Archived on 6/5/2022

Noak - Bakery and Brew in Brockley

comoed
29 May '16

I went here on a recommendation for cinnamon buns this afternoon and although not quite as good as the Nordic Bakery chain, for this kind of food, can recommend as a cafe - didn’t try the menu or beer, both looked good. The white chocolate and blueberry rolls, as well as cinnamon ones were also nice. Incidentally I’m impressed with the station area in Brockley, the paving makes it look so much more welcoming. If only Dartmouth Road could be similar…

anon5422159
29 May '16

I ended up here very fortunately whilst on a run, and had one of their huge sticky Danish twirls. It was nothing short of stellar. We need one of these on HOP high street

Pauline
29 May '16

Not been able to make it here yet but heard lots of good things about it!

Talking of cinnamon though, the smell of it today was so welcoming when I popped into Aga’s (little deli) for a cheese toasty this morning before work, it was some sort of cake so @Liz_Hall if you like cinnamon you might want to give it a try. Oh and for the record I don’t have a sweet tooth, my guilty pleasure is cheese & bacon in no particular order, you only have to ask @TheArchieParker & Aga :joy::joy: You might want to try the doughnuts at the AP at the moment too as they are doing limited editions voted by customers on Twitter, sure it’s lemon merengue at the moment :+1:

andrea
1 Jun '16

We were there this morning for breakfast and it was excellent! Perfectly poached eggs on fresh, thick crusty bread with good cured ham and watercress: YUM!!!

anon64893700
1 Jun '16

Stop, please stop, I’m drooling here, and I don’t even like poached eggs lol.

Sounds like yet another place to add to the list of “must visit”.

Guess I need to ramp up the exercise regime!

anon5422159
1 Jun '16

This bun was AWESOME in Noak. They even got a mention in tonight’s Standard for it!

anon64893700
1 Jun '16

That looks insane! Mmm, sweet dreams, literally!

jrothlis
3 Jun '16

Had breakfast at Noak this morning. The flat white was perfection. And the fluffy scrambled eggs and bacon on toast were delicious. Highly recommended.

anon5422159
11 Jun '16

I’m just in Noak at the moment. It’s lunchtime and they’ve sold out of all bakery products.

They’re doing a BBQ outside which looks delicious, although I’m uncomfortable watching staff using bare hands to handle salad, buns, the resident puppy, and uncooked beef… Starting to regret ordering the £9.50 BBQ burger now… :confounded:

Great flat white, mind you.

Update: burger is tasty, no stomach complaints yet. Getting a bit tired of the shouty Irish girl behind the till bellowing across the cafe to customers and staff :frowning: The other staff are mostly fine and friendly.

anon5422159
14 Jun '16

I felt the same way. The staff left in charge were a really peculiar bunch - very young, obviously inexperienced, and actually quite rude. I don’t know what happened since my last visit but I certainly can’t recommend this place anymore. Not until they’ve sorted out the service, at least. I’ll check back on this topic for updates.

anon64893700
14 Jun '16

Sad to see such a twist in reputation and so quickly.

Pauline
14 Jun '16

Emily & @anon5422159 do any of you know if the owners were there when you had a bad experience. If not this could possibly be down to the staff that were working on these occasions.

Personally I would email the owners to make them aware just incase they aren’t. As a local independent shop owner I would really appreciate this kind of feedback if it was me & not take it offensively at all.

anon5422159
14 Jun '16

I don’t know if the owners were there. I can’t believe any owner would sit back and allow what I saw on my last visit. I may well email them.

Emily
14 Jun '16

I only saw the one lady but really wasn’t in there long as we weren’t allowed to be!

Pauline
14 Jun '16

Would be good to know if she was a staff member or an owner as this would make a big difference ongoing.

Just seems such a shame that reviews have gone from really good to quite bad, which is why I was asking my above question.

Personally I am mostly always at my shop during opening hours, but not all can be (on the very odd occasion I’m not there, normally due to meetings) so I think it’s really important to make the owners aware.

On the odd occasion (less than a handful) I’ve had to close last minute (normally kids being ill & having to be picked up from School & looked after) but have put a note in my window explaining why.

Hopefully this might just be a newish opening setback & can be rectified.

anon5422159
14 Jun '16

I have just sent a very long and detailed email to their hello@noak-bakehouse.co.uk address. Will let you know the tone of their response. I hope they take the feedback onboard. I couldn’t believe how the place had changed since my first visit.

It’s such a lovely venue in terms of decor, branding, the unique bakery items (although none left on Saturday midday), and a lot of the staff were fine. The burger was tasty and the coffee was great. But there are serious issues too. It’s a bit like the Honor Oak Pub - I really wanted to like the place. Great refit. But the staff they’d hired were just dreadful (I emailed their manager and he responded, but there was no change)

Pauline
14 Jun '16

Great Chris!

I don’t know the owners otherwise I would have spoken with them.

I think this is the best way forward in situations like this to try & resolve it with local businesses if they want to :slight_smile:

Regarding the Honor Oak I’m not sure myself, I popped in one evening to introduce myself at the start & all were very friendly - but as I use Tweetsmap on Twitter I noticed quite recently that after following all FH businesses they unfollowed all, which was quite a mystery as we all tend to stick together. Not sure if others have picked up on this & not sure if the same has happened with HOP businesses!

Pauline
14 Jun '16

Really don’t feel 100% comfortable posting as another local business on this thread BUT I do like to say it as it is as a local resident.

I can’t stress enough that locals should contact businesses direct with any input.

I think this is the best way forward to see if they can work with the community & take on constructive comments to improve services.

This is my own opinion and not FHTA as a whole!

Pauline
14 Jun '16

Haha, are you not aware that some guy called #DizzyRascal (think that’s his name) records music on Havelock walk!

His studio is there. Shhhhh, was that a FH secret - keep it quiet then guys :joy::joy::joy::rainbow:

anon5422159
15 Jun '16

I just got a detailed and apologetic email from the management of Noak. It was thoughtfully written and sounds like action is going to be taken. I will definitely try Noak again. The Scandi bun on my first visit was out of this world!

Pauline
15 Jun '16

That’s great news Chris!

I’m really pleased & cheers for emailing them to make them aware :+1:

Emily
21 Jun '16

Do let me know if you visit again and it’s got better - don’t want to make the trip up again from Honor Oak to no avail!

anon5422159
3 Jul '16

Noak is temporarily closed while they replace a manager and make a few changes.

http://www.noak-bakehouse.co.uk/

comoed
15 Aug '16

I went back over the weekend, and Im disappointed to say that it will be the last time I visit. The scandi flavours have been ditched and its now just a regular cafe. There are enough lovely cafes in FH, so I’ll have to rely on my occasional trips into west london for cinammon flavoured goodness.

anon5422159
15 Aug '16

:cry: :sob:

I mourn the Noak of old.

RIP, Noak Scandi Bun.

Hasto
16 Aug '16

If anyone is desperate for a taste of Scandinavian Baking I can highly recommend http://fabrique.co.uk/ , their Cinnamon and Cardamon buns are really outstanding! Although not on our doorstep, its only an Overground ride to Hoxton, it makes for a great first stop if you are visiting Columbia Road Market on a Sunday.

anon5422159
26 May '18

New management, new name: Norbert Restaurant