STRANGE stories of missing elephants have inspired a thriving café in Chalk Farm Road. Back in 1884, two elephants called Ida and Palm escaped the circus in Kentish Town, careering around local streets before falling into the cellar of a house on Pemberton Terrace. More recently, the previous owners of this café lost their adopted elephant, too, which was reported missing in its homeland of Kenya.

The Lost Elephant’s Kitchen is a buzzy café located in the shadow of the main railway bridge in Camden Market.

Step inside and there are more subtle echoes of the pachyderm theme. On the shelves, fringed by trailing plants, there’s an elephant statue along with a pile of paperbacks priced £1.50.

On the wall, a framed photo of an elephant trying to squeeze onto an old-fashioned double-decker 31 bus.

The tables are squeezed in over two floors, with a few more outside – an ideal spot to watch the world go by.

Word has clearly spread about the terrific breakfasts here. The café was doing a roaring trade when I visited, mostly from tourists and visitors on a day out and tradesman working nearby.

The menu is a celebration of breakfasts from around the world. You can choose a Taste of Turkey, with Sucuk beef sausage, feta and halloumi cheese, olives, eggs, melon, apricots, walnuts and roasted tomatoes.

There are three riffs on the traditional British fry-up; four types of Eggs Benedict; piles of fluffy pancakes; fruit smoothies; and a vegan spread with hummus, rye bread, avocado, asparagus, Portobello mushrooms, roast sweet potato, olives and spinach.

I started with a cappuccino, the frothed milk inscribed with the word “Enjoy” written in cocoa powder.

My Spanish breakfast was carefully plated. In the centre, a pile of soft tortillas with a pair of fried eggs and chorizo on top. Around the edges, small pots of borlotti beans, yoghurt, salsa and guacamole.

This is a fun and fast place to eat – with zippy service and a positive energy from the young waiting staff. Prices are keen, too, with breakfasts ranging from around £8-12.

The Lost Elephant’s Kitchen closes at 6pm, so breakfast trade evolves into an array of baked potatoes, burgers, wraps, pastas and salads. The Elephant’s Greens, for example, is a combination of mixed leaves, grilled halloumi, walnuts, chopped apples and avocado with an olive oil and pomegranate sauce dressing.

If you are curious, you can find more details of Palm and Idas’ adventures in newspaper archives and a story in the Kentishtowner.

One report in The New Zealand Herald details their breakout from the railway carriages in which they were transported. It states that they charged the gates of the railway yard, which gave way instantaneously and broke away from their solid hinges as if made of matchwood. Trunks held high, the elephants then sped off down Highgate Road.

The Lost Elephant’s Kitchen
15 Chalk Farm Road, NW1
0207 485 1440
@thelostelephantskitchen
www.thelostelephantskitchen.co.uk