Chiquitita Cosplay, Aisha Anime and I embarked on a late night trip to the newly opened Cereal Killer Café in the heart of Brick Lane. It is the only café dedicated to the popular breakfast food in the world.
As you enter the quirky establishment the walls are covered with boxes of cereals from around the world including a special Pokémon edition which I desperately wanted to try but disappointedly this was not for sale, however fear not, there were still 120 varieties of cereals to choose from! With a wide selection from staple classics such as Kellogg’s cornflakes, American favourite Lucky Charms and more obscure international creations you would unlikely have heard of unless you are a cereal nut, like owners Alan and Gary Geery. The café also has 30 different types of milk to cater all dietary requirements and tastes (I never knew there were so many types of milk!) as well as numerous syrups and toppings.
Choosing cereal as more of a dessert than a breakfast, and with our notorious sweet tooth we went for the most sugary calorific treats on offer. Definitely not the cereals you would have every day for actual breakfast – well maybe in America! With the wide selection It took us forever to choose (ok, like 20 minutes) but the staff were friendly and happy to make suggestions. My particular request was, “what is the weirdest cereal you have?” In the end I mixed two seasonal American cereals together; one strawberry flavoured in the shape of ghosts available only at Halloween, accompanied by a Christmas cereal which can only be described as multi-coloured confetti! Not quite sure why that is Christmassy. The two went surprisingly well together – very fruity! Aisha Anime also went for an American cereal, Reese Puffs, compiled of chocolate and peanut butter flavoured balls mimicking the popular sweet. Chiquitita Cosplay decided not to have cereal and ordered a soy hot chocolate which came sprinkled with lucky charm marshmallows. Additionally to cereal the café serves a range of hot drinks, cakes and pop tarts for those who aren’t cereal lovers.
The venue is not just covered with cereal boxes, it is full of retro items from the 80s and 90s; troll dolls, board games and cabbage patch kids with some Grrrreaat cereal cells and artwork such as Tony the tiger from Frosties plastered on the walls. Numerous black and white TV screens on the wall which play Thundercats, He-Man etc. All Aimed to create a flashback of childhood nostalgia of eating breakfast while watching TV before you went to school.
It is likely you have seen the Cereal Killer Café in the media following claims of it being too expensive at £3.50 for a bowl, whether you agree with this statement or not, I am sure you have paid more for less in your life (personally I am more shocked at people who buy M&Ms from M&M World – now that’s extortion!) and from previously working in Shoreditch for around a year I can tell you the majority spend at least £3+ a day on coffee before work. No one kicked up a fuss with the equal novelty nearby cat café – review here which even charges a £5 entry fee. Unfortunately, it seems the media dislikes hipsters with beards. Cereal Killer Café is a novelty, fun experience to enjoy once whether you’re a London local or tourist.
So ditch your Starbucks and Costa one morning and try something new!
P.S. Sorry about the quality of photos, I didn’t have my camera with me!
Hi there – we’ve just posted a cereal killer cafe review too! Good to see we aren’t the only ones who thinks it’s a great idea. http://outforlunch.co.uk/2015/01/03/cereal-killer-cafe-brick-lane-london/