Please note, Kamps has now closed. Time Out Food editors, MARCH 2020.
A Teutonic chain of bakers (like a German Gregg’s, only much nicer), Kamps has recently opened two London branches (this one and one in Kensington). Don’t get any romantic ideas about lederhosen and oompah bands, though, this is the gastronomic equivalent of Angela Merkel: robust, purposeful, economical. The space is clean and functional, with huge bakers’ ovens in constant use.
There are hot and cold sandwiches, cakes and pastries, and whole loaves to take home. Stand-outs include pizza-style flatbread ‘Elsass’ (‘Alsace’) – a round, crispy base topped with melted cheese, red onion and morsels of smoky speck which, at £3.50, is a steal. Equally impressive was a slice of plain cheesecake, the inclusion of quark (a curd-like cheese found on every German breakfast table) keeping it light. Sadly the pretzels were ein bisschen dry, the frikadelle (pork meatballs) in a hot sandwich a little fatty. But for a penny-pinching pit stop, it ticks a lot of boxes. The volk at Gregg’s should be feeling the heat.
(For many more German bakeries, see here.)