Birdhouse, Battersea SW11: Cafe of the Week

Birdhouse, Battersea SW11

South west London is blessed with many things - green spaces, strapping rowers, pretty Victorian houses worth farcical sums of money...but good coffee shops is not one of them. With a few notable exceptions (including Grind in Putney, Roastery on Wandsworth Road and Lavish Habit in Balham), the area lags behind central, east and south east London when it comes to independent cafes.

So it's not surprising that south-westerly cafe lovers have fallen hard for Birdhouse. You can't miss this charming cafe on St Johns Hill between Battersea and Wandsworth - just look for the canary yellow sign...

Birdhouse, St John's Hill SW11

Birdhouse is run by two former graphic designers - Aussie Cameron and Cuban Alexi. They've put a lot of thought into the look of the place - the gunmetal grey and bright yellow colour scheme makes a fun change from the exposed brick walls and minimalist aesthetic prevalent among new indie caffs. There are just the right amount of yellow highlights to lift the room - the coffee cups, the menus, serving tongs and little footstools to sit outside on a sunny day (one day, one day the sun will return to London. We will sit outside. And it will be good.)

Birdhouse - lots of cheering yellow

We grabbed some stools around a tall dark-wood table at the back of the room and a smiley waitress brought over a brown medicine bottle of tap water. The menu was split 50:50 between breakfasts: homemade granola, banana bread, baked eggs with chorizo and mushroom; and bocaditos - small Spanish-style sandwiches served here in army mess tins lined with greaseproof paper.

Cinnamon French toast with vanilla apple compote

My cinnamon French toast was a hefty serve - two thick slices of toast blanketed with icing sugar and served with a tangy vanilla apple compote. J and E both made the right kind of mmm sounds as they tucked into their bocaditos - serrano ham, oven roasted tomato and Iberico cheese for J, and marinated pork loin for E. I swiped both sarnies for a quick bite (purely for Cafe of the Week research purposes) and both were delicious.

Bocadito, Birdhouse

The coffee is from Climpsons and Sons in east London -  flat whites and a long black with Bonsoy were all excellent - strong enough to blast away the cobwebs but without a hint of bitterness. The queue for takeaway coffees was about 10-deep at one point, and this was Sunday lunchtime, not prime latte-to-go time. Clearly word has spread about Birdhouse - if you're anywhere in south West London and in need of  a coffee fix, it's worth making a special trip to this excellent little cafe.