Brunch
THE COLONY GRILL ROOM
Need to book a brunch fit for a special occasion? You’ve got to go for The Colony Grill Room, full stop. This gloriously 1920s-esque restaurant sits at the heart of Mayfair’s Art Deco Beaumont Hotel, and has a brunch menu that’s every bit as thought out as their lunch and dinner offerings. Here, you’ll find all your favourites, but with a glamorous, old New York City twist that The Colony Grill Room does so well. Kick things off with a classic cocktail – i.e. make the tough choice between a mimosa or bloody mary – paired with a snack (the chickpea fries with jalapeno ketchup are a particular highlight). Then, for the main event, go for eggs (done all ways, Benedict, Royale, Florentine, etc.), pancakes or French toast for something sweet, or a full English if you’re feeling hungry. And, for that extra bit of luxury, add on some caviar and oysters too – when in Mayfair, right?
The Good Egg has long been a Stokey fave thanks to its Middle Eastern menu, inspired by Tel Aviv street food, and the Jewish delis and bagel shops in NYC and Montreal. In Stokey, the brunch menu features treats bacon & date pitas, egg & cheese bagels, shakshuka, challah French toast, and babka, and over in the Stables Market in Camden, there’s more of the same, as well as street food fave knafeh ka’ak – crisp kataifi pastry with thyme & orange syrup and lots of gooey cheese, stuffed into a sesame bagel. The Camden location is also open into the evenings, meaning you can feast on sharing plates like labneh with pumpkin seed relish, za’atar fried chicken with chilli honey, lamb shawarma with pickles & hummus and cornbread with zhoug & honey butter. There are biodynamic wines on offer but we love the sour cherry & campari spritz, and don’t leave without getting a slice of babka to go from the takeaway counter.
OBLIX
If you like your brunch with a side of epic views, then Oblix West, on the 32nd floor of the The Shard, is the place for you. There are indulgent egg dishes like lobster eggs benedict with citrus hollandaise and truffle eggs with orzo & wild mushrooms on offer but here you can really feast with Carlingford oysters, tuna tartare, josper grilled sirlion with duck egg, rotisserie lemon chicken, and wagyu burger with truffle fries also on the menu. Be sure to save room for the sharing dessert platter and if you really wanna toast to the weekend in style, you can add on free-flowing champagne, wine and cocktails too.
ISABEL MAYFAIR
Mayfair’s glamourous Mediterranean spot Isabel has an imaginative brunch menu to match its main offering. Their midday classics all come with a signature twist, such as the English muffins with smoked salmon, a poached egg and passion fruit hollandaise or the chia seed bowl with ‘exotic salad’ and granola. And if you’re not really feeling anything too brunch-y, you can choose from their all-day selection that includes the likes of tuna tartare with ponzu, avocado, wasabi and lime; lobster brioche with hollandaise; and rigatoni all’arrabbiata with capers, olives and aged parmesan.
LA GAMBA
What better way to spend a Saturday in London than brunching with friends, followed by a stroll along the Thames? Well, you can do just that at the new Spanish restaurant La Gamba. Located directly under the Southbank Centre along the riverside, La Gamba has created a tapas-style brunch offering designed to share. For £39 per person, you can get six tapas dishes, booze, and dessert, which is pretty good value if you ask us. Highlights include their pan con sobrasada, huevos rotos con chorizo and the torijja dessert, which is a must-order. Booze-wise, you can keep it traditional with a jug of sangria or opt for a bottle of their house wine. If your usual tipple go-to is a mimosa, we recommend getting their cava sangria, which will go down a treat on their sunny terrace in Costa del Southbank.
SIDE HUSTLE
If 5pm is too long for you to wait to get your Side Hustle fix, you’ll be pleased to hear that the bar at The NoMad in Covent Garden, is now opening up early doors on the weekend to do brunch. Like the evening menu, the brunch offering follows the same Latin American theme – and yes that does mean margs in the morning (or horchata if you’re off the sauce). You can really indulge with caviar-topped chicharrón and dulce de leche pancakes with corn custard & tequila cream but there’s plenty of variety with the likes of pork belly al pastor, yellowfin tuna & aguachile, lamb birria with consommé & fresh tortillas, huevos divorciados, and the NoMad breakfast burrito on the menu. And don’t miss the mole verde made with pistachios and served with tostones – great if you’re looking for something a bit different to guac.
AKUB
A Middle Eastern breakfast is one of the great joys in life and at modern Palestinian restaurant akub in Notting Hill, the brunch certainly delivers on that front – and there aren’t many prettier rooms to have it in than akub’s light-filled and olive tree-adorned main space. In fact, it’s filled with such delish sounding dishes it’s quite the task narrowing it down, but one not to miss is the Arabic coffee French toast, with crisped-up fluffy brioche, whipped laban, crushed pistachios and a sweet, spiced Arabic coffee syrup. Well done Fadi Kattan. That’s locked in for dessert but before you get there, tuck into the likes of zahra cauliflower fritters with coriander tahinia, slow-cooked tomatoes with eggs & green chilli, grilled nabulsi cheese with nigella seed oil, and aubergine fatteh. And go heavy on the dips and the bread – labeneh and zaatar bread is a winning combo. If you’re looking for an extra kick, there are spice-infused brunch cocktails on offer or you can opt for traditional Arabic coffee to get your weekend going.
FALLOW
A great breakfast sandwich is hard to beat and Fallow knows it, which is exactly why they’re at the heart of the restaurant’s brunch menu. But these are no regular brekkie baps or muffins because the Fallow team has created a bespoke croissant dough bun to hold the fillings, like the Royale with cheese (with sausage, bacon, kombu ketchup, egg, cheese & sriracha) and the Mushroom royale (with Fallow’s epic mushroom parfait, grilled mushroom, egg & cheese). With buttery pastry dough, top quality ingredients, they’re like McMuffins on steroids – add on some of the supremely crispy hash browns with sour cream & walnut ketchup and a spicy Bloody Mary and you’ve got the most decadent way to start a Saturday. They haven’t forgotten about all you sweet-toothed peeps either because there’s a whey caramel royale for afters, which you absolutely won’t want to miss.
MOUNT ST. RESTAURANT
The art-filled Mount St. Restaurant has proven itself to be a dreamy setting for any and all meals of the day – particularly after it launched a killer breakfast offering, which is served between 7.30-10.30am on weekdays and 8-10.30am on weekends. It’s Mayfair, so you might head in imagining something quite traditional, but prepare to be very pleasantly surprised. The creamy porridge is spiked with a dram of whiskey, the omelettes are topped with Oscietra caviar and the bacon chop (combined with bubble & squeak and a fried duck egg) is unlike any other you’ve had. Expect to be surrounded by Warhols and Picassos, designer furnishings and maybe even a celebrity or two (Alexa Chung and Logan Roy have popped in in the past).
CLUB MEXICANA
Brightly coloured vegan restaurant Club Mexicana is known for taking over your insta feed with some of the best plant-based Mexican food in London. It’s recently launched a new brunch menu, that’s available every weekend at its Spitalfields site. Living up to the name, the menu is banging and includes a selection of its vegan takes on the classics like the mex-shuka and a Mexicana fry-up (featuring probably the longest vegan chorizo in London). It wouldn’t be brunch without a cocktail, and all can be washed down with some of the special brunch tipples, our personal favourite being the marmalade margarita. Available Sat and Sun, head there for plenty of fun energy and a knock-out vegan brunch.
BALA BAYA
Bala Baya, from Israeli born chef Eran Tibi, is all about bringing a taste of Tel Aviv to Southwark and there’s no better way to dive in than with the Brunch Feast. Kick off with a sharing selection of mezze, including pink tarama, labneh & za’atar, and some of the best tahini in town alongside plenty of fluffy pitas for dipping. Then it’s onto mains – we particularly rate the Fish Clouds, herb-packed smoked haddock fish cakes with tarama, fennel & apple salad and a poached egg, and the Breakfast Brisket Doughnut, rich beef brisket with bonfire tomato & chilli and spiced jus, served on a Tunisian doughnut with amba tahini and a fried egg. It’s a bit like a Middle Eastern-meets-BBQ take on an eggs benny and it’s real good. You finish off with a taster trio of puds – quince pudding with a meringue top and creme anglaise, burnt pistachio babka with blackberry compote, and coconut malabi with black tahini – saving you the trouble of trying to choose between them. Add on a jug of gazoz soda (which you can spike with booze if you’re so inclined) and you’ve got yourself a real good time.
WHERE THE PANCAKES ARE BATTERSEA
Already well established at its Charlotte Street and Flat Iron Square locations, Where The Pancakes Are was one of the first restaurants to open inside the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The all-day, all-pancakes spot isn’t exactly what you’d expect, with a menu of both savoury and sweet options and combos you never thought you’d see atop a stack. The menu changes seasonally, but some highlights include pulled beef pastrami pancakes with cheddar and sauerkraut, kale slaw and homemade pickles; cheddar and goat cheese Dutch baby with roast thyme and rosemary; and Korean miso and scallion pancake with kimchi and soy dipping sauce. There are plenty of drinks on offer too, with a range of soft drinks, wines and beer. The cocktail list got you covered for classics like mimosas, Aperol spritzes, margaritas, espresso martinis and more. Plus, if you drop by from 5-7pm you can get any cocktail for just £7 as part of their happy hour deal.
BIBO
Shoreditch’s Spanish restaurant BiBo has launched a brand new Sunday brunch menu. The restaurant, inside the swish Mondrian hotel, is known for its extravagant rice dishes created by paella don Dani Garcia. Their brunch menu offers something a bit different from the standard eggs and fry-ups, and includes plenty of Dani’s paellas, our favourite being the paella with runny fried eggs and cecina. Pre-paella you can snack on some of their tapas dishes, like BiBo’s famous oxtail brioche, crispy adron peppers, and their speciality grilled avocado (great if you just can’t do brunch without avo). If paella isn’t your thing, they also have some classic brunch dishes to choose from, including eggs benedict with jamon Iberico, and a dry-aged Txuleta BiBo burger. All this can be enjoyed with live Latin music and flowing sangria. Salud!
CAVITA
Do brunch Mexican style at Adriana Cavita’s namesake Marylebone restaurant Cavita. Not only does the place look the part, with exposed bricks, earthy colours and plenty of cacti, but it delivers her take on traditional dishes, including chilaquiles, aguachile rojo and tacos de cochinita pibil. If it just ain’t brunch without some eggs and the huevos rancheros is a winner, with two fried eggs on tortillas covered with red and green salsa, smoky bacon and Oaxacan style beans. And you can really get stuck in with DIY tacos de asada; a huge plate of rump steak, chargrilled spring onions and nopales, radish and cucumber, arbol sauce, and tortillas for you to fold up and chow down on. For something sweet, finish up with pan de elote, a traditional Mexican cornbread served with honeycomb ice cream and cajeta. All of that with a round of spicy mezcalitas (made with Ojo de Dios Espadin, fresh lime, homemade sugar syrup & fresh jalapeno), is how to do the weekend right.
BOMBAY BUSTLE
Bombay Bustle is taking its brunch to a new level by running it all weekend long. Weekend Chillies really does have something for everyone, with the menu featuring everything from pork sorpotel (pickled pulled pork, poached egg, white cheddar hollandaise & warm curry leaf brioche) and uttapam mutta roast (eggs, rice pancakes & tomato chutney) to Chettinad double fried chicken and chilli paneer to Bombay Bustle classics like dum lamb biryani and chicken tikka makhani – and that’s before you get onto the likes of gulab jamun tiramisu and saffron milk cake at the dessert station. If you have trouble narrowing it down (and you will because all the food here is fantastic), there’s also a set Bundle Brunch menu on offer. You’ll also be able to check out the capsule collection of table linen from Dandelion, the lifestyle label from Bombay Bustle’s founder Samyukta Nair, which is all about making memories around the table.
MANTHAN BRUNCH
The brunch at Manthan’s USP is Indian sharing plates inspired by refined recipes from Chef Patron Rohit Ghai’s family and street food. With the Brunch Signature menu (£35 pp), you can expect dishes like Chicken Buttermilk with pink peppercorn, ginger and curry leaf; Kerala Prawn Curry with Dal Muradabadi, paratha and rice; and Malpua Rabri, a pancake with pistachio and saffron. And on the Brunch Vegetarian menu (£30 pp), expect the likes of Dahi Ke Kebab, with yoghurt Kashmiri chilli and plum; Chholey Bhature, fermented bread with chickpea and pickle; and a Classical Trio dessert of laddoo, gulab jamun and srikhand. Plus, there are signature cocktails including the Mango and date bellini and Sangam chi spice-infused white rum with tandoori pineapple and tikki bitters. The menu is served every day from 12.30-5pm against the backdrop of sleek dark wood interiors, very nice indeed. Stop by for a brunch like no other.
INO
If you’re in the mood for something a little different for brunch, Greek gastrobar INO is the place for you. Live-fire charcoal grilling at its finest, expect plenty of meat and fish alongside an ever-changing Greek wine list. Whilst taking inspiration from Greek tavernas, INO hosts a nod to American classics, including a beef burger with cheese, charred onions & chilli tomato with a smoky coleslaw. Other classics include tarama piped and topped with bottarga and a slow-cooked egg yolk for an umami kick, and for real indulgence, opt for the octopus taco with smoked tomato & onion crisps, served on an olive oil flatbread. Thank us later.
ROOF GARDEN AT PANTECHNICON
It’s a Nordic affair at Roof Garden at Pantechnicon, the bar and restaurant on top of the all singing all dancing Pantechnicon in Belgravia. Their open terrace is a botanical oasis, super bright and beautifully designed. British ingredients with Nordic-inspired cooking make up the brunch offering with things like Venison croquettes, Skrei Cod and Ribeye on the bone. We tried the whole crumbed lemon sole, garlic and caper dressing that’s best shared between two and is quite the display, it helps that their tableware is very much on point too. Dessert wise, the chocolate, blood orange and almond tart is pretty dreamy. You’re in for a treat at Eldr Roof Garden, but if you manage to catch it when the sun is out, there are fewer things better.