On The Hoof in Lewisham

Good place and good coffee, however, I felt under pressure when paying my bill because it didn’t include a service charge, and the lady said if we wanted to contribute the final bill wouldn’t include the service charge. Not that they don’t deserve some extra money, but if they want the service charge to be paid, please include it in the final bill - instead of asking the customers. We felt embarrassed and contributed. Overall, the place is good.

Very popular for all the good reasons. A great neighborhood hub

I paid £13.90 for a burger that was a simple meat patty in a bread bun with cheese. It's not the first time I eat here and I always get the same impression: that the prices are too high for the quality of the food. The food is not bad, it's ok, but it definitely shouldn't be this expensive. It costs the same as in central London yet the food is much simpler than that. Staff are nice, ambient is nice too. I sadly won't be coming back or recommending the place.

Amazing and friendly atmosphere

Good pot of tea. Great coffee (of various varities) or hot chocolate when the weather demands it. Breakfast tea when needed. Really good cakes (mostly made locally/on the premises). An excellent range of savoury short orders. Cheerful and very friendly service/staff. All recommended. Reasonably quiet. Weekday closure always by 5.00pm. Kitchen closes at 4.00pm.

Came across this gem whilst visiting St Christopher’s. Lovely, friendly staff. A delicious Monmouth coffee which was large and most importantly hot!! Great advice on what to have for breakfast from so many yummy choices. Food was fresh and well presented. Wish this was my local!

Was not impressed by this place. During my visit, it was clear that the staff were overwhelmed and/or under qualified. Multiple customers reminded staff to bring them the bill, I saw x2 tables cancel their food as it took too long. You may wonder how I saw all this... It took 15 minutes for my cup of tea to arrive and then another 30 minutes before the arrival of my english breakfast. My breakfast was ok, but my colleagues' breakfast was poor, and it had to be sent back as it was missing the eggs on the unbuttered English Muffins... Lots of potential, and the staff were friendly, but it needs a serious shake-up.

This is my favourite place in Sydenham and surrounding areas to meet friends, colleagues and acquaintances for brunch or lunch or just tea or coffee. It is clean, the atmosphere is friendly, the food is fresh and tasty, the cakes are lovely and the service is very good. I wish the coffee-grinding machine was not so noisy on the odd occasions that it is switched on but the up-side is the wonderful coffee.

The best Turkish eggs in sydenham

Lovely coffee and the cakes were delicious and not too sweet which I loved. I also wanted to say a special thank you to the kind lady behind the till who slipped an extra slice of cake in my bag, I think because she recognised I was having a particularly tough morning and was on the edge of tears. I really appreciated that kindness.

Tea and cake was great. Relaxed atmosphere 😌

Lovely little bistro in Sydenham. Great service and the food is brilliant. A definite must try if you're in the area

amazing food, loved the atmosphere, staff was very friendly and accommodating. one of the staff members in particular that stood out was amaris. she was very articulate and very friendly and was willing to answer any questions we had. she was absolutely amazing !! will definitely be coming back again

We had a brief meeting at the bistro the staff the good snc the service was excellent Definitly recommend it

Really lovely, relaxing place to come and eat, drink a hot drink etc. They have nice options on the menu, English breakfasts and alternate options, avocado and halloumi sourdough toast etc. The inside is really nice and attractive with wooden flooring and nice decorations. The music is just the right volume, not annoying music and not intrusive enough to disturb you. I really like this place and the staff are very lovely, very polite and friendly. That's what I expect from a lovely cafe. Thankyou

Very nice staff and food. Health conscious little gem cafe.

The chef knows how to cook eggs! Delicious brunch reasonably priced with friendly staff. Veggie breakfast is excellent, but make sure you get a side of bread. Great coffee too!

One of my favourite local food and coffee spots. Really relaxed, cosy atmosphere and friendly service. The food is always top notch without having to wait too long either. Great coffee too.

If you're looking for a really good English breakfast, you've come to the right place. This is by far the best breakfast you can get in London. Plus a nice, rustic atmosphere with friendly staff. Absolute thumbs up 👍👍👍

Love this place. Best dirty chai I've found, kind staff and great atmosphere!

Great night here. Staff were super friends and food is lovely

Amazingly cozy place, kind and smiling faces from the service team. Definitely our fave spot in Sydenham! And yes, food and coffee are great there!!

Excellent avocado toast and overnight oats. We Parisians highly recommend!

Amazingly cozy place, kind and smiling faces from the service team. Definitely our fave spot at Sydenham!

One of the best spots in Sydenham.

Very quaint little cafe. Fantastic omelette and coffee

Another gem on the high street. Such a cosy and friendly cafe. Great value too.

Staff were welcoming and friendly. Coffee was good. Its a little basic but comfortable and I see they do live music. Will return next time I'm in Sydenham.

Such a great start to the new week: Excellent early offee prepared by the lovely lady at the Sydenham station Kiosk. Thank you!

Very nice place to go. The menu is superb and the staff friendliness is second to non.

good food, I use them every day best coffee on the High Street girls, fantastic in there every time I walk in positive energy🫶🏽

Lloc acollidor amb una decoració vintage. Menjar correcte però pastissos casolans molt bons. Un bon lloc per anar a berenar millor que a dinar.

Schönes Ambiente und freundliches Personal. Das Frühstück war ok, einer der besseren auf Sydenham Road.

Nice, quiet place to eat. Child friendly. Beautiful food and wonderful service. They always make a great cup of coffee

Lovely little find in Sydenham. Visited mid afternoon on a Monday, so was quiet. Reasonably priced, lovely coffee and well made cake! Will be going back.

best coffee on the high street! (although competition is not that high). Nice decor

Ordered lunch were cold, not so much taste probably from frozen stuff. Enviroment us nice...

We had brunch there one weekend. The staff are friendly, but the food was poor, and both of us commented that we could probably have made better ourselves at home. There's not a great deal of choice on the high street, but I still couldn't recommend it to others.

I don’t know if there’s been a change of ownership but the service and chef were really bad today compared to a great experience 4 months ago when I left a 5* review. Scrambled eggs were massacred and tasted like burnt greasy omelette, we had to wait for cutlery after our food arrived and ask for sauces. Its better to close than open with terrible service & chef. The only saving grace was a great juice.

Don't know if there is a new chef but wasn't happy with brunch on Thursday 9th June...eggs benedict with bacon .Eggs were hard bacon not done enough and the sauce was non exitistent... .it was also served on a plate that was far to small .

If I could give this place 10 stars, I would! The food was quick and incredibly well prepared. I ordered a simple breakfast of poached eggs with salmon, avocado and toast, and you could simply tell by the taste that the ingredients were super high quality and the chef made everything with great care. Even the organge juice tastes amazing. And the staff was warm, welcoming, and friendly. I’ll definitely come back when I’m in London again!

Great place, great staff and consistently great food.

Good cafe. Fried potatoes instead of toast with breakfast. An excellent idea. Not greasy just a delicious breakfast. Good coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice.

1. It's one of the hidden gems in Sydenham! 2. We always come here for eggs benedict and coffee, as they are simply the best. 3. This is clearly not a cafe, but a bistro. The taste and quality of the food is way above a normal cafe level, and can easily compete with good restaurants! 4. Very nice staff, cosy atmosphere and very fair prices. Today I had the Monty burger and guess what - it was delicious! Love this place and 100% recommendation!

We read the reviews and decided to give this place a go. I arrived and was told there were 2 tables to clean and I can wait to be seated which will take 10mins. That was fine because I was still waiting on the couple to arrive. The waitress was really busy and didn’t get round to clearing the table till 10 minutes and it wasn’t wiped/ cleaned only cleared of last meals/ plates. We opted for the all day breakfast as I wanted some bacon, eggs and sausages and when it arrived I noticed the baked beans tasted a bit off so put it down to possibly brown sauce or vinegar and left this to the side. We asked for the eggs to be done to avoid runny yoke and it still arrived over cooked so we sent it back. I wanted a milkshake but had very limited options and my first choice of meal, meat lasagne wasn’t available. It’s worth asking for the dish of the day as it’s not usually stated in the menu. It seems people come here for the cake and take away coffee or smoothies so we made a mistake sitting down to eat. Will be trying out other eateries on the high street.

Love love loved this place. Such a nice vibe inside, great service and most importantly, stunning food. Had a veggie breakfast and it was 10 out of 10. Top quality ingredients. Very impressed thanks guys!!!

Friendly, relaxed and probably the best coffee around. During COVID lockdown, they always made my day :)

The food is scrumptiously tasty. The place is cosy and quiet. The staff is very friendly. The price is slightly higher than a regular cafe but the food is outstanding. Very good value for money. Highly recommended.

I celebrated my 50th Birthday with a special brunch in On The Hoof's courtyard garden. We had a Mimosa (fizz & orange juice) reception with dips in one part of the courtyard and then a sit-down brunch in the grassy part. The food was great and very reasonably-priced. The staff were really friendly, in particular the young man who was serving my guests. I would highly recommend this lovely cafe for any celebration.

Loved their food. Healthy and fresh. Loved the ambience. Fresh wholemeal sourdough and tasty avocado. Organic food and chef a great guy. Bravo.

Defo avoid this place.crazy price for Sydenham and food was warm and oily!the bill came up to £90.50 and was 3 of us eating!half the food was warm and oily!

Ayer fue llevado a almorzar a este lugar. Me impresionó la comida y la presentación fue maravillosa. Disfrutamos de toda la comida, el ambiente y el personal fue muy profesional y agradable. Un buen lugar para visitar, a buen precio y asequible. Darle una oportunidad.

El sábado 22 de febrero a las 9. A las 30 am compré un café en la estación de Sydenham. Fui atendido por una joven que no mostró absolutamente ningún sentido de servicio al cliente o cortesía. No me saludó cuando entré a comprar un café, no me dijo por favor ni gracias y mostró una actitud hosca y petulante durante nuestro breve y desagradable intercambio. Aprecio que Sydenham ahora esté siendo gentrificado y los otros clientes eran recién llegados metropolitanos blancos de clase media, pero como un hombre de raza mixta que realmente creció en el área, no debería recibir un trato diferente. Manténgase alejado de este lugar si es una minoría que quiere ser tratado con un mínimo de respeto.

A charming place, created to connect the local community. Delicious food, pictures of residents on the walls. Be sure to check them out there.

Delicious food in a cosy atmosphere. Lovely staff. This was the opinion of one of my friends. Another friend also agreed that the food was great, especially the turkey. He said, “you will go home happy.”

A very nice restaurant that has different menus for breakfast, lunch and tea. Hunter's Stew for lunch is delicious. Unusual dishes, and distinctive atmosphere. Coffee excellent, as is the cheesecake. I've had good breakfasts, poached egg, avocado, sourdough toast. Pop in any time of day, service is prompt and courteous.

Went there for the first time - owner didn’t mention that some items were off the menu until I tried to order them. The latte I ordered was luke warm but at least it tasted nice. Ran out of muffins and didn’t tell my friend until her food arrived. The avocado on my plate was served upside down and upon turning it over, I found it to be very brown. When I informed the waiter, instead of taking my dish away and discarding the rotten avocado, he served me a new peice on a small side plate. Too expensive and won’t be returning for food if afraid. What a shame as the cafe itself is lovely

Waiting for at least 15 mins for anyone to come to the table while staff were too busy on their mobiles. 4 staff, 11 customers and no service to be seen. People who arrived after us where eating way before us. The food came, eggs over cooked. Is it that hard to ask how you like your eggs for £10 breakfast? Burger was awful with very vinegary onion relish. £22 later wish we had gone to the other cafe. Second time there never again.

I've been to On the Hoof on a number of occasions, it's brilliant, the staff are friendly and it's very nicely decorate, but the food is where this cafe really excels. Initially I had the usuals: Full english, Eggs Benedict...etc everything is to a very high standard: thick cut bacon, high quality sausages and home made beans. However I've only recently tried the polish items on the menu: the Goulash and the Dumplings and these are next level. This is my new favourite cafe!

Went for brunch with my husband and this did not get off to a good start! I ordered a one shot cappuccino and my husband ordered a two shot cappuccino. I always thought that coffee shots referred to the strength of the coffee and not the size of the cups and was surprised when my coffee was served in a teacup! We both ordered two cooked breakfasts and was disappointed with the quality of the food. The spicy homemade beans were bland and tasted like standard beans with no flavour and a few kidney beans thrown in. Sausages looked slightly undercooked and the fried eggs were watery! The sauted potatoes looked like they were yesterdays leftovers reheated. The meal also included a side of salad on the plate, not what we would expect with a cooked breakfast. And no toast was served or offered. Afraid we won't be going back again.

This is the second time I have been to this place. First time was for coffee and cake, this time for a meal. Coffee and cake was amazing the carrot cake was homemade and truly was the best I have ever had. Really do recommend it. I had Rotti and goulash this time. Really lovely meal. The chef is amazing the staff are really friendly and helpful. Really lovely atmosphere. Perfect portion sizes and well priced. I will most certainly return next time I’m in the area. I really do recommend giving this place a try.

Had lunch here with friends. We all had something different. All the meals where excellent. We had fish, schnitzel, parogi and goulash. All were about £9.50 each and a good portion. They were well good and tasty. The staff were friendly and helpful. All in all would recommend it.

We came here after on a quiet Friday morning. The decor was nice, toilets tidy and service, attentive. In addition, the coffee was fantastic. Unfortunately the food was...peculiar. I ordered the scrambled eggs with maple syrup and bacon. HOWEVER, the dish came drenched in chives and accompanied with an odd dressed salad... My companion opted for a bacon roll, hard to mess up right? Nevertheless, the bacon came in a over-sweet brioche bun and again, covered in chives. The use of chives and other taste accompaniments reminded me of Central European cuisine...I wondered if the owner or chefs were of Germanic descent. Anyway, the food combinations were too strange for our palate so we hardly ate any of it. To add insult to injury, the price was steep for the quality and quantity of food. All in all, this place has a lot of potential but I think they need to go back to the drawing board when it comes to the food. For the foreseeable future, we won’t be returning.

Si pudiera darle cero estrellas lo haría. Entré para tomar un desayuno, la camarera tomó mi orden después de esperar un poco. Tomó un tiempo para conseguir el café y la tarta que sabía terrible. Esperé otros 37 minutos para descubrir que no le había dicho a la cocina que mi fritura había sido ordenada. El servicio al cliente era muy pobre y todavía tenía que pagar por el café y el pastel, a pesar de que hicieron una terrible polla.

Ayer tuve el placer de cantar mi corazón en el lugar genial en las pezuñas.

Tuvimos un desayuno muy agradable aquí. El café estaba en el punto. Había un poco de esperar por la comida merecía la pena. Fresca, sabrosa y bien presentada. Muy personal atento y amable, pero no demasiado en la cara. Me encantó el ambiente encantador chill lámparas cubo de estaño! Gracias

We had a veggie breakfast and a salmon & drill omelette, both very yummie! Their staff is very nice and the selection of dishes were appealling. I will definitely come back to try other meals.

The portions were pretty timid I thought. I had risotto and glass of wine and it was c20 quid which is also not exactly Sydenham prices. So I guess as a coffee stop off on the run to the station it works better imho.

Fui con una pareja de amigos y su bebé a comer. Yo escogí uno de los platos que presentaban como opción de desayuno, pero que sirven todo el día. De hecho en el menu se diferenciaban los platos por las horas a las que se podían pedir, por ejempo de 9 a 12, a partir de las 12 o todo el día. Yo quedé llenísima con mi desayuno.

Terrible experience in Off the Hoof, I ordered a latte, when it came it was cold but I let that go. I then ordered the crispy bacon and eggs with maple syrup, order came 20 minutes later and it was inedible, bacon had hardly seen a frying pan and the eggs were undercooked. I told the waitress that this is not what I ordered, and she said she would speak to the manager. She came over and was immediately defensive and said that was how they served it and she had tasted it and it was perfect in her opinion. She didn't want to hear what I had to say, and then said I would still have to pay for it, just because I didn't like it was not a good enough reason to complain.

He comido aquí antes, y mi esposa y yo decidimos probar el brunch de nuevo. Tuve el desayuno en la gran caminé y mi esposa en la gran vegetariano caminé. Otros dos clientes satisfechos. Servicio amable, excelente comida y el café, y todo a un precio razonable.

I came here for lunch for the first time with my family today and unfortunately we had a poor experience. I had ordered a vegetarian breakfast but was served a regular full English breakfast. They also missed serving us some side dishes that had been included in the bill. The staff were very reluctant to solve the issue and apologise. I hope this was a one-off as it otherwise seems like a nice place with good quality food.

Attended with a friend today, his recommendation. I had mushroom and sauerkraut pierogi, really delicious. Apparently the cafe is formally an opticians, which is why one of the walls is dedicated to black and white photos of people wearing glasses. Your bill also arrives in a specs case as well. Reasonably prices fresh food. Saw other people eating full English - looked enormous portions! Nice place to linger with papers or laptop.

Great local hidden gem on the main road. Yes sounds a bit meh, but this restaurant/cafe is really great. Food is delicious, tried full English breakfast — the portion was really huge. Minutes from the train station.

Un lugar precioso, encantador, servicio rápido, ambiente agradable, comida deliciosa y muy bien presentada a un precio razonable. Volveré pronto.

My wife, eight year old son and I ate brunch here last month. This is a quirky coffee house serving great coffee and good homely food. I didn't realise it had been open so long, so will definitely be back.

Este es un restaurante local y a menudo entrara a un brunch o almuerzo tarde. También hemos asistido a una de las veladas de música que incluye una cena de 3 platos y música en vivo de músicos y asistir. Toda la comida es siempre buena, pero debo hacer una mención especial para el desayuno Staffordshire Tortas que son similares a un delicioso crepe con huevo y tocino y queso. Los huevos revueltos son también divinos. La decoración es muy peculiar, ten cuidado de algunas de las sillas!

Second visit and wasn't disappointed. Very nice food and an interesting menu which made it hard to choose what to have. Would return.

Mucho recomiendo este lugar. Servicio amable y rápido, y el ambiente es agradable, la comida era excelente música! !

The chef evidently has a sweet tooth. Everything, including the main courses, was very sweet (too sweet). A real shame.

Excellent service, attentive but unobtrusive. Great menu that changes often enough and good food at a reasonable price can certainly recommend for everyday dinning.

I went back a second time to sit down but thought it would improve but it was worse the new potato fried in fryer in old oil Sausages hard as stone eggs terrible canned drinks and awful service

Great family friendly neighbourhood place

Really wanted to like this place, it looks great and the menu looks really good but the reality is that the service was slow and unpleasant. The whole thing felt really awkward and when the food FINALLY came the order was incorrect. If I hadn't waited so long I would have returned the food but by this point I was so hungry I just ate it wanting to leave as quick as possible. To add insult to injury the burger was completely dry. Not surprised by the string of negative reviews, I won't return. (I must say the wine was very nice though and very reasonably priced).

I and some friends have been coming here for ages but finally stopped. The coffee is REALLY nice but time and time again we have been met with silent waiting staff, even occasionally slightly hostile. Had dinner once - the salad was unimaginative and the food was generally average, kind of like you'd cook for yourself. Had lunch twice and as soon as the place is full, we waited for AGES to be served average lunchtime food.They have very nearly got it right, and it's one of the few places in Sydenham catering to their market, but the service is so poor I won't be back.

Eaten here a couple of times, last time we were the only ones in the place I ordered escalope it was luke warm as was my wife's meal, I don't think that we will give it another try.

Although the menu was a bit limited, the food was very well cooked and presented and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Really tasty food and pleasant atmosphere. A lovely local eaterie.

As local eateries in Sydenham go, this one has fairly decent food (the all day breakfast is good albeit a little pricey at £9.50). Coffee sizes in the age of starbucks are woefully small but fairly expensive at over £2 for a single latte. I was also disappointed that they serve half glasses of coca cola and the waiter claimed it was a full can (it wasnt). Cutlery also leaves a lot to be desired - it's all very well being on trend to have retro cutlery from my aunt's cupboard but when the protective coating is showing signs of giving up then maybe it is time to invest in some new forks?Having said this not the challenge for this place: the service needs to be improved. Currently everything seems a bit flat and running the restaurant on the shop floor by looks of the people working in here seems to be a struggle. Come on guys competition's tough out there - you need to work for people's money!I will probably keep popping in here occasionally until alternatives develop in the area that combine the food quality here with better customer service (and oh decent forks)....

I've been here a few times and the food has been OK.However, its major drawback is the somewhat random times that the place is open. I can understand that the owners dont necessarily want to be open late into the evening with no one there - but there have been a couple of times when we've got there expecting it to be open at around 8pm only to find the shutters down.There arent many alternatives in that part of Sydenham so its not something I would plan on

I ordered for starter camembert tasted like the cheapest quality bought from lidl . For the mains was sea bream tasted like a frozen by 2 times , overcooked potatoes . Desserts tiramisu was old and smelly badly food not worth the price the waiter very lovable I do not recommend this place

It was our first time and it won't be our last. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed all 3 courses and several bottles of the Zinfandel. There was a good choice for all courses and we loved the sharing dessert plate.

I arrived to this café on a Saturday morning with five friends. We sat down and were told by the waitress who was clearly in a bad mood that we should have pre-warned her that we were coming! On the whole the food was tasty and well presented but would have been delicious had it have been served with a smile.

I was really surprised to see the negative comments when I came to write my review and felt compelled to defend this local independent bistro. I come often at the weekends and enjoy either big breakfast or a burger, both of which I have found to be excellent. THey are really tolerant of my kids (and have several things for them to do) and service are super professional. A bit thumbs up for Sydenham. (the Thai night was brilliant as well, can we have a repeat?!!?)

As a resident in Sydenham i welcomed somewhere to get a great coffee . The surprise here is the food is great too . Nothing fancy just good wholesome food that is well priced in a nice quirky setting.

terrible food breakfast sausage as hard as stone eggs fried in a large frying pan tasteless overcooked potatoes waiting time for breakfast 30 minutes

the waiting staff are very attentive, i cannot fault them at all. however i find the owner to be cold and generally quite rude. not a good experience with her at all. the food here is okay if you can get past the fact it is undercooked or stale. i've eaten here twice, and both times had a seriously upset stomach afterwards. the first time i thought it was fluke, the second time: that was a choice. it's safe to say i will not visit here again. proceed with caution.

Un pequeño restaurante que tiene un ambiente muy agradable.Las comidas tienen muy buen sabor probé la hamburguesa y me encantó la calidad de la carne y los aderezosEl pastel de la zanahoria es enorme y la calidad perfectaEl servicio del personal es de primera clase rápido y eficiente.La música de fondo así que la experiencia culinaria sea completa.

We have long awaited a quirky cafe in Sydemham and on the hoof fits the bill . The breakfasts are great with fresh local produce and serves the popular Monmouth coffee , the decor is quirky and upcycled perfect for a lazy hour with a coffee and a Slice of cake .

They do nice brunch-type food, the staff are very friendly, and the cakes and coffee are excellent..