Food: Le Pain Quotidien
Le Pain Quotidien: The Daily Bread. This is (with toppings) what they serve. It’s not cheap, at all, but it is lovely. And you know what? It’s not French. Nono, it’s BELGIAN. Yes, it surprised me a little bit too.
I was in South Kensington on Thursday, and had arrived earlier than anticipated. I had to kill time before Angharad arrived, and I was hungry, so I just randomly picked LPQ to eat my lunch at. I was pretty stunned at the prices (not in a good way) but decided to forgo a coffee (to save pennies) and have a glass of tap water instead. This way, I could order my lunch and pretend the bill was normal.
I decided to go for one of their signature tartines – essentially an open sandwich. I liked the look of the egg salad tartine (with capers and anchovies – salty loveliness) and it was the kindest to my wallet too, so double win.
Oh yes, it was pretty, and it was tasty, but I have to say I was frankly a little disappointed with the portion size, considering 1) the price and 2) that this was a Belgian bistro, not a French one (please refer to my comments on Belgian food at Edible Glitter). Also, I wish that they had equipped me with some kind of serrated knife: whilst the wholemeal bread was lovely (and remember: their name means “the daily bread” – they pride themselves on their bread) the crust was very hard and therefore a nightmare to cut.
That said, it was incredibly tasty: the salty anchovies and capers gave the egg a nice kick, and there was a lovely balance of toppings. I only wish that it wasn’t 470 calories, which I didn’t know until LPQ website threw that in my face only minutes ago.
LPQ’s are all over the place – check their website for you nearest one, and pop in for a treat. They also have coffees and breads to take away!
