Tucked between Rye Lane and Bellenden Road lies Bara, the capital’s first Welsh cafe and the newest addition to Peckham’s bustling food scene.
Bara (the Welsh word for bread) takes inspiration from the richness of Welsh produce, offering a Swansea Breakfast, Caerphilly Cheesesteak and better-known classics like the Welsh Rarebit.
The cafe was founded by Masterchef: The Professionals quarter-finalist, Cissy Dalladay, and former head chef of Pique Cafe in Clapham, Zoe Heimann. It draws on the influence of both founders’ upbringings with Cissy’s childhood in South Wales fuelling Bara’s culinary inspiration and Zoe’s in South London, inspiring the location.
The idea blossomed when Cissy stumbled across her grandmother’s 1950s Welsh Gas board cookbook, titled “Croeso Cymreig – a Welsh Welcome”. When reading the recipes, she found old notes from her grandma inside – which she took as a sign to go do something Welsh. The two women combined their mutual love of bread and their high-flying goal of opening up their own space to create Bara.
Bara takes a modern approach to staple Welsh ingredients. The Caerphilly Cheesesteak takes inspiration from the staple American sandwich – the Philly Cheesesteak – consisting of thinly sliced steak and melted cheese. The Bara twist on the classic uses eight-hour smoked Welsh beef brisket, Caerphilly cheese, and Blas Y Tir leeks.
“I feel like as a nation Wales is underrepresented in the food scene in London,” Cecily said. “I’m excited to showcase these exceptional suppliers. Our food and coffee tastes better, because the ingredients and suppliers that create them do so with care and attention.”
Their “hearty” Swansea Breakfast features smoked bacon, leeks, cockles on toasted focaccia, alongside laverbread – a traditional Welsh delicacy made from seaweed.
Bara’s own focaccia is a big part of their offering, with fillings including slow-cooked Welsh lamb shoulder in Lamiri harissa, or saffron coronation chicken with mango and scotch bonnet salsa.
From 7:30am every weekday, Bara will be running a breakfast counter, from Bara Brith (meaning ‘speckled bread’), leek bubble and squeak or egg and cheese focaccia.
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For drinks, Bara will be serving up coffee from Coaltown Roasters, a Welsh producer based in Ammanford, a former mining town in Carmarthenshire. Tiny Rebel Welsh Lager will be sold, alongside a list of traditional Welsh wines.
Cissy said: “We’re working with companies that are doing things differently and who share our values; from Câr-y-Môr, Wales’ first regenerative seaweed and shellfish farm, to Coaltown Coffee, a B-Corp with firm roots in the community, our suppliers embody our ethos of ‘Bread, Opportunity, Community’”.
Their opening weekend did not disappoint and the reception from the local community was described by the founders as “crazy”. Bara opened its doors to Peckham on Valentine’s Day after a soft launch on February 12, with queues stretching down the street.
Zoe told us how the vision for Bara is to create a community space that goes far beyond the food. “A café can do more than just sell coffee…We want to be really intentional about building a space for the Peckham community, where people can come together, break bread, and connect,” she explained.
In the evening, Bara plans to showcase local culinary talent through a chefs-in-residency programme. The space will also be available to hire at a discounted rate for local non-profit groups to meet.
Once established, Bara plans to launch an entry to work scheme, supporting marginalised groups like asylum seekers who face unfair barriers to jobs. They will also look to partner with local food banks, distributing surplus food, and offering vouchers to make the café accessible to everyone in the community.
Bara, 44-46 Choumert Road, SE15 4SE
Opening hours:
Wednesday – Friday 07.30 – 16.30
Saturday 08.30 – 17.00
Sunday 08.30 – 16.00
Follow @baracafelondon on Instagram
