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Start your weekend right with this epic list of the best brunches in London, from waffles and pancakes to fry-ups and eggs every which way
Brunch. A simple but devastatingly impactful concept. Eggs, sourdough and coffee (and maybe booze) a few hours after conventional breakfast time? Count us in, friend. It’s all stuff you can do at home, obviously, but occasionally it’s nice to get out, isn’t it? It’s a pretty sociable meal, after all.
London is particularly well-stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid. Let us guide you to the best restaurants in town for a kick-ass weekend brunch in our city, from alco-friendly bottomless brunches to traditional full-English fry-ups and even New York-style feasts.
The best brunches in London
Antipodea
- Restaurants
- Australian
- Kew
Brunch at Antipodea is an Aussie affair. Sipping your flat white in the conservatory-style dining room, you could almost be in Melbourne. Apart from, you know, the British weather. The line-up includes a huge selection of eclectic treats: all manner of eggs (poached, Turkish, folded with chorizo, soft-boiled with Marmite soldiers), plus treacle-cured bacon sarnies, acai smoothie bowls, sweetcorn fritters, coconut and chia pudding and more besides. There’s an offshoot in Richmond.
Don’t miss: The brew melt (ham, gruyère, vine tomato, poached eggs and pesto served in a toasted pide).
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Beany Green
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Broadgate
Aussie brunch runs every day at Beany Green in Broadgate Circle, where the killer menu spans everything from shakshuka with charcoal toast to coconut tapioca pudding. Their ‘fancy’ bacon roll includes Holy Fuck hot sauce in hollandaise form, and of course they slice and dice avocado every which way. If this brunch spot doesn’t have you feeling sunny, we don’t know what will. Also try the other branches in Little Venice and Regent’s Place.
Don’t miss: The banana bread sandwich, piled with mascarpone, berries, honey and almonds.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30 (‘bottomless parties’ £39.50 pp).
Berber & Q
- Restaurants
- Grills
- Haggerston
- price 2 of 4
Berber’s sexy low lighting eases you gently into the day ahead and the smoky, meaty smells snap you right back to your senses, so cosy up on a banquette and enjoy. There’s plenty for carnivores to love here (the mangal breakfast sharer is a meat-fest), but veggies can feel just as satisfied with a plate of ‘campfire’ Moroccan pancakes loaded with quince, sweet labneh and pecans or a ‘full Israeli’ mezze-style breakfast for two.
Don’t miss: The sweet and spicy harissa bloody mary.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40.
The Black Penny
- Restaurants
- Coffeeshops
- Covent Garden
Diners will struggle to choose just one of the enticing cooked brunches on offer at this cheery Covent Garden café – there’s brioche French toast, toasted granola, crispy confit duck hash and even bubble and squeak. High-quality, fresh ingredients and ample portions justify its pricing, and attention to detail is a strong point – look out for the cucumber-infused tap water. Piles of arty magazines and a super-soulful soundtrack make it far too easy to spend all day here. There’s a branch in Sloane Square, too.
Don’t miss: The signature hashes – perhaps wild mushroom and crispy polenta or salt beef with spinach and green tomato chutney.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings
- Bars and pubs
- Clerkenwell
From the outside this black-painted building looks rather severe, but step inside and suddenly you’re in a bright and airy space that feels more like colonial-era Delhi than modern-day Clerkenwell. This is the place for an elegant yet laid-back Saturday brunch. The food is very good too: their huevos benedictos are a perfect balance of spicy chorizo and creamy béarnaise sauce, while the gluten-free pancakes with toasted hazelnuts and caramelised banana are an indulgent treat that veers close to pudding territory.
Don’t miss: The house bellini and other treats from the stunning cocktail list – the guys at B&H were among the first to bring the New York trend of bottomless brunching to our fair shores.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35 (without cocktails).
Brickwood Balham
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Balham
- price 1 of 4
Combining a beautifully crafted shack-like interior and an extensive menu with cheerful Aussie service that’s even chummier than the norm, Brickwood’s Balham branch is a cracker. Brunch is served until 3pm, with imaginative dishes such as Brickwood burritos, four-cheese sourdough toasties or sweet potato and feta with poached egg and kale pesto on toast. Best of all? You probably won’t have to queue. Branches in Clapham, Tooting and Streatham.
Don’t miss: Wild mushrooms on brioche with a poached egg, spinach, pine nuts and torn ricotta – plus some morsels of ham hock (two quid extra, but worth it).
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Brigadiers
- Restaurants
- Indian
- Bank
- price 3 of 4
This Indian barbecue restaurant has all the calling cards of its high-stepping owners, the Sethi family (Gymkhana, Bao etc), and their salute to brunch is a bottomless weekend offer the pulls together top-shelf Indian tiffin in a ‘full Indian nashta’ feast (sapper’s egg, tandoori tomato, curry-leaf bacon chops, chaat masala aloo etc). Alternatively, plump for a masala omelette pao or a tandoori steak and egg naanwich with chaat chips, karahi mushrooms and tandoori tomatoes.
Don’t miss: The scrambled egg dosa with coconut chutney.
Brunch for two with service: £50 (£70 with bottomless booze).
Brother Marcus
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Balham
This buzzing Brooklyn-style café and cocktail bar in Balham comes courtesy of three school besties, who serve hip weekend brunches alongside gallons of silky-smooth coffee. The brunch menu has something for everyone, from sticky pastries and fruit-topped cereals to eggs most ways, but also check out ‘Bob’s Your Uncle’ (pork belly, fried egg, cucumber, spring onion, sriracha and tomato relish). There are other branches in Angel and Spitalfields.
Don’t miss: ‘Step Sister’ (sweet potato, courgette and feta fritters with kale and turmeric yoghurt).
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Caravan Bankside
- Restaurants
- Global
- Southwark
Just like the Clerkenwell original and other outposts (see below), Caravan Bankside’s menu takes influences from many parts of the world. One of the myriad attractions of the brunch menu is its happy accommodation of vegetarians: it’s easy to avoid meat here if you are so inclined, and even carnivores might be tempted by jalapeño cornbread with fried eggs, black beans, avocado and chipotle. Similar fare at Caravan King’s Cross, Fitzrovia, Clerkenwell and Mansion House.
Don’t miss: Post-brunch desserts including vanilla ice cream doused in salted-caramel espresso.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Chicama
- Restaurants
- Peruvian
- King’s Road
The grown-up Chelsea sibling of Marylebone’s Pachamama, Chicama is all about seafood served with oodles of local pizzazz. Weekend brunch (11am-4pm) mixes contemporary Peruvian small plates, such as sea bream ceviche, with specials ranging from sweetcorn pancakes with crab and ají amarillo hollandaise to fish brioche buns with spiced red cabbage. Chicama’s flirty young staff, bubbly vibes and deep Latin beats are guaranteed to set your pulse racing.
Don’t miss: The tapioca marshmallows (listed as a snack).
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Coal Office
- Restaurants
- Middle Eastern
- King’s Cross
- price 3 of 4
You know about The Palomar and The Barbary – well, this King’s Cross beauty comes from the same crew, and it doesn’t disappoint. Weekend brunch (10am-3.30pm) follows the house style, so expect revved-up riffs highlighting the flavours of modern Jerusalem: Machneyuda’s polenta with asparagus, mushroom ragout and parmesan (a must-order); josperised aubergine with green tahini; ‘Shikshukit 2.0’ (two dense lamb kebabs on soft pitta). Thrilling food served in a killer space designed by co-owner Tom Dixon.
Don’t miss: The nibbles – perhaps a lion’s gate pretzel with green harissa or a ‘pizza from the past’.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40.
Coal Rooms
- Restaurants
- Contemporary Global
- Peckham
- price 2 of 4
Where to go for Saturday brunch in Peckham? How about the old ticket office next door to the station? Now an ever-so-cool small-plates eatery, the Coal Rooms has the lot – counter seating, a robata grill, and a kitchen that likes ramping up the transatlantic flavours. The brunch offer runs from Moju cold-pressed juices and Bloody Caesar cocktails to coffee-cured bacon sarnies and coal-roasted cauliflower with miso bagna cauda – plus Peckham Fatboy potatoes on the side, and buttermilk panna cotta to finish.
Don’t miss: Sharing a mighty full English – a right royal plateful involving pork and caramelised onion sausages, smoked pig’s head blood pudding, fried eggs, two sorts of bacon and more.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25 (£40 with cocktails).
The Coal Shed
- Restaurants
- Contemporary European
- Tower Bridge
- price 3 of 4
Sizzling steaks and fish cooked over coals are the headliners at this handsome London offshoot of Brighton’s Coal Shed – but what about brunch, we hear you cry! Well, on Saturdays, you can go with a burger or woodland mushrooms on toast – or go for broke by ordering the surf ‘n’ turf blowout (Himalayan salt-aged sirloin, maple-cured Tamworth bacon chop, smoked black pudding, scallop and pork belly skewer, tiger prawns, ‘nduja mussels and fried eggs – £32.50pp including two sides and one sauce).
Don’t miss: The smoked pork belly with kimchi, fried eggs and Korean BBQ.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Corazon
- Restaurants
- Mexican
- Soho
Generous tacos served with lashings of old-school hospitality is the deal at Corazón – a cosy and sincere taqueria custom-built for Soho’s hungry hordes. Nibble at the bar or sit in the main space for a full-on weekend brunch – think buttermilk cornmeal pancakes with caramelised banana, huevos rancheros, baja fish or carne asada (marinated hanger steak with pickled onions, avocado and blue corn tortilla), plus some intriguing sides including ‘drunken’ black beans. Also check out the brunch margarita flights.
Don’t miss: The eye-watering rajas con crema (fiery roast Padrón peppers, jalapeños and serrano chillies in a garlicky, cheesy cream sauce).
Brunch for two with service: Around £30 (plus £20pp for a flight of four margaritas).
Crispin
- Restaurants
- British
- Spitalfields
- price 3 of 4
From the people behind the Lundenwic coffee house, this head-turning minimalist café/restaurant in Spitalfields is a daytime diamond for all the family with an eclectic brunch menu to match. There are heaps of croissants, apple turnovers, banana flapjacks and brownies for sweet-toothed carb-hungry punters, while savouries range from flatbread with halloumi and harissa yoghurt to coconut dhal with chapatis or a three-cheese and onion toastie with fried egg and berkswell cheese. There’s booze if you want it too.
Don’t miss: The banana bread with strawberries, mascarpone ice cream and mint.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Daddy Bao
- Restaurants
- Taiwanese
- Tooting
- price 1 of 4
A spin-off from Peckham’s popular Mr Bao, this Asian hangout is a dark, buzzy, atmospheric spot dedicated to fluffy Taiwanese buns and more. Weekend brunch (11am-4pm) is served alongside the regular menu, and there’s some classic stuff on show – including two bao benedict dishes and a ‘Full Taiwanese’ – a spring onion pancake, Taiwanese sausage, smoked bacon, Asian beans, spiced eggs and a bao bun. This big Daddy is also cheap, great fun and really friendly.
Don’t miss: The braised tofu and kimchi bao from the regular menu.
Brunch for two with service: £20 (plus £18 for a bottomless hour).
Dean Street Townhouse
- Restaurants
- British
- Soho
Even at an early hour, the dark-panelled dining rooms of this ever-popular all-day Soho restaurant buzz with the animated chatter of media types. Smooth service eases things along nicely, too. The all-day breakfast/brunch menu is mostly classic stuff (fruit salad, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, kedgeree, a full English), although Scottish patriots will be delighted to see square ‘lorne’ sausage and tattie scones on offer.
Don’t miss: The kedgeree sloshed down with an heirloom mary (vodka, pineapple, tomato, umeshu plum brandy, tabasco and wasabi).
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Dehesa
- Restaurants
- Spanish
- Soho
Sipping a gloriously red blood-orange bellini just out of reach of Carnaby Street’s weekend crowds is enough to make you feel like Dehesa is your own little secret. This calm and classy dining room serves a Spanish-style brunch that’s a far cry from your trad Brit offerings. Sweet options include waffles topped with caramelised apples and whipped yoghurt, while savoury pulls such as grilled Mahón cheese with roasted tomatoes, potato cake and chargrilled courgettes are the sorts of dishes that are just made for brunch.
Don’t miss: Whatever they’ve made with chorizo. Always choose the chorizo.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Duck & Waffle
- Restaurants
- Contemporary European
- Liverpool Street
If you think the main menu at this City high-flier is rich, wait until you encounter its weekend brunch. The line-up covers English-style fry-ups, Belgian waffles and the signature duck ’n’ waffle (crispy duck-leg confit topped with a fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup). Plus spiced ox-cheek doughnuts, foie gras crème brûlée and baked duck eggs with wild mushrooms, melted gruyère and soldiers. Prices are also sky-high – but here, it’s a clear case of go big or go home.
Don’t miss: Those views. Say good morning to the whole of the city.
Brunch for two with service: Around £50.
Esters
- Restaurants
- Coffeeshops
- Stoke Newington
Eclectic breakfasts are served until noon during the week at this easy-going Stokey coffee house, but the kitchen tweaks its offer for brunch at the weekend. Staples such as bircher muesli, french toast and poached eggs with carrot escabèche, carrot-top pesto and pumpkin-seed salsa are joined by the likes of asparagus with grelot onions, pecans, preserved lemon or roast chicken salad with cucumber, alphonso mango and sesame – both with a soft-boiled egg in the mix. To drink? Juices, Postcard teas and house-made softies (beet and rhubarb drinking vinegar, anyone?). Note: cards only, no cash.
Don’t miss: Whipped cod’s roe with baby gem, broad beans, buckwheat and a soft-boiled egg.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Franks Canteen
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Highbury
With its serene but welcoming atmosphere and short but tempting food menu – think breaded halloumi with romesco sauce and Israeli couscous or treacle-cured bacon sarnie with smoked garlic and tomato chutney – Franks will fix your day before it’s even had a chance to go wrong. Good coffee, efficient staff, generous portions and a playlist full of memorable tracks will gently transform you from a duvet zombie to a chipper day-seizer with minimum fuss.
Don’t miss: The roast ‘crown prince’ squash with poached eggs, Aleppo chilli brown butter, caraway sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds, radicchio and flatbread. You read that right.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
The Good Egg
- Restaurants
- Middle Eastern
- Stoke Newington
- price 2 of 4
Stokey gives good brunch, but The Good Egg is where you’ll find queues out the door come the weekend. This stylish café with an open kitchen is a breezy daytime hangout and its brunch menu holds heaps of Middle-Eastern delights: think shakshuka topped with baked eggs, or bacon-and-egg pita with date jam, plus lots of exotic nibbles to share and a cardamom-infused coffee cocktail to sample. There’s also an outlet in Soho’s Kingly Court.
Don’t miss: Oded’s babka loaf – a sweet finale for the whole table.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40 (without cocktails).
Goods Office
- Restaurants
- British
- Crouch End
- price 2 of 4
Despite its low-key location – a residential stretch between Stroud Green and Crouch End – this neighbourhood eatery is always abuzz with local punters, many of whom come for the all-day brunch offer (9am-5pm). There’s steak and eggs for the carnivores, a ‘full vegan’ for the flesh avoiders and comfort food for everyone else – think homemade granola with hung yoghurt, pancakes with maple syrup, a chuck burger with fries or chicken and avocado salad. Sandwiches, jackets, cakes and pastries provide the back-up.
Don’t miss: The mushroom and potato rösti with poached egg, labneh and chilli.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Granger & Co
- Restaurants
- Australian
- Notting Hill
Bill Granger has built a TV cooking career out of selling the Aussie dream: lots of sunlight, casual vibes and easy-going, photogenic dishes. As one of his London outlets, this Notting Hill eatery ticks all the boxes: it’s spacious and bright with big windows and verdant views. Less-obvious brunch choices range from grilled cheese and kimchi open sandwiches to prawn, XO and ’nduja-fried rice with a poached egg. The restaurant operates a walk-in policy, although the place fills up quickly with affluent-looking folk. Also try Granger & Co in King’s Cross, Clerkenwell and Chelsea.
Don’t miss: The signature dish of ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter.
Brunch for two with service: Around £45.
Henrietta Bistro
- Restaurants
- Italian
- Covent Garden
Wunderkind Ollie Dabbous was here for a while, but this boutique hotel dining room is now a Basque-influenced small plates eatery overseen by chef Sylvain Roucayrol. During the week they serve Spanish-inflected breakfasts, but on Sundays an extended version (till noon) moves into brunch territory. The ‘full Basque’ is a fail-safe, or you can pick from the likes of coconut porridge, scrambled eggs with brocciu cheese and mint or churros and chocolate (for that calorific sugar fix).
Don’t miss: The Ibérico ham toastie with quail’s eggs.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Hash E8
- Restaurants
- Dalston
This friendly all-day Dalston café bills itself as a modern greasy spoon and has perfected the art of curing hangovers – thanks to its devotion to hash browns and all things porky. Its quirky brunch dishes (available Tuesday to Sunday) strike the perfect balance between wholesomeness and the restorative powers of fried bacon – although they also sneak in a surprising amount of veg, from kale to homemade beans. The ‘Posh Pig’ muffin is particularly good, and the vegetarian options are genuinely decent, too. Expect to queue at weekends.
Don’t miss: Sides, which include a ‘bucket of bacon’ with maple syrup.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Hoppers
- Restaurants
- Sri Lankan
- Marylebone
A second hurrah for Hoppers, this Marylebone offshoot is the civilised grown-up cousin of the sexy Soho original – and you can book. On Sundays they do a fixed-price whole-table ‘taste of Hoppers’ brunch menu – think green peppercorn squid, devilled chicken wings, butterbean and cheese kothu and a choice of ‘kari’ riffs in addition to their eponymous Sri Lankan ‘hoppers’ (bowl-shaped savoury crêpes).
Don’t miss: The smoked gorakha bloody mary (or its virgin sister).
Brunch for two with service: Around £55 (without drinks).
The Ivy Soho Brasserie
- Restaurants
- Global
- Soho
Weekend brunch might look like an afterthought on The Ivy Soho Brasserie’s all-day menu, but you’re guaranteed to get impeccable food for a lazy but classy afternoon. A plate of hot buttermilk pancakes with strawberry sauce will see you right – or you can take the savoury route, with eggs royale or a juicy roast beef sandwich loaded with caramelised onions, chestnut mushrooms, horseradish cream and truffle sauce. Otherwise, play havoc with your calorie intake by ordering a pistachio and raspberry ice cream sundae. Also try The Ivy Kensington Brasserie.
Don’t miss: The avocado benedict with chips.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40.
Jim’s Café
- Restaurants
- Contemporary European
- Clapton
- price 2 of 4
‘Easy Rider’ meets east London hipster at Jim’s Café, a greasy spoon reborn with a little help from Hackney-based motorcycle collective Black Skulls. As a drop-in it’s very cool and custom-built for the neighbourhood. The short breakfast menu doubles for brunch – so rev up with crab kedgeree, a buttermilk chicken sandwich or salt beef hash with sautéed kale, crispy potatoes and a fried egg, plus a non-alcoholic brew. Hair of the dog? Shots, cocktails, indie beers and ciders await.
Don’t miss: A visit to the adjoining Black Skulls shop for some gear.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Kudu
- Restaurants
- South African
- Peckham
- price 2 of 4
Destination neighbourhood dining in Peckham – that’s the shtick at Kudu, a good-looking restaurant specialising in South African-inspired small plates. Done out like a sleek, vintage lounge bar, its weekend brunch deal (11am-2.30pm) involves some thrillingly clever takes on the classics – from shakshuka with burnt kale or boerewors (sausage rolls) with egg, German mustard and crispy shallots to sourdough waffles with home-cured trout, crème fraîche and poached eggs. There are cocktails by the glass or jug, too.
Don’t miss: The chocolate babka bun with candied kumquats and miso caramel.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25 (£40 with cocktails).
Lantana Shoreditch
- Restaurants
- Australian
- Shoreditch
Lantana’s weekend brunch menu rings the changes when compared to the standard menus on offer throughout the week. A few classics (think smashed avocado and honey granola with Greek yoghurt) sit alongside more unusual assemblies including duck and sweet potato hash, a salmon poke bowl and a pork belly bánh mì burger with gochujang mayo. The corn fritters are surprisingly hearty, stacked with streaky bacon, roast tomatoes, poached egg and chilli jam.
Don’t miss: The ‘big bubble’ – a real monster with bubble ’n’ squeak, Cumberland sausage, black pudding, muhammara (Levantine hot pepper dip) and spinach.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25 – unless you opt for the whole-table blowout.
The Lido Café
- Restaurants
- British
- Herne Hill
This Herne Hill hotspot is perfect for getting your weekend off to a good start – take a dip in the open-air pool (if you dare), then get some revitalising sustenance via the all-day brunch menu. Expect a lively veggie line-up taking in everything from coconut porridge and ‘green goddess’ superfood bowls to polenta scramble, celeriac and cavolo nero rösti, and a fake full English with seitan and tofu. If you must have something fleshy, you can order some Gloucester Old Spot bacon, chorizo or smoked salmon on the side.
Don’t miss: The smashed avo on sourdough toast with hemp seeds and homemade chilli sauce.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Lowry & Baker
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Portobello Road
- price 1 of 4
If you want to do more than a caffeine cut and run, sneak into a space at one of the tables and the staff will bring you granola or pancakes, eggs on sourdough toast and other goodies, piled onto cutesy mismatched vintage crockery. A couple of simple hot plates behind the cake-laden counter do the job of a kitchen, making the beautifully poached eggs on avocado-spread toast with a mound of smoked salmon an even more impressive achievement.
Don’t miss: The delicious riffs on reliable dishes – beans and eggs on toast among them.
Brunch for two with service: Around £20.
Malibu Kitchen at The Ned
- Restaurants
- American
- Bank
- price 3 of 4
A slice of California in the City, Malibu Kitchen promotes guilt-free ‘clean eating‘ within the swanky surrounds of The Ned hotel/club complex. Their Saturday brunch offer (11am-4pm) takes the best of the rise-and-shine breakfast menu and adds some zesty world-cuisine tempters ranging from sea bass ceviche, ahi tuna poké and sea bream tacos to ‘brick’ chicken with grapes and spicy yoghurt or cod in dashi broth. There’s even a cheeseburger in a potato bun. To drink, think wellness shots rather than lethal Bloody Marys.
Don’t miss: The ‘forbidden rice bowl’ with kale, fermented vegetables, almond and basil.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Milk
- Restaurants
- Australian
- Balham
- price 1 of 4
If your idea of a gentle awakening in the morning is a nice cup of tea while listening to Radio 2, you’d best go elsewhere – you can hear the sound of deep house coming through Milk’s open French windows before you reach the Bedford Hill site. The coffee provides a good caffeine kick – Workshop always seems to feature among its suppliers – and the menu lists some interesting hot dishes, such as confit duck rillettes on toast with burnt grape agridulce, elderberry and strawberry umeboshi.
Don’t miss: Buckwheat pancakes with greengages, chewy walnut meringue, green fennel seed crémeux, walnut praline syrup and fennel pollen.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Modern Pantry
- Restaurants
- Global
- Clerkenwell
It’s hardly groundbreaking these days, but the fusion food on offer at this Clerkenwell gaff is still a delight. Everyday brunch dishes (weekends only) are given a lift thanks to unusual ingredients: the salmon is tea-smoked, the sausages are chorizo, the onglet steak is marinated in miso – even the out-of-this-world cereal is laced with garam masala. Miso, spring onion and chilli waffles; marinated feta with chickpea spring rolls and pickled mushrooms; sides of yuzu hollandaise…this is the kind of brunch you’d never dream of making yourself.
Don’t miss: The signature omelette of sugar-cured prawns, with its runny middle and tangy chilli sambal.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Morito
- Restaurants
- Spanish
- Hackney Road
A completely different kettle of salt cod to its sibling in EC1, this branch of Spanish/North African hybrid Morito is an expansive, high-ceilinged concrete-chic space – civilised, minimalist and very cosmopolitan. The weekend breakfast/brunch (9.30am-noon) is a refreshing change from the usual avo-on-sourdough clichés, so arrive early for Moroccan pancakes topped with goat’s curd and thyme honey, Turkish menemen eggs with sujuk sausage or the ‘Full Catalan’. Excellent breads and pastries too.
Don’t miss: Poached eggs with spinach and chilli butter.
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Mr Bao
- Restaurants
- Taiwanese
- Peckham
- price 2 of 4
Bao buns for brunch? Now there’s an idea! Following the hip trend for pillowy Taiwanese morsels, this pocket-sized eatery from the people behind nearby Miss Tapas offers weekenders witty brunch riffs turned on their heads – try the bao benedict with slow-braised pork, wilted spinach, free-range egg and hollandaise in a bun, the mushrooms on toasted bao or the full Taiwanese – a plate loaded with sausage, a spring onion pancake, smoked bacon, a bao bun, Asian beans and spiced eggs.
Don’t miss: The rolled Taiwanese spring onion pancake with slow-cooked beef or mushrooms.
Brunch for two with service: Around £20. Cocktails from £16 for a bottomless hour.
Mud
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Tooting
- price 1 of 4
If you fancy your brekkie sunny side up, this café staffed by proper Aussies makes for a bright start in Tooting. Breakfast or brunch is served until 3pm and dishes from the short menu tend to be variations on a few key ingredients, such as avocado, bacon, pancakes and good sourdough bread from the Blackbird Bakery. Smashed avocado is served the Australian way with feta crumbled on top.
Don’t miss: The corn fritter stack with avocado, chilli jam, a Burford Brown egg and streaky bacon.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Nutbourne
- Restaurants
- British
- Battersea
Nutbourne gets its name from the bit of West Sussex where the Gladwin Brothers – the guys behind both Rabbit in Chelsea and The Shed in Notting Hill – farm and forage pretty much everything that’s served here. For brunch, the classics are all present and correct – from croissants and eggs benedict on an English muffin to a full ‘farmers breakfast’ (organic eggs, butcher’s sausages and all). To drink, there are four riffs on bloody mary, plus clean-living juices (kale with apple and ginger, for example).
Don’t miss: The orange-blossom pancakes with golden syrup and bee pollen.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40.
Parlour Kensal
- Restaurants
- British
- Kensal Green
- price 1 of 4
Here’s the brunch drill at Parlour: show up and place your order, then hit the bread station where you can have free rein on yesterday’s loaves and slices: simply help yourself, choose toasted or plain and take your pick from the various jams and spreads on offer. Don’t carb-load too crazily or you’ll struggle to finish the ensuing brunch dishes, such as hash browns with eggs any style, ‘the banjo’ (fried egg and bacon bap with Oxford sauce) or the massive ‘(No Subs) Full Parlour Breakfast’. Lovely juices and drinks are another plus.
Don’t miss: The double bloody marys (£8 a shot).
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
Pavilion Café
- Restaurants
- British
- Victoria Park
Lucky, lucky ducks. Not only do the web-footed locals of Victoria Park have a gorgeous lake (complete with nesting islands and a pagoda), they also get to snack on some of the best artisan bread of any park café in London. Yards of outdoor tables and smoothly pulled coffees make this a lovely watering hole for humans, too. Calorie-loaded American and British classics are cooked in a straightforward style using flavourful ingredients, many of them brought in from Borough Market. Brunch is served all day, every day, from 8am.
Don’t miss: Specials such as the Sri Lankan brekkie complete with dhal and hoppers.
Brunch for two with service: Around £20.
Pique-Nique
- Restaurants
- French
- Bermondsey
For breakfast/brunch, read ‘petit déjeuner’ at this deliciously traditional French eatery within a mock-Tudor outhouse on the fringes of Tanner Street Park. Pique-Nique is from the people behind Casse-Croûte, which means it’s ‘parlez français’ all the way when it comes to the food and service – so brush up on your lingo before ordering chausson aux pommes, croque monsieur or an omelette nature. To drink, it has to be café au lait, espresso or jus d’orange presse – s’il vous plaît.
Don’t miss: The bread – or, more precisely, the brioche with confiture (preserve) and beurre maison.
Brunch for two with service: Around £15.
Riding House Café
- Restaurants
- British
- Fitzrovia
Expect a banging all-day brunch menu at this attractive Fitzrovia brasserie when the weekend comes around. Buttermilk pancakes and various hollandaise riffs loom large (try the avocado and chard florentine), but also dive into classics such as shakshuka, kedgeree, smashed avo with dill salsa or chorizo hash with curly kale. From noon onwards, the kitchen also gets to grips with more ambitious plates such as wild mushroom falafel with grilled leeks, roast squash and goat’s curd.
Don’t miss: ‘The Burgerdict’ (poached egg, a dry-aged patty, special hollandaise and tomato in a muffin).
Brunch for two with service: Around £25.
Rovi
- Restaurants
- Middle Eastern
- Fitzrovia
- price 3 of 4
Anything connected to Yotam Ottolenghi gets our vote, and this Fitzrovia small-plates goodie is no exception. True to form, warm, buzzy Rovi has a breakfast menu, although the line-up screams brunch to us: okonomiyaki with prawns, kimchi and fried egg; grilled manouri cheese with peach, bacon and za’atar honey; green shakshuka with duck egg; jalapeño cornbread with scrambled egg and avocado – plus, of course, pancakes, bircher muesli and toasted banana bread. To drink, you can go hot or cold, alcoholic or soft.
Don’t miss: The crumpet with Swiss chard, poached egg and hollandaise.
Brunch for two with service: Around £35.
Santo Remedio
- Restaurants
- Mexican
- London Bridge
- price 2 of 4
Having wobbled in Shoreditch, the current incarnation of Santo Remedio near London Bridge is simply brilliant. Low-lit, inviting and spread over two floors, it seduces punters with easy-listening Latin grooves, flickering tea lights and some inspired food. Craving brunch? Kick off with some homemade salsa dips or a pot of guacamole (with or without grasshoppers!) before hitting the bigger plates – perhaps chicken mole enchiladas or motuleños (corn tostadas with black beans and fried eggs, plus salsa roja, cotija cheese, grilled bacon and plantains).
Don’t miss: The messy ‘torta ahogada’ – a ‘drowned’ pork belly baguette topped with pink pickled onions.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40.
Sparrow
- Restaurants
- Contemporary European
- Lewisham
- price 3 of 4
Arguably Lewisham’s best, this little birdie of a restaurant knocks out seriously good British-Asian small plates during the week, but its weekend brunch menu is more intriguing still. Sure, it does Euro standards like the bacon butty, but we’re otherwise in global-explorer territory: poori chana masala with red onion and coriander; coconut pancakes with peanut caramel and pineapple salsa; Sri Lankan appams (pancakes made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk).
Don’t miss: The appam with egg and chilli aubergine.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30 (including drinks).
Sunday
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Barnsbury
- price 1 of 4
Brunch lasts all weekend at this Islington hangout ft. a garden: the dishes on offer will induce stomach-rumbling indecision, the prices are low, the service is great and the food is magnificent. Sugar-dusted, fruit-filled French toast drizzled with salted-caramel sauce; perfectly ripe avocados with labneh, tabbouleh, poached eggs and harissa; waffles topped with pulled pork and yuzu hollandaise… basically anything your brunch belly could want is on there. And it’s all nearly too big to finish. Nearly.
Don’t miss: The toasted coconut bread with honey, ricotta, poached plums and almond brittle.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
The Table Café
- Restaurants
- British
- Southwark
Jammed onto the side of an architectural practice in Southwark, this serene Aussie-style café-restaurant is something of a quiet classic in this part of town. Come the weekend, the standard breakfast menu (lots of eggs and avocado, as you’d expect) expands into brunch territory with a host of sizeable salads and burgers, waffles, pancakes and favourites such as sweetcorn fritters. A perfect respite from the hordes at Tate Modern.
Don’t miss: ‘The stack’, a gargantuan, near-infamous pile of poached eggs, ham hock, chorizo baked beans and hollandaise, teetering off a bagel base.
Brunch for two with service: Around £40 (including cocktails).
Towpath
- Restaurants
- British
- Haggerston
- price 1 of 4
The canal-view setting at Towpath is appealing, though the constant stream of passing cyclists jingling their bells reminds you that you’re still in the capital. Everything on the brief menu is done well using excellent ingredients including free-range eggs, fine sourdough, porridge, yoghurt and fruit in season. Towpath is simple, but that doesn’t mean it‘s anything less than great. There’s nothing better than watching the world go by with one of their unctuous grilled cheese sarnies.
Don’t miss: The superfood bowls.
Brunch for two with service: Around £20.
Where the Pancakes Are
- Restaurants
- Crêperies
- Southwark
Minimalist and airy (with an outdoor terrace), this independent little pancake spot in Flat Iron Square does one thing: pancakes. But boy, does it do them well. Dutch owner Patricia Trijbits is passionate about quality, so in addition to gluten-free and dairy-free (vegan) options, there’s proper maple syrup – even for the kids – plus glitteringly fresh fruit, top-notch bacon and so on. You’ll find many a pancake pilgrim here, partaking in these fluffy stacks of joy.
Don’t miss: The ‘Dutch Babies’ – baked pancakes, not unlike a giant Yorkshire pud (there are both savoury and sweet options), cooked in a cast-iron skillet.
Brunch for two with service: Around £30.
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