Madeira Cafe coming to Waterloo

I was very pleased to notice last night that the wonderful Madeira Patisserie on Albert Embankment is opening a cafe in Cornwall Road (in the end unit of Spacia's Wootton Street development), opposite Sandell Street.

Don't even think about popping in regularly for "café com natas" unless you are planning to do all your newsgathering by bike or speed-walking.

I just look at the impact on the waistlines of colleagues who used to work around the corner from the current bakery shop. :(



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 25 January 2006 1.00pm by Lang Rabbie.

Wonder how Konditor and Cook feel about that?!

I don't think they will have anything to worry about. In my experience the Madeira patisserie produce possibly the most awful cakes of all time.

Don't know what Konditor think about it, in fact I think the two will be complementary. Local gossip is that Thai Silk will move close to ev when its lease runs out in Waterloo Road. And the owner of the three local pubs, the Windmill, Kings Arms and Ring is going to set up a bar in the arches with music including jazz. What a turn round for the area if true.

Madeira is now open at 1 Wootton Street:
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/restaurants/view.php?venueid=505

Wobbly tables, waitresses were not sure if table service was available, menu items not available and the "grilled chicken" would be useful if I ever lost the sole of my shoe.

Just be thankful you didn't try one of their 'croissants'
Last time I tried one it tasted like it had been cooked with lard.

I haven't been to the waterloo one yet, but I was responsible for renting the space to them, so feel free to judge my comments as having a bias.

If you visited their vauxhall premises, you would see that the choice is unbelievable, and I defy anyone to not find something they like.

Bear in mind that madeira is part of portugal, so the cakes on offer are not what we good old british are used to, which is muffins, danish pastries and of course the usual plethora of 'italian' offerings. Oh and doughnuts!!!!!!!
Madeira are not a competitor of Konditor & Cook, they are as much a high volume baker / wholesaler as a retailer. Konditor is more of a speciality high price, high end retailer.

Madeira's portuguese custard tarts, palmiers, rice cakes ('bollo con arroz') and sweet ricotta cakes are but four recognised offerings, which are superb.
I agree that the croissants are not 'french', but they are actually more of a croissant used for taking a filling (ie as a sandwich), than to be eaten with the morning coffee.
I would strongly advise that when visiting Madeira, one orders something of Portuguese origin, rather than a portuguese interpretation of a product of other origin!

One should also bear in mind, when eating at other places around town, that Madeira is predominantly a bakery, and supplies many outlets. Nandos is a client as are several of the hot food outlets in the borough market. Your chorizo sandwich is probably in one of their rolls!

Watch out for more Madeira outlets coming soon, as they are proving to be popular!

williamn wrote:

I don't think they will have anything to worry about. In my experience the Madeira patisserie produce possibly the most awful cakes of all time.

You obviously didn't live/work in SE1 fifteen years ago in the pre coffee bar days. Back then almost every independent sandwich bar/cafe in the area (and come to that much of the rest of central London) appeared to be supplied from a single steam bakery. It produced truly terrible so-called pastries and leaden muffins - both apparently designed to survive for a week on the shelf rather than to have any flavour.

The appearance of Madeira's natas and bollo in many such establishments was a vast improvement in consumer choice(although not good for anti-obesity campaigns).