Restaurants that serve a great brunch
Sit back, loosen your belt and tuck into about the best thing our US cousins have ever given us.
It's not breakfast. It's not lunch. And it's definitely not very British. What comes between breakfast and lunch if you're from Blighty? Elevneses, obviously.
But, who are we to put up any kind of opposition to a darned good feast? We're talking bacon. We're talking pancakes. We're talking about a pint of maple syrup drenching just about everything on your plate.
Sit back, loosen your belt and tuck into about the best thing our US cousins have ever given us. (And that includes Van Halen.)
Anna Hansen’s restaurant fuses Asian and European cuisines, something which is evidenced in dishes like sugar-cured prawn omelette with smoked chilli sambal. There are healthy porridges and yoghurts with oats, hearty fry-ups, and cocktails.
At weekends the Cookbook Cafe offers a lavish, all-you-can-eat brunch that includes a cold buffet with sashimi, prawns with sweet chilli, duck salad, cured meats, cheeses, and a separate counter offering waffles and eggs cooked to order. If that was't enough, there is also a selection of hot plates to share, a mouthwatering array of desserts, and unlimited bellinis and/or sparkling wine.
At this artisan café bread and pizza dough are baked on the premises, the coffee is made with purified water and there’s an extensive selection of teas. So you can feel good about yourself even if you indulge with something like the pancakes with bacon, mascarpone, berry compote and maple syrup.
This stylish diner is owned by the Soho House Group, but it feels sleeker and cosier than its more exclusive relatives Shoreditch House and Soho House. The food is British and the bar opens early so you can enjoy a tipple or two with brunch.
Rivington Grill Bar comes with great credentials; it’s owned by the same people as J. Sheekey, The Ivy and Le Caprice. Food is faithfully British, from drop scones with honey and sweet cure back bacon to buttered kippers.
London’s first Bombay Café serves bacon naan rolls, spicy omelettes and eggs baked on lentil mash, all guaranteed to fire up your tastebuds. There is no brunch menu as such, but the breakfast menu is available till 1pm at weekends.
This basement venue opens all day long offering a mixture of American diner food and Mediterranean flavours. Their Sunday brunch menu has chicken wings with blue cheese dip and a pea, feta and cherry tomato frittata; washed the food down with a Bloody Mary or glass of Prosecco. Ideal for hangovers.
The Delaunay (think The Wolseley Part II), with a weekend brunch menu of Northern and Central European dishes like borscht, beef stroganoff, and the same perfect eggs Benedict their older sibling boasts, is a serene choice for a civilised brunch stop-off.
This retro haunt’s pluckin’ good Birds & Bubbles brunch is top of the list of good-value options. Expect a whole rotisserie chipotle ‘rubbed and roasted’ chicken served with unlimited prosecco, accompanied by a choice of two bases (freshly plucked salad, house buns or maple waffles), and two sides (Ma’s slaw, seasonal greens or ‘crack and cheese’ – a delicious ball of fried mac n cheese, to name but a few).
