18 Jun 2025
Looking for a an independent breakfast venue away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre? Matt Adams has a new recommendation…
There’s certainly no shortage of breakfast and brunch venues in St Albans these days, with even the humble hashbrown elevated to a new art form as eateries struggle to stand out from the crowd.
But away from the city centre the choice is somewhat lacking, with the likes of Smallford Farm Shop Café, Molens and The Breakfast Club having captured much of the market for morning munchies.
So it’s something of a risk for any new café to open its doors without being able to offer something truly exceptional and win over those customers who need a reason not to just slap-up a fry-up at home.
Readers with long memories will remember Café Espresso at 159 Victoria Street, just down from the station bridge, before it moved to Marshalswick and rebranded as DavVero. Then there was La Stazione and Brews & Bites, neither of which lasted long.
So fingers crossed for the newest venture to take over the premises, Café 159 – run by the husband and wife team of Nikolay and Juli Zlatev – because the first impressions are very positive indeed.
It’s light and airy, with a cool urban chic vibe, sort of like that backstreet London café you hope never becomes too trendy, and almost preternaturally clean, which is a very good sign.
Although busy with a mid-morning Saturday trade, nobody seems to be kept waiting too long, and there’s a nice view of a tree-lined section of Victoria Street if you need a distraction.
Unfortunately the window seats were all taken, because I bet the people-watching is top notch, perhaps even as good as Tikka Nation in Waxhouse Gate.
Subjecting any restaurant to the onslaught of my entire family is a challenge in itself, but one which our server stepped up to admirably, even when they kept changing their orders or asking incessant questions about the salt (pink Himalayan rock salt, nice touch!).
The unholy trio – 13, 9, 5 – were instructed to order a variety of different dishes to bring some variety to this review, and perhaps unexpectedly did as they were told for once, mainly choosing selections from the “make-your-own” option on the menu as if to showcase their nonconformity.
So they had veggie sausages and sourdough; bacon, scrambled eggs and sourdough; and bacon and sausage in a ciabatta roll. The two youngest girls had freshly squeezed orange juice – which I have to say was a glass of pure sunshine – while the teenager slouched over a cup of breakfast tea, hood pulled up until she was reminded this was not the school canteen.
I opted for The American: two eggs, homemade pancakes, two slices of bacon, two sausages and maple syrup, while the matriarch of the family unit had avocado on toast, poached eggs and halloumi.
Perhaps prompted by cries of “I’m starving!” from the hangry five-year-old, our food was delivered swiftly, but with no less attention to detail. Presentation was exceptional, portion sizes were ample but not overwhelming, and the fact that all three daughters cleared their plates was proof that if you get it right then even the fussiest of children will be satisfied.
Years spent gently squeezing supermarket avocados in a quest for perfection means we know how challenging it is to find that state of nirvana between too hard and too ripe, but my partner’s serving was absolutely on the nose. She said the poached eggs were a little overdone for her personal taste, but admitted she should have probably asked for them runny if she was going to be that much of a diva about it.
Memories of West Coast diners visited during my misspent 30s came flooding back when I sampled my own offering, the soft and fluffy pancakes perfectly complemented by a fusion of exceptional bacon, sweet maple syrup and rich gooey eggs. Faultless.
But the harshest critics are always those without any filters, which meant we had to seek opinion from a triumvirate of diners whose quality expectations are invariably verging on the impossible, and aren’t afraid to publicly air them.
“An absolutely amazing sandwich!”
“The best sourdough in the whole city!”
“Yummy!!”
Oh, that’s unusual. It’s hard to get them to agree on anything at the best of times, but not only were they raving about their meals, they were also asking when we could come back for more.
If this doesn’t scream quality then nothing will. So a big thumbs-up from our brood, as a new eatery joins the favourites list. And at less that £60 for the five of us it’s also healthy on the wallet.
With an ideal location on the way to and from City Station, Café 159 deserves to pick up plenty of drop-in trade as well as building up a clientele of regulars, and hopefully the high standard of food and service means it will end up becoming a fixture of Victoria Street for even longer than Bar Espresso was.
And if you’re looking for a decent meal on the other side of noon, there are some fantastic options for grills and burgers which definitely warrant further investigation…
