When we first moved to Mortlake nearly four years ago, Pickle & Rye was the very first place we tried out for lunch. Owned by an American living in London, its concept was (and still is) to bring freshly made American-style sandwiches to a city where pre-packaged sandwiches tend to dominate the lunch scene. It was exactly this type of independent business that had drawn us to the area and we didn’t come away disappointed. Back then the American sandwich shop was in tiny premises and only really served filled sandwiches and drinks, but in the years since then it has come on leaps and bounds. Due to its ever-growing popularity, Pickle & Rye recently moved further up Sheen Lane to a much bigger unit opposite Mortlake train station. Its menu has grown in size too and now includes breakfast, lunch and even dinner five evenings a week.
Now that the café has much more room, Pickle & Rye has become a staple for us Mortlake mums and our little ones to meet up. It has ample space for prams, plenty of highchairs, a toilet with a baby-change, gallons of hot strong coffee and triple chocolate brownies. What more could any new mum need? I’ve no doubt it is equally popular with commuters dashing in before catching their morning train.
The breakfast menu, which is available until 3pm, includes American favourites such as buttermilk pancakes with smoked bacon and maple syrup starting at £5.95. Other more traditional examples are eggs any style with bacon or sausage for £6.25 or a ‘Healthier Start’ consisting of smoked salmon, poached eggs, avocado, roasted tomato and rocket for £7.50 (I’ve had this and it’s delicious).
For lunch you can get huge sandwiches—some even have three layers of bread—that are crammed full with fresh fillings, such as the ‘Toronto’, which is slow-roasted topside beef, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickled hot peppers, red onion and horseradish mayo on toasted sourdough for £6.25. Or if you want something slightly less filling, there are a couple of salads, such as the Cobb, made of corn-fed chicken breast, smoked bacon, avocado, blue cheese, boiled egg, tomato, red onion and lettuce for £9.
Pickle & Rye also serve a variety of burgers and ribs (from 11am), as well as smaller plates and a range of sides. They now do weekly dinner specials too: Tuesdays is half-price burgers and Wednesdays is half-price ribs if you eat in after 6pm—a great option for a low-cost family meal. We’ve yet to try this, but it’s definitely on the list to do very soon.
They also really go to town on special occasions like Valentine’s Day (think romantic candlelight and three courses) and they are currently taking bookings for a Thanksgiving-themed dinner. Pickle & Rye have just celebrated their sixth birthday in Mortlake and I’ve no doubt they will be here for many years to come.
Opening hours are Monday 8:30 am–3 pm, Tuesday to Friday 8:30 am–9:30 pm, Saturday 9:30 am–9:30 pm and Sunday 9:30 am–3 pm. To coincide with their birthday, Pickle & Rye have started offering deliveries via Deliveroo. There is also a catering menu if you have a meeting or event with lots of hungry people to feed. You can see all their menus in full at www.pickleandrye.com.
