26 grains

I spent three weeks in London studying and I came here for breakfast almost every day. it’s an incredible little gem tucked away in the yard. The food and ambiance are both very California — organic, healthy, well-​plated dishes many of which are vegan. Have tried just about everything on the menu. I highly recommend the Bircher museli, matcha and chai latte, and Indonesian chicken.

26 Grains is one of my absolute favourite places in London. Located in the coziest little square, Neal’s Yard, this small intimate place serves up bowls of some seriously good porridge. No, not only good. Fantastic. Amazing. Outstanding porridge.
I had the ‘Blueberry Almond’ porridge which was heavenly. Oats cooked with almond milk, and then topped with a sweet blueberry compote, seeds, toasted coconut, strawberries, almond butter and amaranth. I am still dreaming about it. The coffee, with beans provide from Workshop Coffee, was just as good.
Coming from Copenhagen, and being used to the famous ‘Grød’ café, I really know when porridge is good and when it isn’t. This place surely tops ‘best porridge so far’ together with Grød in Copenhagen.
Go here. Just do it. You won’t regret it.

I’ve been stalking 26 Grains on Instagram forever, long before I’d even cemented my plans to move to London. So on my first day out, it was top on my list of spots to try out on the London breakfast scene. After getting ever so slightly lost (I’m new) I found it in a wonderfully remote triangle courtyard-​style area in the middle of Neal’s Yard in the Seven Dials area. It’s tiny with just one large table outside and a few small ones inside. Note that the seats are quite small timber square stools — not the most comfortable seats but not awful. The menu, written on chalkboards both inside and outside, display a range of seasonally changing porridges plus a few cold dishes (this may change in other seasons I’m guessing) like Bircher and a smoothie bowl plus some delicious sounding savoury options. A good range of hot and cold drinks available too, including some trendier sounding options like turmeric hot chocolate and the now common matcha latte.
I ordered the Rhubarb & Cardamom porridge with buckwheat and oats on almond milk with stewed rhubarb, tahini Greek yoghurt, cardamom granola, coconut flakes and amaranth (6) plus an Americano and milk on the side (2.5). Ordering and payment is done at the counter simultaneously. Considering their porridge is made fresh (you can see them stirring over the stovetop) it didn’t take long to arrive and the coffee came quickly too.
Coffee (Workshop Coffee roast) was excellent and exceed my snobby Australian expectations. The porridge was creamy but not heavy and relatively unsweetened with the rhubarb and yoghurt adding tartness balanced by the sweeter granola and coconut. It was basically a porridge version of my ideal Bircher muesli with contrasting flavours and textures — granola on porridge is genius. It was a delicious and substantial breakfast and I will be back to try more of the menu! Very cute spot and with Neal’s Yard Wi-​Fi available, it was the perfect spot to chill out and enjoy the morning although the minimal amount of seating meant that I felt I shouldn’t linger too long.

After the goop raves I had to check out 26 Grains. Located in the «off the beaten path» Neals Yard, this place is a real gem. I went on a weekday so we luckily walk right in to find a spot which was lucky because I would venture to say the indoor seating space could at most accommodate 15 people. This places effortless hits the nail on the head for balancing fresh and healthy with artisan goodness. All of our dishes were wholesome and hearty while being beautifully presented as their own little works of art. I personally had the matcha latte and waffles. I added the tahini Greek yogurt and almond butter to the waffles. The matcha was not overly sweet. And the waffles were spot on. For a further breakdown see below:
Location-​5
Seating– 3, my only issue was that I found the seats small, hard and a tad bit uncomfortable (perhaps they don’t want to encourage people hanging along too long due to the shortage of space)
Staff– 5, friendly but not overbearing. Also good at recommending things if necessary
Food– 5, simple goodness that doesn’t try to
overachieve
Overall it’s getting a 5 stars from me.

Great spot if you’re around Covent Garden for healthy breakfast or lunch + juices and coffees to enjoy a sunny day outside inside this cute yard.

A bowl of porridge from 26 Grains definitely warms the soul on cold rainy days. I ordered the apple, beetroot and cranberry porridge with almond butter, pecans and coconut yoghurt. It was healthy, delicious, and unexpectedly filling. Staff was friendly and the Scandinavian décor is a plus too!

Delicious! What a great store and what lovely ambiance. Try to come on a day you can sit outside. Lovely people watching and colorful buildings to enjoy outdoors. A lovely find.

Tiny little porridge spot in Neal’s Yard but seriously delicious! They’ve mastered the art of porridge (which you wouldn’t think there is such a thing, but this place made me believe it). I had the hazelnut & butter porridge and if I could have that every morning, I think I’d be ecstatic! They also made a kickass chai tea, so overall loved this place