The Lido Cafe

Enjoyed it the first time. The second time we were served a cold English breakfast by a rude waitress who might need to reconsider her career choice. We mentioned it respectfully and were offered a comment card without a pen.

Best place for brunch in the summer!
What more could you want than sitting outside next to a pool eating an incredible breakfast?
The smoothies and juices are delicious and the eggs benedict is always perfection.
I would recommend booking on their website as there is almost always a queue at the weekends. They are really accommodating for larger groups which is ideal.

Used to absolutely love this place. But lunch and dinner menu have gone slightly downhill the last time i went. Will try again soon as the atmosphere and outdoor space is lovely. Always go for breakfast as its awesome — great coffee and great eggs. Its always packed for weekends for breakfast so book or go early.
Its right next to brockwell park so go for a lovely walk afterwards and onto the local pubs and its a great evening.

The «eggs three ways» on their Sunday brunch menu is lovely!
You get one egg with buttery spinach, one with ham and one with loads of salmon.
The café was packed, and we didn’t have a reservation, so we sat outside (under a heater) and watched all the brave January swimmers while we drank oodles of tea and ate all the eggs.
I had to run away after brunch (as I had a poorly catty to attend to) but I think it’d be nice to spend much longer chilling and chatting here. I’m surprised by some of the harsh reviews directed at the staff… they were all sweeties on Sunday.
(^^) You lucky South Londoners!

Lovely little café with fairly good food and a perfect spot for brunch. The coffee here is a real plus too, unlike so many places in Londinium.
It would be so much better if they’d improve their table management though. It is frequently the case that the café is half empty but they can’t offer you a table for an hour. They’ve lost my booking twice!
All in all though, a nice place with a good atmosphere and friendly staff. Just get there early!

For a brunch on a Saturday, my partner and I visited The Lido Café. It is next to a park, attached to a local swimming pool From the terrace, you look right onto the outdoor pool area. We asked a local who directed us there, because from the outside, it does not look like your typical café/​restaurant.
We sat at the bar, next to the window, with a view on the pool. Service was very friendly. The place was packed, I think we had the two last seats, if you come here and want to be sure of a table, my advise would be to make a reservation.
The menu for brunch is wonderful: fresh juices, smoothies, classic dishes like Eggs Benedict, and blueberry pancakes etc. I had the Eggs Royale (with salmon) and they were really good, hollandaise not too vinaigry, eggs nice and soft on the inside, good quality, thick slices of salmon too. The pancakes were fluffy and indulgent, with maple syrup and bacon (actually a great combination, I would never have guessed). The coffee is strong, bit too strong and one-​dimensional for my taste. Ginger-​carrot-​apple juice with ice is great on a hot day, but you have to love ginger a heck of a lot (like I do) because they mix in a lot.
Prices are, well, London-​like. So eat and weep a little afterwards.
The park is nice for a stroll afterwards on a sunny day.

Eggs, salmon, prosecco, pool, sun. What more do I need to say?
(Visited in June 2013)

Update to a review I posted a while back …
I’m happy to upgrade my rating due to greatly improved service. I swim in the Lido pool so thought I’d call in for a coffee afterwards just to see if things had got any better after experiencing 2 years of comically poor service.
Would I order a latte, wait 20 minutes & then be brought an espresso (& told I could keep it if I wanted!). Would I wait 20 minutes & fail to be served at all? Would I wait 40 mins for a coffee, struggle to get my bill & then not be brought my change? Wow — no!
This time around there seemed to be plenty of staff around, all making an effort to make eye contact & check in with their tables. I was greeted with a smile as soon as I came in & was seated & given a menu very promptly. My order was taken & brought to me in similar style & unlike the bad old days, I had no problem ordering another coffee or in getting the bill. I will very probably go back. I may even persuade my husband to give the place another chance.

Sag bloss, ich habe hier noch nichts geschrieben.
Was für eine tolle Location!!! Während sich draussen im Lido die Londoner aus Herne Hill den Tri– und Bizeps stählen im scheinbar eiskalten Wasser (sonst trügen sie keine Neopren Anzüge) kann man drinnen oder auch auf der Lido Terrasse das Frühstück, Dinner oder Abendessen geniessen. Wir haben es gleich 2x probiert.
Angefangen beim Abendessen mit einer gebackenen Aubergine einerseits und einem Steak von naturbelassenen Rindern mit riesigen Hörnern andererseits ein traumhaftes Essen. Noch viel schöner die Beschreibung zum Steak ich ließ mir vorher noch den Fisch beschreiben. Also die Bedienung, ein junger, ambitionierter Kellner, erklärte voller Hingabe, wie herzhaft der Fisch schmecken würde dann bin ich aber zu dem Rind gewechselt mit den riesigen Hörnern, die er fast lautmalerisch schildern konnte :-) als wenn er das Rind selbst ausgesucht hatte
Am Nachbartisch sahen wir die vielen Hamburgerbestellungen mit dem Eimerchen mit Pommes. Um den Abend abzurunden, bestellten wir noch einen Burger für zwei. Herrlich, der HAMBURGER ist die Spezialität dieses Restaurants.
Am kommenden Morgen testeten wir noch die Breakfast-​Qulitäten und wurden auch hier nicht enttäuscht. Gut, die Preise sind gemessen, was man in Berlin bezahlt, mehr als versalzen, aber für Londoner Ansprüche eher günstig. Ein tolles Frühstück, dass wir direkt an der 50 Meter Bahn genossen und natürlich am Sonntag um 10.00 Uhr neben all den Neopren. Schwimmern ohne schlechtes Gewissen geniessen konnten.

It was an OK café but just that. I was not that impressed by the tables and chair there were not that comfortable and also the staff was kind of slow Maybe it just happened once and I hope the service will be bumped next time.

I happened on this café twice in one day. We first stopped by for a coffee on the way to Dulwich. The coffee was excellent and it was great to be out in the sun by the pool in the morning. Only slight annoyance was my girlfriend being given her tea with the milk already in the brew — no one wants this (a very American thing to do).
We liked it enough to visit for a late lunch as the local pub had stopped serving. This was much more mediocre. I had a burger which was very poor and could have come from a food van given the cardboard flavour bun and cheap salad tomatoes smothered in mayo. Side salad looked like it was from a supermarket bag and wasn’t dressed. My girlfriend had a tart and bean salad. This was a cold plate and only got flavour from a mild vinaigrette.
Bottom line, visit for a coffee and avoid for meals. Not sure what The Guardian and The Independent reviews were saying! The afternoons also bring out the young mums and their wailing babies. Not my ideal lunch company.

Food generally good except for cold, dry chips, but the service exceptionally rude and cold with attitude.

Food-​amazing. Coffee– outstanding. However this place is THE magnet for dulwich mothers and their screaming babies. Avoid the crèche unless you want a migraine with that latte.
or if you’re into mothers

Great place for a relax after a swim.

If the sun has got his hat on and you’re coming out to play, you won’t find a nicer spot in south London to while away a few hours.
Funky, family-​friendly restaurant which benefits from its situation beside a handsome Art Deco Lido and some beautiful natural light. The owners are really dedicated to creating a community vibe, with a strong Twitter presence, themed nights such as flamenco, colombian food and comedy, «takeovers» by resident chefs and so on.
The Sunday brunch here is spot on, but get here by 11 am to get a table. They also do a burger and beer deal on Wednesdays for £8.50.
Service is a bit slow and occasionally shoddy, so be patient and enjoy the view.
Drinks include Meantime beers on tap, very good coffee and an excellent wine list.

Fantastic place to eat in the summer — they have a great terrace to sit in the sun by the pool. Food is good and it’s dog friendly.

Love the idea of this café as it is a nice alternative to the park café and situated in a lovely area and great view of the lido. However I have been here about 5 times now and am afraid to say that every time I have waited a long time to even be acknowledged by the waiters. I wouldn’t mind waiting but they seem to have no method in dealing with customers and it does get annoying when you are watching them clean tables, wander around aimlessly and deal with other things rather than serving the customers in order or even letting you know that they are aware of your presence. The first time I went there were baby toys which was a great idea but on returning over the following few months they are now filthy and I wonder about the shabby second rate mentality of this to not even think of cleaning them. The food has been nice when I ordered but have waited ages and have to ask for simple things like butter and they don’t seem to bring the coffee so I have sat there for fifteen minutes sometimes before even being served or had a drink. Last time I went it was a hot and we just wanted a convenient place to stop and have a cool down and a quick snack and drink. After 15 minutes of not even being looked at or spoken to we decided to give up. I gave it one more chance a few weeks later and same thing. My toddler daughter burnt her finger on the light under the counter on this last time. Just not good enough so we are not going back. It is a shame as they have a captive audience and I am sure are packed and make good money — due to where it is situated they will always have clients willing to put up with what I see as second rate service. It could be such a great place if they made the effort to sort out these little details but it seems badly organised and I wonder who is in charge and why people put up with it. That is London I guess — too many people and not enough sassy cafes for people to be able to take or leave it when it comes to this sort of service.

Really nice spot in Herne Hill, staffed with a nice bunch of people, the food is really good and the coffee is great too. The main problem is the prices (7 quid for Eggs Benedict) and the large amount of mums with babies in here during the daytime.
That said they do deals (beer and a burger on Wednesdays, 2−4−1 beer/​wine on Friday and Saturday evenings) so there’s cheaper options. Also they have live music/​comedy nights which are highly recommended.

this café just opened a few months ago and makes a great addition to herne hill. the coffee is excellent, the staff very friendly and the food good — i had a venison burger which was lovely. its just great to have the view over the lido
free wifi.

I was inordinately excited to discover there was a new breakfasting place right near my house, and tripped off excitedly to sample «the best breakfast in South London», as a friend had described it to me. The fact that blueberry pancakes were on the menu boded very well, I thought, ordering healthy poached eggs and black coffee, though it was disappointing none of the veggie options included any vegetables — mushrooms and potatoes would be very welcome — and there was almost nothing for my coeliac friend to eat.
The downsides of this wonderfully situated eatery became apparent as we settled down for a relaxing brunch chat — the acoustics of the room are such that it’s incredibly noisy in there if it’s even vaguely busy, plus it’s a very popular place for parents to bring their kids. There’s nothing wrong with that but add childish screams to the mix and you start to feel the headache brewing. Still, the bright white room is decorated with pleasant (but horrendously pricey) paintings of swimmers and looks right out on to the electric blue water of the Lido, making it pretty unique.
To the breakfast: the coffee was gorgeous but my eggs weren’t cooked brilliantly and barely covered the lovely big slices of toast, so I wished I’d gone for the pancakes which my friend gobbled up with gusto. My coeliac friend had the porridge which she said was very nice. I’ll certainly be back for pancakes, and would be interested to try a weekday morning instead for a bit of peace and quiet. It seems like a lovely room to work in, subject to noise.

Sunday morning, going through the papers, drinking good coffee, eating cake they sourced from the local Organic bakery, chill out music in the background perfect!
The view of the pool was lovely and the sofa comfy.
Great morning, great place, a good place to chill with friendly staff