Berry & Maple: Where French Toast Meets Community on Clapham Common

Review at a glance: ★★★★☆

I am going to be honest. I walked into Berry & Maple fully sceptical.

Like many people these days, I am cautious when I see TikTok after TikTok praising a brunch spot that, from the outside, looks fairly ordinary. I assumed it was just another overrated hotspot riding the social media wave.

How wrong I was.

To Irfan and Erkan, the owners, I owe you an apology. I was unfamiliar with your game.

Stepping inside, you are welcomed as if you are part of the family. Friendly smiles from the servers, a buzz of conversation and a crowd that reflects Clapham as it actually is: mixed, lively, local.

I have been to many brunch places, and often I am the only person of colour in the room. Does it bother me? Not particularly. But is it a beautiful thing to see people of all backgrounds together, enjoying food and laughing while the weather outside is cold and grey? Absolutely.

For 11:30 on a Saturday morning, being seated in under two minutes felt almost miraculous.

We went straight for the signature plate: The Maple & Berry. Hash browns, turkey bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, baked beans, berries, and French toast.

Let me be clear.

The French Toast is exceptional. Soft, perfectly soaked, sweet in all the right ways. Easily the best I have had in London. No competition. Everything else on the plate was solid, but that French toast set a new standard.

It was a quick brunch, but it felt memorable. Berry & Maple is the sort of place you keep in your back pocket. The place you recommend to friends when they want something warm, generous and genuinely good without breaking the bank.

Although I visited in November 2025, I am already imagining what a table outside will feel like on a sunny summer morning.

Sometimes, the hype is real.