastie from a regular supermarket cheddar and mozzarella mix.

The toastie took a very long time to be served and inspite of that, one side was overdone while the other side was underdone.

To add to all this, the toastie was served on a “KFC” plate (see photo)! Trademark infringement? 😅

A humble paper or cane fibre plate would have been a better alternative.

Coffee - the cappuccino was just average. The expresso was probably under extracted and it was sad that they served a “dine in”, in a paper cup instead of the ceramic mugs that were just lying on top of the expresso machine.

Why make a fuss of being served coffee in a paper cup? Well it’s just physics - ceramic retains more heat (higher specific heat capacity) and hence your coffee remains warm for longer.

Bottom line: won’t be visiting this...