Megan’s describes itself as ‘a contemporary delicatessen and cafe that becomes a Mediterranean grill restaurant in the evening.’ Set up in 2002, Megan’s apparently has been on the same site for decades, and is named after its founder – a woman actually called Megan (hoho DIDNT SEE THAT COMING DID YOU?). I know little about her, but the place has a lot of history. Initially an antiques shop (the atmosphere still retains some of those touches), it became a coffee shop and then eventually a restaurant. Then at some point recently it was bought by the people who run Tossed (I think?)
The outdoor space (courtyard) looks like a shed/garden combo, but one that has been thoroughly ‘customised’ or ‘lived in.’. Haphazard enough not to be ‘slick’, but well organised enough to aesthetic. Strong. Megan’s portions are…generous and I end up with much more food than I planned to deal with on a Thursday afternoon. I think this is part of the reason I end up staying there for so long.
We got to meet Thom, Megan’s highly talented ‘ Head Of Pastry and Confection Creation’. Unlike any other chef I have met, Thom sees his creations through a fashion industry frame of mind – thinking in terms of collections and ranges – there was even a ‘lookbook’ (lookbook cookbook?) of his hedonistic valentine’s day creations. Thats’s cos he trained in fashion (which is not something you see with most pastry guys!)
Initially this was gonna be a whistlestop tour – as I was doing that thing when you try and line up a whole load of stuff in one day. But I found myself in one of those wonderful time warps where you lose hours in conversation and what the Spanish call ‘sombre-mesa’. It is a very ‘European’ experience and perhaps an antidote to the Type A mindset/shit I’m always immersed in. I would say this place is so leisurely that it can/will ‘leisurefy’ even the most Type A of us.
It’s also BYOB with a £5 corkage fee on Tuesdays and Wednesday (because what’s better to do on a Tuesd