Nestled amongst the wonderful street food traders and stalls in the foodie hub that is Camden Market lives Pamban Café. This beautiful (and surprisingly spacious) café focuses on specialty chai and artisan coffee, but their all-day brunch menu is something else!
With Indian and Sri Lankan roots, they’ve incorporated a mix of both cuisines on the menu. You can find everything from classic brunch dishes with a twist to hearty, flavourful rice dishes.
Their avocado toast comes piled high with fresh coriander, lime and pomegranate, and you can add all of the usual breakfast staples like halloumi, smoked salmon and poached eggs. However, their other menu items are too good to miss! A wonderful spiced curry came beautifully wrapped in a banana leaf, their five (five!!) cheese toastie came with a gorgeous sticky, sweet sauce and the pastry on their samosas was perfectly golden brown.
They were out of granola on the day I went, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I tried their porridge instead, and it was honestly one of the best I’ve had. I’m a massive porridge lover, but the flavours, spices and creaminess was like nothing I’ve ever had before.
I can’t have brunch without coffee, but I simply couldn’t go to a speciality chai café and not try some of their chai too! They have eleven flavours of chai derived from an old Indian home recipe, ranging from super-sweet fudge to slightly savoury saffron to floral rose petals, which is their best seller. Thankfully they have a chai tasting flight, which allows you to choose three to try.
For those who, like me, simply can’t finish brunch without something sweet, they’ve got delicious waffles – go for the kithul version, which is absolutely packed full of flavour and fragrant spices. Make sure you leave space for their milkshakes and traditional drinks too.. their jaggery caramel milkshake is absolutely delicious, as is their vibrant pink faluda, which is finished off with a scoop of ice cream for the ultimate indulgence!