It’s for this reason that when we do find ourselves with the odd free morning where we’re neither occupied with work or exhausted by it, we must enjoy it as best we can. Enter: breakfast.
I’ve never been all that fussed about breakfast, and truth be told it’s often a meal I skip, but put me in a restaurant with a pot of tea, something tasty, and a newspaper, and it quickly becomes my favourite meal of the day. Few things can kick the morning off better, given you have the time to spend. Not wanting to waste anymore of your time (and with a little help from Dojo App), here are some of the best breakfast spots in London in no particular order:
Brew Cafe
Chorizo folded eggs on toasted sourdough with sides of treacle cured bacon and smokey bacon Boston beans. OK, maybe I went a bit overboard, but there’s a lot to get excited about on this menu. Oak smoked salmon, buttered spinach – there’s almost too much choice, and we haven’t even looked at the smoothies, juices, malted milkshakes, and breakfast time martinis (which you must order).
bit overboard, but there’s a lot to get excited about on this menu. Oak smoked salmon, buttered spinach – there’s almost too much choice, and we haven’t even looked at the smoothies, juices, malted milkshakes, and breakfast time martinis (which you must order).
A weird plastic cover masks the front of Brew Cafe, making it very easy to confuse it with a Wendy house. Space is limited inside, especially when busy, and the lavatories are peculiarly placed behind the kitchen which you nearly walk through when trying to find them. Nevertheless, Brew Cafe is a lovely breakfast spot, just don’t go expecting The Ritz.
Where & When: 45 Northcote Rd, Clapham Junction. Breakfast is served from 7-11am.
Price: £20-£25.
Kipferl
When I mentioned to a friend I’d be visiting Kipferl to try the breakfast menu, he immediately told me it’s the best Austrian restaurant in London – it’s probably worth adding that he is part Austrian and regularly visits Vienna, so his opinion holds more weight than your average Londoner. While I certainly haven’t dined at every Austrian establishment in London, what can be said about this Islington-based eaterie can only be good.
The Bauernfruehstueck – that’s a stir fry of potatoes, onions, bacon, and egg, to you and me – and the Hansen & Lydersen Smoked salmon served with scrambled eggs are the big hitters on the menu.
Where & When: 20 Camden Passage, Islington. Breakfast is served from 7-11am.
Price: £12-15.
Koya Bar
When you’re considering your breakfast options a Japanese Udon noodle bar probably doesn’t come to mind, but you should make some effort to include Koya Bar in your list. It may be located in the heart of Soho, but the crowd is rather different to what you’d find in Burger and Lobster, namely Japanese, which can only be a good thing.
The English Breakfast, while slightly gimmicky, is good – adding a fried egg, bacon, and shiitake to Udon noodles. The Kitsune with sweet tofu and spring onion (add a poached egg to make it better) is better of the two. With a pot of Japanese tea, this quiet noodle bar is great choice for avoiding the hustle and bustle of central London.
Where & When: 50 Frith St, Soho. Breakfast is served from 8:00am-12:00pm. No reservations.
Price: £15-£18.
Bad Egg
More boozy brunch than breakfast, Bad Egg is not for the faint of heart. The menu is best served at the weekend when the bottomless brunch is available: for the slightly steep price of £32.50 you can pick three dishes to accompany as many glasses of cava, mimosa and bloody Mary your body can handle.
The cheeseburger hash, fired chicken and French toast, Korean fried rib tips, and breakfast tacos, are the winners of this menu, but some might find the portions a tad small. The pulled pork with beans and kimchi on sourdough toast sounds nice, but sadly, ought to be avoided. All in all, very rich food, but then that’s what makes it Bad Egg.
Expect a diner setting with diner tunes. This is most certainly a location to give your batteries a jump start, rather than a slow recharge.
Where & When: City Point, 1 Ropemaker St, Moorgate. Breakfast is served from 8:00-10:00am, Mon-Fri. 10:00-5pm, Sat-Sun. Make sure to book a table, it gets very busy.
Price: £32.50 for the bottomless boozy brunch, which includes unlimited Bloody Marys, cava and Mimosas (two hour limit).
Eastway
If you’re looking for the best Bloody Mary bar in London, then look no further. You can have one made to order or opt to make your own, adding as much Grey Goose vodka and sriracha as the glass can hold – at least that’s what I did.
The Eastway brasserie is one of five restaurants that live inside the Andaz Hyatt hotel, and while it was curiously empty at 10am on a Saturday, its place on this list is well earned.
A 7 inch bap with Portobello mushrooms, potato hash, back bacon, baked beans, Cumberland sausages and free-range fried eggs – the Big Breakfast is a must for anyone paying Eastway a visit. It’s bigger than it looks, so make sure you really are hungry when order or prepare to be defeated by this beast. Lesser eaters are advised to order French toast with streaky bacon and maple syrup.
Where & When: 40 Liverpool St. Breakfast is served from 6:30-11:30am, Mon-Fri. Brunch from 10:00-16:00, Sat-Sun.
Price: £22-£30.
Kopapa
This restaurant might be home to the best Turkish eggs in London – two poached eggs in whipped yoghurt and hot chilli butter, with some toast perfect for dipping. If you fancy something less rich and more meaty, try the chorizo hash with fried eggs and sriracha.
Should you need more sugar in your life, then a chocolate caramel shake or a creme brulee Crosstown Doughnut might be in order, but if there’s one thing you ought to order, then it’s a Hemingway daiquiri from Kopapa’s beautiful bar. That’ll get you moving in the morning.
Where & When: 32-34 Monmouth St, Covent Garden. Breakfast is served from 8:00-11:30am, Mon-Fri.
Price: £22-30.
Apero
Not all of us are made for mornings, so sometimes you need somewhere nice, quiet, and calm to shake off that tired feeling. That place is Apero. Around the corner from South Kensington station, this Mediterranean restaurant is housed in the cellars of The Ampersand Hotel, which makes it perfectly peaceful and relaxing for people who don’t really ‘do’ mornings.
Eggs Royale is one of the immediate standout choices here, arriving with unbeatable H.Forman & Son London smoked salmon. The vegetarian breakfast (with lots of halloumi) is equally appetising, as is the coconut porridge with caramelised banana for those wanting a smaller dish.
Where & When: 2 Harrington Road, South Kensington. Breakfast is served from 6:30-10:30am, Mon-Fri. 7:00-11:00am, Sat-Sun.
Price: £15-17.
Hawksmoor
A stone’s throw away from the Bank of England, this is your power breakfast destination. Expect to find men in suits surrounded by beautiful mahogany paneling, sipping RAF English Breakfast tea as they tuck into the Hakwsmoor Breakfast (made for two, but big enough for three), boasting bone marrow and HP gravy.
If you haven’t quite got the appetite for such a gastronomic endeavour, a 250g rib-eye steak with fried eggs, and hash browns should go down a treat. Add in a very spicy Bloody Mary No. 4. and you have a recipe for a good morning. Should you wish to push the boat out even further (and you really should), the cornflake milkshake with two slugs of bourbon is one of the best hard shakes this diner has had the pleasure of tasting.
Where & When: 10 Basinghall St, Guildhall. Breakfast is served from 7:00-10:00am, Mon-Fri. Most diners will be in suits, but don’t be afraid to don a more casual look.
Price: £30-£50. Pricey, but worth it.
Caravan
Housed inside a restored granary along with Central Saint Martins, Caravan offers an industrial approach to breakfast – so if you’re planning an intimate date look elsewhere – but if you fancy a full stomach then you can’t go wrong here. Order the baked eggs with tomato pepper ragout and merguez sausage and you will be on course for a good morning.
The juices on the menu are not to be ignored and neither is the coffee. Caravan source their beans from sustainable farms and estates from around the world and roast them daily on-site – the salted caramel hot chocolate is definitely worth a look too. Expect a bohemian crowd and a relaxed atmosphere, sometimes extending to the service, which was a bit too slow and inattentive for this diner’s liking.
Where & When: 1 Granary Square, King’s Cross. Breakfast is served from 8:00-11:30am, Mon-Fri. A similar brunch menu is served Sat-Sun.
Price: Breakfast, coffee, and a smoothie will set you back £17-20.
Five Guys
If you haven’t heard of Five Guys you’ve probably been living in some sort of burger-proof hovel. Since arriving in London in the summer of 2013, this staple of American burger royalty has become a hot spot for tourists and Londoners alike. After opening more than twenty shops, the good people at Five Guys saw fit to introduce a breakfast menu, which is essentially an egg on top of their burgers. While that might not sound like much of an addition, for this burger aficionado, it’s a godsend.
When it comes to presentation it certainly doesn’t look great, and it will almost certainly require a napkin or two (three if you’re untrained in the ways of a messy burger), but with as many toppings as you like, decent coffee, and a killer soundtrack, Five Guys is the place to go when you need to make an excuse to get your burger fix in the a.m. – not that you need one.
Where & When: Argyll St, Oxford Circus. Breakfast is served from 7:00-11:00am. Beware the queue of tourists from the door to the counter.
Price: Sandwiches start from £2.75, but add in some fries, a coffee, and an extra beef patty (because why the hell wouldn’t you?) and you’re looking at £10-13.
Special Mention: Your local greasy spoon
We all have that café just around the corner. The one that would probably benefit from a refurb, has laminated menus with odd spelling mistakes, but doesn’t judge you when you ask for a fried slice as well as toast, and will let you swap the tomatoes for an extra sausage. Sure, the last time it was decorated was in 1982, but where else are you going to find that sort of charm? Friendly service, builder’s tea, and prices that won’t break the bank – your local greasy spoon is probably the greatest breakfast spot of all.
