Porridge

From pipe dream to high street: how Porridge Cafe took Shoreditch by storm

We love to hear about new ventures and passionate people trying out their concepts with We Are Pop Up. The Porridge Cafe was a bold new entry to the smorgasbord of pop up eateries in Shoreditch. A one of a kind cafe with a passion for great ingredients, delivering high quality and interesting nourishment every day.

We spoke to Elly, one half of the team behind Porridge Cafe, to find out more about her We Are Pop Up journey.

What was the Porridge Cafe all about?

The Porridge Cafe was a 1 month pop up. Everyday we had 5 different flavour options with different grains, and both sweet and savoury options.

Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from a trip to Copenhagen when we visited a porridge cafe there called Grød.

We had a street catering business called Bow Foods, and loved to use different grains in our recipes. We love the versatility that it has as an ingredient along with the health benefits. It was a real untapped market in the UK.IMG_4735

How did you choose an area in London?

Our previous food truck served the people of East London so we knew East London was a good place to launch and to test our a new idea. It’s really convenient.

Why did you choose the Paul St space specifically?

Its a beautiful venue with lots of natural light. The area has a good mix of office and creative people in the week and on weekends there are lots of visitors, a good balance.

What was your experience of directly interacting with your landlord?

The landlord Rachel is really supportive of young businesses and works for BADA who support artistic endeavours.

IMG_4750What is your favourite porridge dish?

For a savoury option I loved our beetroot porridge with spelt, feta, capers and an egg on top. On weekends the maple syrup, egg, bacon porridge was really popular.

What’s next for the Porridge Cafe?

It’s still early days but we want to explore more options, maybe try another area of London.

Hundreds of foodie concepts like The Porridge Cafe need their next pop up space. You can browse the brands here. Do you have a space? Whether an empty space, or a ShopShare space within your existing cafe or shop, you can sign up here to have brilliant brands book your space.

Blog button