milk

"where on earth do you live" - curious acquaintance
"balham" - me
"so you know know m1lk" - curious acquaintance
"yes" - me

the above conversation is one i frequently take part in. this is because the popularity of m1lk far out weighs the history of balham!
situated on bedford hill you can normally spot the entrance by the tail of breakfast punters awaiting their hangover fill. if you are fortunate enough to gain entrance you are greeted by an array of home made cakes and bearded personal. the service is upbeat and welcoming with full descriptions of weekly specials. a genuinely friendly/refreshing approach.

although the interior is compact it lets in light which really fits in with what they are trying to achieve overall, ergo 'it works'.

i would recommend ordering 'the convict' - a notable breakfast dish packed with sausage, bacon, hash brown and scrambled egg. the coffee is amazing, 60% columbian & 40% bolivian, order a tall black without sugar for an authentic taste. as a side try the kasekrainer sausage a slovenian meat packed with chorizio!

my only one qualm with the whole dining experience is the metallic dishes with a high edged rim - imagine a kidney dish. it is difficult to gain any sort of traction with a soft edged knife, it can make for a high elbowed affair in a canopied corner.

overall it is spot on, mi1k has grabbed hold of the standard breakfast/lunch menu and added overwhelming flavours to all its dishes, in a unique setting. job done!

on a little (massive) trip (trek) to balham at a godearthly hour on saturday morning, m1lk was our brunch location of choice. we were not the only ones with the bright idea, and the queue snaked outside the brightly lit interior into the chilly outside. with all its tiny dogs, flower stalls, giggling toddlers, and pretty people, balham was in a fine mood that morning and we were about to be too.

having eventually been seated, we grabbed our menus and stuck in. today was a day for pancakes, poached eggs and crushed avocado. it was also a day for not having any cash and needing to leg it over to the cash point around the corner because m1lk doesn’t take cards, although considering what we were about to order, i shouldn’t complain about a little extra exercise.

jumping off our high chairs and over to the neon signed bar, we ordered our brunch feast, being carefully observed by jesus and his 3 wise men (12 dead butterflies)! flat white’s were a given and never a pair to turn down a milk bottle, we had to order a smoothie too because obviously things taste far better in novelty glassware...

the eggs benedict arrived in a more deconstructed form than expected, still tasty, but since when is the piping hot hollandaise sauce not slathered over the top to keep the eggs warm?! observing fellow diners, it appeared that our order might have been somewhat lost in translation!

the buckwheat pancake arrived with poached pear, clotted cream and crumbled rich tea biscuit, smothered in maple syrup. yes, this was definitely the more indulgent option but hey, i made it south of the river and was in need of a reward.

never one to miss the decorative intricacies, of course i noticed the suspended pram! m1lk is a very popular brunch choice and the queue was still going strong when we left. laid back and oozing with friendliness, even the most hung-over diner will be cheered up by the playful charm of this neighbourhood spot. just make sure you're clear about your order!

i've heard a lot about m1lk recently - great reviews and massive queues. brunch in balham with amy allen seemed too good an opportunity not to see if we could squeeze in and get a table for 2, and luck being on our side we got to sit straight down!

i ordered the cornbread with honey, some kind of australian chai drink and a smoothie. the smoothie was fantastic, huge, and felt so healthy i could've cried. the cornbread, while tasty and surprisingly good value, was average and i couldn't help but wonder what all the fuss was about. however amy's glowing review of her food is clearly why this place is so popular, as i've never seen a girl so happy with eggs in a frying pan. 

worth checking out but not if you're gonna be queueing for half an hour, and definitely get a smoothie.

an absolutely wonderful place to start your day with the best and most indulging breakfast made with the freshest ingredients and with the help of a very friendly and professional staff as well.

amazing place in london. i love the food. can’t wait to come back here again. congratulations to the staff.

came here to meet friends for breakfast/brunch on a thursday morning. at first the service was great and very attentive - all good! however, i am allergic to eggs - no fault of my own; can't help it!! ordered granola with honey, yoghurt and cherries knowing it was the only egg-free option on the breakfast menu. when it arrived it looked fab, i couldn't wait to tuck in! however, after eating one spoonful, i got an allergic reaction which i often get, meaning there was egg in the dish - somehow!! i didn't eat any more of it, i pushed it away and called over the waiter to whom i told my problem. he called over his manager who asked 'what the problem was' and didn't offer me any alternative. so, as my friends ate, i was left sitting in hunger - no one batted an eyelid. when we were paying the bill i asked if it was ok if i didn't pay for my granola as i did not eat it. i physically could not eat it - not because i disliked it, but because i literally could not. again, the waiter called over his 'manager' who refused to take the granola off our bill and assured me 'there was no egg in the dish'. as a sufferer of a severe egg allergy who can suffer from anaphylactic shock after the smallest consumption of egg, i assured the manager i was suffering from an allergic reaction and was 100% sure there was somehow egg in my dish. he ignorantly proceeded to inform me that cross-contamination 'can happen in every catering establishment and is always bound to happen' i.e. accepted the fact there could potentially be egg traces in my meal - but yet he assured me and i quote 'there was no egg in my dish'?!! i think i would know!! i have never been so mistreated in all my life especially when dealing with an allergen issue -'managers' are normally very efficient and accommodating i.e. knock it off the bill / give a discount / offer an alternative meal etc etc. i'm not a fussy person and i'm not one to normally complain, but this was  the worst experience of my life in a restaurant treated with no compassion whatsoever - what happened if i went into anaphylactic shock and an ambulance was required- would the £8 for the granola be so important then to the 'manager'?? disgraceful behaviour on his part and shocking customer service. has lost many customers as a result. my friends were all in shock who were there with me. could not believe how badly the manager dealt with the situation. will never set foot in milk again as a result.

at the end of balham’s bustling hildreth street is milk. chances are you’ve heard of it: it’s serving the kind of brunch perfectly catered to the hip young professionals and insta-conscious yummy mummies that frequent the area. you know the deal, in-house baked bread, locally sourced produce and free-range eggs. i’m not hating – this place is legit, and the food actually tastes as good as it looks.

on a lazy english holiday there is nothing better then to hang out with family and friends over a brunch. we heard a lot about place called "m1lk". puzzled why their logo reads "m1lk " and his would one pronounce it 😵😵😵 built the suspense in us to try it.
it's just a minutes walk away from behlam tube station.

ambience4/5:it's a small place inside with really long queues outside. they have some sitting outside too.
it's a very cosy and a very buzzy place. a neon pink "m1lk" sign hangs on the white brick wall behind a counter adorned with some amazing mouth watering cakes. framed butterflies, old photos, floor to ceiling windows and an open kitchen all add to the warm english vibes this place gives.

food4.5/5: food is delicious, filling and worth waiting for in long queue.
beverages
coffee and macchiato were perfect 😍. blueberry, banana and apple smoothie was served in a glass bottle and delicious. the hot chocolate was dark, rich, mind blowing and out of the world.

food - egg benedict with bacon was to die for probably the best in london!! poached egg with salmon
crumpets, honey, goat curd and lavender were all awesome. the food was present very stylishly and tasted great ❤.

service4/5: only queuing up the line is a problem but once you are in, then the atmosphere, food, open kitchen all get on to you!!!
staff is very friendly and service is excellent.

if you are bored of your standard breakfast slop this is the place for you. it's easy to see why the weekend brunch crowds flock to milk😊😊😊.

awesome and very popular cafe. lovely modern, airy and pleasant whitewash interior. despite being very busy we were seated promptly and not rushed at all during the entirety. the menu is on point, with just enough options to satisfy everyone without being overwhelming. we had the corn fritters which were delicious but could've happily enjoyed anything else on the brunch menu! will definitely return.

a great conversation was sparked on twitter last week when i prompted friends and followers for aussie brunch places that are off the radar (or mine at least) after the success of daisy green in marble arch (review here). one that people seemed to be really fighting for was somewhere called milk in balham. i’d never been to balham – i didn’t even know where it was or what line i would need to take. catching up with mattthelist recently – he backed up the place and said that it was down in our neck of the woods (souf london). so this weekend i made the trek.

today i walked into a hipster café. at least i think that’s what it was, judging by the young guys with squared off beards, man buns and skinny trousers with saggy bums (the trousers, not the guys), and the insistence of food with detailed pedigree on the menu. they also seem to place much emphasis on foraging, although where exactly they forage in balham, i’m not too sure. and it’s probably best not to delve too deely into what the beardies forage for there exactly. dandelions by the side of balham high street, maybe? let’s just skim over that, shall we?

there is usually a queue for this place but we got so lucky on a saturday morning.

we both opted for the breakfast burger which was sausage ( in a patty) bacon, hash browns, scrambled egg and some form of tomato relish.

it was just what i needed on a saturday morning!

great food, great atmosphere and great service. 

we had to wait for about 15 minutes to get a table but it was well worth the wait, i had the english breakfast muffin and my partner had the eggs benedict and they were both outstanding.  my partner particularly enjoyed the burnt butter hollandaise and the strawberry, orange and ginger smoothie. it is more expensive than usually would pay for breakfast but well worth it for a treat!

we will undoubtably be returning to milk perhaps for lunch to sample more of the menu.

perhaps the best eggs benedict or rather eggs betty as milk have opted to call it on the menu i've had in london. i'd tried to go for brunch one saturday at milk but alas the queue snaking down the street was a little too long for my rumbling stomach.

as luck would have it my friend and i were looking for a breakfast spot near home and it seems a thursday morning is prime time to grab a table at milk.

starting the day with a flat white for me and an earl grey tea for my pal we eagerly awaited out eggs betty mine with dry cured bacon and his with smoked salmon, draped in a butter hollandaise with perfectly poached eggs, it's easy to see why the weekend brunch crowds flock to milk. i'll definitely be back, though probably again on a weekday!

went on a wednesday for brunch and the food was delicious. very special version of muffins with eggs, bacon and sausage. however the place was very busy so service was really slow. waited quite a long time for our food, and when it arrived we had to wait a while for cutlery while our food got cold. the waiting staff looked really stressed and i felt really bad for them because they were clearly under staffed. despite this the food was brilliant!