Review: Signorelli Bakery, East Village

Brunch is my most favourite meal of the week. It usually means it’s the weekend (hurrah!), it almost always involves eggs, which is a Very Good Thing, and drinking alcohol is encouraged, even if it’s still morning (but then it’s always cocktail hour somewhere: am I right?).

Until recently, going out for brunch has necessitated a bike, train or tube ride to Broadway Market, Clapton, Hackney Wick, Homerton, Victoria Park or further afield (the exception being the excellent Saturday brunch at Marmelo on Francis Road) and so my brunch-loving soul was very happy to hear about Signorelli Bakery, an independent artisan bakery serving breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch (and, soon, Italian Aperitivo in the evenings), was coming to the East Village.

Signorelli Bakery is at the bottom of one of the many shiny new blocks of flats which have sprung up around the Olympic Park in recent years. It faces a pond surrounded by reeds where, if you’re lucky, there’ll be a duck or two hanging out. On a sunny day, bag an outside table for serious chilled a little-bit-country-in-the-city vibes.

A floor to ceiling glass wall floods the interior of the café with light – inside there’s a glass walled kitchen so you can see the fresh bread being made and a counter where you order, stacked with all manner of glasswear and tempting pastries and cakes.

The décor is industrial (concrete floors, painted exposed brickwork) with a touch of Hamptons beach house (the blue and white scheme, cushions in soft shades tossed casually around the place) and some mid-century modern touches (Ercol dining chairs and a covetable side table where you can help yourself to infused water from a glass drinks dispenser).

Signorelli threw open its doors for the first time back in August and I visited a couple of times within the first two weeks, once on a busy Sunday, the other on a not-quite-so-busy weekday. Despite differing levels of busyness the bean-to-cup cappuccino, although very good (and at £2.60 it should be) arrived such a long time after my food as to have been part of different order. The food, although tasty, was a little over priced (£5 for a very small piece of bread spread fairly thinly with smashed avocado), no garnish.

So I was feeling fairly hmmmmm-ish about the place but hey, they say the third time’s the charm, so I decided to give it one more try this past weekend.

The smell of freshly baking bread greeted me as I walked in the door just after 9.30am on Sunday. Despite Signorelli opening at that time on Saturday and Sunday, brunch service doesn’t start until 10am but they must have sensed how hungry I was, or maybe that this was a kind of three-strikes-and-you’re-out situation and the very lovely lady who greeted me told me I could order anything from the brunch menu except sausages – which was fine because I didn’t want sausages.

So I settled on an americano and scrambled eggs with avocado (again) and took my seat. The coffee, which was just as good as on previous visits, arrived swiftly, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for the wait (there hadn’t really been very much of a wait at all, but it was a very nice gesture); and not long after so did my food, lightly toasted fresh bread, piled high with perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, two scoops of smashed avocado and some spinach and sun dried tomatoes on the side.

Tasty, filling and not too badly priced. And with that, just in the nick of time, they won me over. See you there next weekend?

Editor’s Rating
Food 8
Service and atmosphere 8
Value for money 8