Brunch
Dishoom sure knows how to do it. All their sites have regular huge queues out the door and it’s not hard to see why, especially in the mornings. The naans are legendary – always bacon and egg or the wrestler’s naan (that’s bacon sausage and egg) if you’re particularly hungry/hungover – but the Dishoom spin on the fry up is pretty bangin’ too with spiced scrambled eggs, masala baked beans and buttered buns alongside your bacon, sausages, mushrooms and tomato. And you can get a vegan version if that’s how you roll.
Heads & Tails in West Hampstead is best known as a dreamy cocktail bar with slick interiors. Thei bright and airy space on the ground floor is Heads and the naughtier counterpart, Tails, is the dive bar found downstairs. Theere’s also have a pretty lovely secluded, leafy garden out the back so if the weather is kind we’d suggest brunching there, it’s a little trickier inside given the setup, but more than fine outdoors on the bigger tables. The brunch menu is small plates-focused but all the classics are there. Spicy smashed avocado on charcoal sourdough rocks in at a straight £5 and their shakshuka comes deconstructed with all the elements set out separately. The protein plate – merguez, chorizo, bacon and house bean mix – definitely steals the show though, and that lamb sausage be spicy. Woof.
For the ultimate Sunday brunch experience right in the heart of Mayfair, head to the Four Seasons at Park Lane as Executive Chef Romuald Feger brings Italian flair inspired by the cooking of his mother and grandmother. We can highly recommend the eggs benedict, which comes with a ham and cheese toastie chaser. The meatballs with roasted tomato sauce della Nonna Santoro, are rich and show off some of those Italian roots. Chef Romuald’s garlic and lemon roasted chicken is another satisfying dish that’s full of flavour. For dessert, you have a whole table to choose from that will leave you open-mouthed and bring out your greedy side; we say indulge in tiramisu and then hit up the other chocolate-coated treats. All that, and you’ve got the option of enjoying free-flowing Ruinart champagne, fancy eh?
St John’s Wood oozes that upmarket village feel – just look around at the villa style housing and notice the parked cars, bling bling – and brunch at The Ivy Brasserie fits right in. The fun, eclectic decor sets the tone, striking the right balance between relaxed and plenty of attention to detail. The chicken milanese with San Marzanino tomatoes, capers, rocket, parmesan and pesto is a pretty fresh and satisfying dish. The salmon and smoked haddock fish cake, sat on crushed pea and herb sauce with a soft poached hen’s egg is simple and deeply enjoyable. The salt-crusted sourdough bread with salted butter also deserves its own shout out because it’s so damn good. Weekend brunch now comes with a special visit from the Bloody Mary Trolley. There are a range of Bloody Marys to choose from and you can watch them being made right at your table.
Right in the heart of theatreland and housed in an amazing Grade-II listed building is the American restaurant and martini bar Christopher’s. The beautiful sweeping staircase takes you up to the second floor overlooking Waterloo Bridge with high ceilings and huge windows flooding the room with light. Brunch is strong. There’s a superfood section for hardcore health goers with things like buckwheat pancakes and warm kale and butternut squash salad. Then there’s what we liked to call the ‘fun section’; we went for the lobster benedict, that’s a half grilled lobster served with spinach, topped with a poached egg and smothered in plenty of rich and creamy bearnaise sauce. If you are feeling particularly naughty, the warm brioche French toast with roast peach, vanilla mascarpone and sweet, sticky maple syrup is the one. It’s powerful.
The rather dapper interiors of Provisioners, inside the Dixon hotel, isn’t the only draw here. Having recently launched their brunch menu, there are quite a few things to make this the first stop on your weekend food hunt. Temptation leaps out from the page: the black pudding and pork belly roti is a gem, the pork belly smothered in sweet coffee bbq sauce, red onion jam and a fried egg that is wrapped inside an Indian roti bread. The flatbread is a good shout too and comes loaded with avocado (could have been a little more ripe), creme fraiche, tomato jam and bacon. What’s not to like.
Read our review of the dinner menu here.
When it comes to the Ivy you know you are getting sophistication and the Ivy Brasserie in Soho is no different. With Parisian-style terrace to the bar and restaurant set up inside, it’s all about the finer things in life – marble, gold, velvet and leather – yet it manages to retain a relaxed informal vibe. On the menu, you have just about everything you could wish for from juices and smoothies to eggs and pastries to lobster and steak. The crispy duck salad with five spice dressing, toasted cashews, watermelon, bean sprouts and ginger is a great way to kick things off. The “French dip” steak sandwich – roast beef, caramelised onions, horseradish mayo and that all-important Burgundy sauce dip – is an indulgent treat, as is the chicken milanese with its fried egg and parmesan and truffle cream sauce. Go for a double hit with parmesan and truffle fries on the side. Expect great service too because you’ll get it.
Little Bat, sister to Callooh Callay, is best known as a cocktail bar but now they’ve got into the brunch game. They’ve got a varied menu, with a mix of small plates – the roast cauliflower and cheddar croquettes with chilli relish are a must – and main dishes. You can go lighter with the hazelnut crusted baked ricotta with asparagus and pickled radish salad or more indulgent with the chickpea, potato, parmesan and truffle rosti topped with bacon, a poached egg and hollandaise. They haven’t forgotten about the booze either – not only do they have brekkie-inspired cocktails and a bottomless option, they’ve got a DIY Bloody Mary Trolley so you can shake one up just the way you like it. With their open front windows, palm print furniture and bangin’ soundtrack, this is one brunch you’ll wanna linger over.
Grind will have you hitting up the coffee-come-cocktail bar for more than just drinks thanks to their modern British dinner menu, with small plates like salt cod brandade with garlic crostini, smashed sweet potato, spiced nuts and yoghurt, and hot apple crumble sundae. As usual, Grind has all your coffee and cocktail needs taken care of, the signature Grind Espresso Martini is a real winner…it’d be rude not to have at least one.
Not only does Wright Brothers cook up a delicious fish dinner but its recently started serving a pretty damn tasty brunch too. Based at the Battersea branch, the weekend menu is full of fish-inspired brunch dishes including the lobster croque monsieur and Devon crab omelette as well as trusty favourites like avocado on toast and eggs Benedict. Located on the edge of the Thames it’s the perfect spot to brunch before a stroll in Battersea Park.
This Duck & Waffle Local may not have those breath taking views of London, but it doesn’t have the queues either. In fact, being at ground level in stead of 40 floors up is about the only downside we can think of, as it has the same amazing food, setting the bar high for brunches in London. On the menu you can expect all the classics including the famous duck & waffle, as well as other delicious duck dishes including the duck doughnut served with a zesty orange jam and the braised duck beni. Located on Haymarket street it’s the perfect place to brunch before hitting the shops.
The Blues Kitchen offers a wholesome spread of brunch dishes with a southern American tinge. If you’re feeling indulgent, we went for the full works – sausage, bacon, egg’s, tomato, mushroom, barbecue pit beans and toast, a fully satisfying dish that made us smile. A slightly healthier option was the Southwest Avotoast which saw San Fran sourdough as the foundation to house an incredible Hulk-esque portion of smashed avocado, poached eggs and Texmex Dukkah. It’s hearty, homely food washed down with healthy juices (at least for us this time). It’s a great way to start a Sunday, with blues and soul classics providing the soundtrack.
Joe Allen, the famous theatre land restaurant, may have recently moved to a new location but they took all the famous memorabilia from the past four decades to recreate the original as best they could. We love this place because it’s a slice of New York in the heart of Covent Garden. The brunch menu boasts waffles, steak and eggs but the breakfast bun with scrambled eggs, smoked slab bacon, smoked sausage, melted cheese and toasted brioche bun hit the spot for us. The avocado and poached eggs on toasted sourdough with lime and chilli was a healthier option and safer on the waistline. BUT there’s so much more to try… like the chicken parmigiana and we are dying to tuck into that Joe Allen hot dog.
With a new season comes a new terrace display at Dalloway Terrace and the floral installation is the perfect backdrop for brunch. We tucked into their offering, going for shakshuka eggs, sourdough toast, a side of chunky black pudding along with sliced avocado for good measure. A slightly healthier option but just as good was their avocado on sourdough with plum tomato and Bloomsbury chillies, topped with a poached egg. De-lish.
The Chop House restaurant at the South Place Hotel in the City offers a killer Saturday brunch menu between midday and 5pm. There’s a good mix of healthy and hearty (catering to all levels of hangover) and even a bottomless booze option for £15. On the lighter side of things there’s butcher muesli and superfood salad before we move up to the likes of perfectly crispy sweet potato rosti on smashed avocado and a wicked baked eggs with English feta and chorizo made my London’s Cobble Lane. At the top end we’re talking a posh fish finger sandwich and Chop Home burger for those really feeling the heat. This is great grub in a nice, peaceful setting – exactly what a weekend brunch should be.
If you’re looking for somewhere a little bit smarter for brunch (and somewhere with one hell of a view) then Sea Containers at the Mondrian is the one, especially if you bag a window table… you can’t get much closer to the river without getting wet. The menu has a good spread of breakfast dishes, like the excellent Egg Sammy with bacon, avo and cheese, an English Breakfast Flatbread and Braised Chorizo and Peppers topped with a fried egg. We can defo recommend anything with eggs on as they really do nail those runny yolks, although their lunch plates do sound good too – we’re talking fried chicken burgers (appropriate at any hour of the day and night in our books), lamb pies and oysters (for when you’re feeling extra fancy). As well as bubbles and Bloody Marys you can also get boozy with alcoholic milkshakes.
There’s no better place to get your shots off than White Mulberries. The coffee shop serves up a damn good cuppa joe and their brunch is pretty spot on too. With all their goodies made in-house or delivered from local bakeries, it’s all super fresh and totally Instagrammable.
Hash E8 is one of our fave brunch spots in town, hidden away on Dalston Lane. The Pig Muffin, that’s sausage patty, bacon, pork belly, egg cake, bacon jam, cheese slice & hash browns in a muffin with chorizo and bacon jam is just YUM. But we also dig the French Toast stuffed with banana, chocolate and peanut butter served with maple syrup and there’s some banging sides too – PLUS it’s all pretty affordable.