Where our bread comes from

Every morning, before the doors open at 7am, the day’s bread arrives at 204 Garratt Lane. It comes from Paul Rhodes Bakery in Greenwich. It is what every sandwich at the pub is made on, and what sits beside the coffee machine first thing.

Who they are

Paul Rhodes was a Michelin-starred chef before he was a baker. He trained under Pierre Koffmann, then left restaurant kitchens and opened his own bakery in Greenwich in 2003. More than twenty years on, it is one of the leading independent bakeries in London. It bakes for restaurants, hotels, cafés and delis across the city, and still runs its own neighbourhood bakery shop in Greenwich.

How they bake

The method is old-fashioned on purpose. Every loaf is shaped by hand and given time to prove. The sourdoughs are naturally leavened and fermented slowly, some of them over three days. Much of the flour is stone-ground from British-grown wheat, and the bread is baked in stone-based ovens. The croissants and pastries are made with Normandy butter, over two days.

None of that is quick. That is rather the point.

Why we buy from them

A sandwich is only as good as the bread it is made on, so the bread was one of the first things we sorted. We wanted a baker who bakes properly and delivers early. Paul Rhodes does both. Their own drivers bring the bread in freshly baked, early each morning, so what goes into your lunchtime sandwich arrived that day.

An independent London bakery supplying an independent London pub also felt right. We would rather buy from people who make the thing themselves.

What that means when you come in

From 7am there are croissants and pastries with the coffee. The sandwiches at breakfast and lunchtime are made on Paul Rhodes breads. Pull up a chair, plug in the laptop if you need to, and nobody will move you on.

Croissants for Mornings. Bread for Sandwiches.

The Grosvenor Arms, 204 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield, SW18. Open 8am to midnight.