Did you know there’s a little corner of Europe tucked away in one of London’s most bucolic spots? Let me tell you about the Hansel and Pretzel delicatessen and the Swiss Bread bakery and café in Ham.
At a glance...
Welcome to Ham!
Across the Thames from Twickenham, Ham and its neighbour Petersham are little pockets of suburban London surrounded by a whole lot of greenery, true London villages.
Ham is most famous for Ham House and being the only place in London where polo is played. If Petersham is famous for anything, it’s for being the burial place of the man who gave his name to various Vancouvers in North America, the explorer George Vancouver. It’s also where Charles Dickens wrote his third novel, Nicholas Nickleby.
The area was largely rural and agricultural until as late as the mid 50s. The first half of the 20th Century saw light industries develop in the area: sand extraction, aircraft and car factories, as well a paint and varnish plant. All those developments have now been closed, but they left they mark on the housing stock, which is an interesting mix of post-war housing estates (and one striking church) and grand manor houses from the early days.
One of these manor houses, Douglas House, is now the German School London, which was established in 1971.
Hansel and Pretzel
And a few years ago, Ham gained a German delicatessen called Hansel and Pretzel (such a great name!).
It’s a combined delicatessen, mini supermarket, bakery and coffee shop, and they sell some things not often seen in the UK (not only sauerkraut, for example, but they also have sauerkraut juice). Lots of German pastries that you don’t see here, like quarkkuchen and kugelhupf (or gugelhupf, or gugelhopf, take your pick), lots of salamis and sausages, lots of chocolate, several types of breads (sourdough and classic dough) and bread rolls. And of course they sell pretzels. It’s a great place to stock up for a picnic.
And if you’re hankering after a bockwurst in brötchen, they do that as well. Pretty cheap, too. There are some tables and chair outside if you want a sit down snack.
All that, and the staff are English/ German bilingual. But fear not, it’s a brilliant little store even if you don’t speak German.
Hansel and Pretzel: useful information
Address: 71 Ham St, Richmond TW10 7HW
Hansel & Pretzel on Google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ex48SX6mLARJVGa8A
Website: https://www.hanselandpretzel.co.uk/
Opening hours: 7am to 5pm daily
How to get there: take bus number 371 from either Kingston or Richmond. Get off either at Ashburnham Road or Ham Street stops. It’s about 20 minutes either way, but the ride is prettier from Richmond, IMHO.
To get to Richmond from central London, you can either take the train from Waterloo, or take the District Line from Westminster or Paddington.
To get to Kingston, take a train from Waterloo.
The Swiss Bread Bakery and Café, artisan bakery at its finest
And that’s not all. A few minutes’ walk away, guess what you’ll find? The Swiss Bread Bakery and Café, a superb artisan bakery with a Swiss focus (well, the name is a bit of a giveaway…).
They too sell pretzels, breads and pastries, and let me tell you… I haven’t tried the pretzels (yet) but I bought a pastry and a bread, and both were absolutely a-ma-zing.
And the range of pastries on offer overlaps very little with what’s available at Hansel & Pretzel, I think it might even be more extensive. Also on offer are sandwiches and quiches, coffees and other hot drinks (including several kinds of hot chocolate), and a fridge full of cold drinks. It’s all baked in house, too. And at the back, there’s a small assortment of Swiss groceries to take home.
During the week, at lunchtime, they have a hot food menu packed with Swiss specialities, such as flammkuchen or rosti. (On Saturdays too, but it starts earlier, so more of a brunch – come early!)
They, too, have seating outside, decked in cheerful red and white, and lots of seating inside too. Talking of the inside, it’s been modelled like a winter chalet, with wooden planks on the walls, ski posters and cute fake windows. It’s lovely.
The Swiss Bread Bakery and Café: useful information.
Address: 175 Ashburnham Rd, Richmond TW10 7NR
The Swiss Bread Bakery and Café on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VX4UVW3UiNf2g7328
Website: https://www.swiss-bread.com/
Opening Hours: Tues to Fri: 7am -4.30pm | Sat – 8am-2pm | Sun & Mon – Closed
How to get there: same as Hansel & Pretzel, bus number 371 from either Kingston or Richmond.
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Where to go from there?
Well, Ham House is nearby. You could take the 371, but that still involves walking half the way. And if you’re going to walk it, I’d suggest cutting across the Ham Lands nature reserve and have a leisurely amble on the Thames Path.
And of course there’s Richmond Park nearby, it’s well worth exploring. And have you been to Kew Gardens yet? It’s only a few stops on the Overground from Richmond.
