Cafe 338

I absolutely hated this place… I’ll explain why I’m still giving it three stars.
I love greasy spoon diners, and I love a full English breakfast, so I should have been in heaven here, right? Nope.
The service was absolutely horrible.
From the minute we walked in, the staff at 338 was terrible to us. I think my friends and I are pretty respectful tourists — we go out of our way to try not to be the «Awful Americans.»
When we walked in and saw it was tiny and tight, I went up to the counter to ask if we should wait to be seated or if we should just grab a table. The ladies working just stared at me like I had 2 heads. I had to ask 3 times before one of them finally (and nonchalantly) answered me. I’ve never had this type of language barrier in countries that *don’t* speak English.
For the record, you just grab a seat.
Then, when we got seated, we looked on Unilocal to make sure they accepted cards — they don’t. That’s not a huge deal, but a sign on the door would have been helpful. Luckily, there’s an ATM across the street, so nbd.
Our server stopped by, and she was one of the rudest human beings I’ve ever met. When I started to order a breakfast plate and asked for scrambled eggs instead of fried, she just flatly said, «NO.» There was no offering me an option or explanation or trying to be helpful — just «NO.» So then I had to figure out what the eff I was doing on my own and ended up ordering a la carte items instead.
I didn’t like my food at all. Was it terrible? No. But was it good? Negative, Ghost Rider. Also, the coffee was the worst.
So why 3 stars if I clearly hated 338 so much? My friends didn’t hate it nearly as much as I did. After a quick poll, opinions ranged from «OK» to «Good,» and they didn’t get the brunt of the rudeness like I did. So maybe I’m being a tad over-​dramatic.
IMO, Café 338 must be a beloved spot for locals, but I wouldn’t recommend that a visitor go there.

This was a fun time to eat here and visit with friends! First time trying black pudding and it was good!

Fantastic food clean and fresh, staff are nice and very good value for money. Situated in a busy vibrant market road.

A great little place to have Breakfast on a rainy day. I recommend the omelette, which is quite big for the price and yummy.
Lately there is always a queue when I walk past it, however the wait is usually only 5 to 10 minutes. The café is packed with many tables but I once met lovely people like this and started chatting to table neighbours.
The staff is usually friendly and is also happy to recommend meals.

Excellent food on the cheap. The breakfasts are brilliant especially with a hangover. You never have to queue for long and often get to sit with interesting people. Recommended!

This my favourite place for breakfast. I love the pancake menu as you get all of the benefits of a proper fry up plus pancakes! You also get a bit of fruit on your plate so you can give a passing glance to your health.
There is always a queue but the wait is not long and it really is worth it

Best and cheapest place on bethnal green rd. By far. Very friendly staff. Crowded on weekends. Worth the wait though.

After reading the reviews I had to visit this place… It definitely lived up to expectations! Any place that gives you three hash browns with its breakfast is a winner for me! I will now be a regular!

I had a friend who told me that one of the best breakfasts he’d ever had in London was at Café 338. And then, just the other day, I was at a meeting and someone else told me the same thing.
Well, then I need to go check this place out.
And while Café 338 was not the best breakfast I’ve ever had, it was damn good. Damn, damn good.
Let’s talk about what this place is not first. This café is not fancy or modern, it’s not somewhere that’s going to wow you with presentation or interesting cuisine. It’s not a touristy spot by any means.
What this café is, though, is classic. Classic and delicious.
It’s a tiny space and there’s usually a long line outside. When you sit, especially if you’re a two, they’re going to put you at tables with other people. The menu is your normal breakfast spot — classic eggs, beans, sausage, hashbrowns kind of place.
But this is where the comparison to every other café stops. Because the food at Café 338 is awesome. Fresh, delicious, the near-​perfect breakfast. The eggs are perfect circles with glowing yellow in the middle. The hashbowns are crispy and flavourful. The sausage is well cooked, the beans aren’t too beany or saucy, it’s damn good. Even presentation is quality, it’s nothing gigantic but even placement of tomatoes to add a little colour is a nice touch.
The service is fast but sometimes you do need to signal people down to get their attention or ask once or twice, since they’re so busy. We had to ask three times for cutlery. But it’s a small complaint for such a nice thing.
We ordered a bunch of things for the table and the meal came out to only about £15. Fantastic. If you’re looking for a great breakfast, this is the place.

Best breakfasts with the best service and the coolest music. My favourite breakfast place hands down.

338 is a greasy spoon with «new bethnal green» aspirations. There’s queueing
The food does look lovely, although the coffee leaves a *lot* to be desired.

Really good breakfast, great fried halloumi with the veggie pancake menu, fresh orange juice, crispy hash browns… spot on. Shame the service is so slow (we waited over half an hour for our food). We didn’t have to queue today but it’s definitely a busy place. The low prices are what make this place so great, amazing value. I’ll be coming back for sure, but will make sure I’m only just hungry so that I’m starving by the time I eat ;-)

I heard a lot about this place but never tried it till today and I have to say that it is really worth a try (or two, or three…)
If you see it from the outside, you won’t find anything fancy here, but if you step inside, you’ll find a cheap and nice menu and helpful and cheerful staff.
We went for late breakfast/​brunch and, as per recommendation, I went straight to have a look at the pancakes menu. Amazing how for just £5-£6 you can have a massive breakfast with coffee included.
I ordered ‘Pancake menu #2′ as I’m not too fond of having my sweet and savoury food mixed together and when it came I was like ‘wow’: tomatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and fruit!
The orange juice was pretty good as well and the coffee was just OK, but if your dish is full of delicious food, who cares?
Definitely, saving this spot as one of my favourite places to have a massive breakfast!

It’s pretty reasonable, it’s definitely a lot of food and also a lot of waiting. It’s worth the wait outside, which will generally take you 15 ish minutes depending on the queue. We found our longest wait was once inside and it took more than a half hour to get food, to the point that other people were sitting, eating and leaving before we got served. I’m guessing it’s a fluke and everything was lovely once it came.
Go for the pancake menu.

Fancy a hangover cure for the weekend? Make sure you get in early otherwise you will be queuing for a while.

Best place on earth to have breakfast! Really cheap. Friendly and nice staff. Great options for breakfast just for £5-£6 (including coffee or tea)

So cheap, so good. A proper greasy spoon. The coffee (included in every £5-£6 pancake breakfast) isn’t great but the food makes up for it!

Une cantine pour travailleurs du batiment, forcément, ça sert des portions généreuses !
Je n’ai pas été déçue de mon East end breakfast avec deux saucisses Cumberland, des champignons, des tomates et des patates, accompagné d’un café au lait, de toasts et d’un jus d’orange fraichement pressé.
Le cadre est mignonnet avec les nappes toiles cirées à carreaux, les dessins naïfs au mur et les grandes fenetres qui laissent entrer la lumière.
Une adresse pratique et pas chère du tout pour un petit déj dans le coin de Bethnal green avant de partir pour une journée de balade dans Londres.

WARNING: this place is dangerously delicious. Oh, and it has a massive queue on weekend mornings/​afternoons, so bring a newspaper and be prepared to wait.
This is my local brunch joint/​hangover spot/​place where I eat when I can’t be bothered (aka hangover spot). Most of my neighbours who frequent this place seem to treat it in the same way that I do, explaining the bedraggled-​looking, flannel-​wearing, cigarette-​scented crowd that you see here at noontime on Sundays. There’s even a nice, little outdoor seating area for when it’s not pouring with rain outside (= half-​drunk hipsters on display).
There’s a little bit of everything at Café 338 — (as mentioned above) heaping portions of breakfast foods, a variety of Middle-​Eastern themed salads and wraps (halloumi galore), and the more traditional ‘diner’ food like burgers and greasy, breaded and fried potato and onion products, yay. And to keep said hipsters (and me) happy, there’s a huge selection of veg options, including a full English with mock Glamorgan sausages and veggie bacon.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the food here fills the stomach without emptying the wallet — no plate is over £7, and in fact, most are under £5 (this is probably why it’s cash only). The waitstaff is incredibly pleasant and accommodates all sorts of strange requests and dish substitutions without a bat of the eyelash (one morning, my stomach told me it wanted pancakes and maple syrup with grilled halloumi and baked beans… and Café 338 complied). Also, there are free refills on filter coffee (!!!), which never happens in London… cherish it.
This has been quite a strange list of reasons why I love Café 338, but hopefully it convinces people to go. You really should go, it’s pretty great.

I usually keep my 5 stars for very special, fancy or luxury restaurants, but I will make an exception here.
Everytime I come to Café 338 with some of our visiting family and friends, enjoying the faces they make when they see the place the first time, when we get served, and when we leave.
I’m always amazed how efficient the cooks are, moving with dexterity in such a tiny kitchen, and how the waitresses keep track of so many people and orders with such many tables and little space to walk through…
English breakfast is a must, but any other kind of combination is usually succulent.
The plates presentation also remains unequalled among breakfast places.
Hail 338!

The place is very small, but it is a great value for its portion size. An inexpensive place to go have brunch with a few friends.
I like their willingness to substitute items on set menu plates.
It’s extremely busy on weekends between 11 – 2, so be ready to queue.

Kleines Café mit einer großen Auswahl an frisch gemachten, verschiedenen Frühstücken und Lunch Gerichten. Preis– Leistung ist überragend: Ein Mega Früstück (1 Kaffee/​Tee inkl)+ ein Kaffee extra+ein frisch gepresster O-​Saft= ca. 8,00£ :D ca. 10min. Wartezeit am WE mitbringen!