The Gate

Firstly, the map is wrong on this — it’s on Newington Green not in Sutton.
Anyways… I ate here once when it was a doomed upmarket eaterie and was disturbed mid-​course by a random walking in off the street asking for spare change. The area has gone upmarket somewhat since then… and the old management has long gone, although the fairly slick design remains the same.
I’d heard this was a good breakfast place, so tried it out as an alternative to my regular haunt, the Blue Legume on Church Street.
My eggs benedict was okay. But… the sausages I ordered on the side were absolutely vile — if there was more than 10% meat in them I’d be very surprised. Why do cafés still serve crap sausages with breakfast? I vowed never to go back to Clicia because of their awful sausages, and the kitchen here is serving the same stuff. Absolute muck.
Worse was the muzak… pop standards and the Taxi theme tune reworked on a Bontempi, played on a CD player that kept stammering. I asked three times if they could turn it off and they just kept moving the track on. ‘No, it’s the CD player not the CD!’ But the waitress seemed bemused, seemingly instructed that awful music must be played at all times.

The Gate is one of those hit and miss places, where more than often you can get a great meal for about a fiver. This is especially true for breakfast, which is probably the most reasonable in the area.
However I’ve been here for dinner once or twice when I could not be bothered with cooking. The seafood pasta was really good, but I got a salmon salad that was artfully arranged but rather bland.
The portions are healthy, and its value for money food that is probably being frequented more in these credit crunching times. The breakfast is usually good, but stay away from those half dead greens.

The Gate is a local restaurant, it has a warm atmosphere and the staff is very welcoming. I frequent the Gate when I’m in the mood for breakfast; the restaurant serves breakfast almost all day. You can order a full English breakfast or do what I do and create your own breakfast. I enjoy the poached eggs, brown toast, hash browns, sausage and bacon, all for less than £4. The hash browns are the best part of the breakfast, don’t get me wrong, the food is good, but the hash browns are exceptional. You get two but I wish I could have three! Okay maybe four, but then I have to start worrying about my hips and thighs. With my breakfast I have an Americano or a cappuccino which always hits the spot.
There are other items on the menu but I have never tried them, the hash browns are always begging to be ordered. The Gate is pretty full on the weekends but not so full during the week. They don’t open until 9:30. If they opened earlier I would defiantly stop in more weekday mornings for breakfast. It is a nice spot if you just want to sip a coffee and read a magazine, the warm cosy vibe makes you want to spend hours drinking cappuccinos and munching on hash browns.

Having gone past this place so often I thought it was time to venture in.
I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed, informal and airy atmosphere. From the outside it looks ‘posher’ than it is but thats not a derogatory term.
I had a chicken dish and my partner had a grilled chicken salad, both were excellenty prepared with a good mix of flavours.
The wine could do with a bit of improvement but its a really good little place to kick back and chill out at any time of the day.