A Guide To London Brunches

If you know me, you know I love brunch. Having spent eight years living and working in London, I feel I know my way around the brunch scene quite well. Here are my top brunch recommendations in the city, all of which I have been too.

Central London

Ask For Janice – A beautiful cafe in Farringdon, this has to be fairly high in my ranking of London brunches. Fabulous interiors with lots of hanging plants and pictures. They just do brunch so well, the brunch menu has everything from your typical poached eggs & avocado, buttermilk pancakes, the best bubble & squeak. Make sure you also try the homemade crumpets, they’re dreamy!

Balthazar – Offers something for everyone, all day long. The menu includes a wide selection of classic French brassiere and bistro dishes. Would definitely suggest ordering the waffle and they nail the poached eggs and avocado.

Pachamamma –  Peruvian- inspired brunch dishes, made with great produce. Highlights for me being the pork belly chicharrones and the brunch waffles are definitely worth ordering, where you can choose between sweet potato or quinoa base. They’ve just recently started doing Bottomless brunch on the weekends which I can’t wait to try!

Over Under Coffee –  Great spot for a flat white and a light breakfast if you’re on the go and haven’t got much time.

The Dayrooms Cafe – An Aussie-inspired cafe in Holborn with the first branch opening in Notting Hill. They serve up fresh & tasty brunch dishes as well as great coffee.

Harry’s Bar – Located in St Christopher’s Place, Harry’s Bar serves up delicious Italian breakfast dishes. The decor is beyond beautiful with it’s venetian chandeliers. I enjoyed an Italian omelette to start, followed by an authentic Italian hot chocolate in which we went and enjoyed on the terrace outside.

North London

Sundays  – North London people, this is the perfect brunch spot. Be prepared to queue on the weekend, it’s totally worth the wait, trust me! I always end up ordering the courgette fritters and a half portion of the pancakes as I can never decide on whether I want savoury & sweet. Have both, why not?!

Lazy Hunter – This place does a full english breakfast well. If you’re in the mood for a hearty breakfast, Lazy Hunter is the place!

Brother Marcus – Went here fairly recently to the one in Angel, loved the brunch & coffee. I enjoyed the Marcus breakfast, it’s a full english breakfast and it comes with delicious home-made beans!

Buhler & Co – One of my local regular haunts. A vegetarian cafe that is awesome. Wholesome and delicious food, I’m addicted to their vege fry up (fried corn and polenta cake, fried egg, halloumi, garlic butter seasonal greens, portobello mushroom, smashed avocado, house-made BBQ and black-bean sauce, and paratha) delish!

East London

Wolf – A relaxed Italian restaurant in Stoke Newington, serving seasonal, authentic brunch. The fennel sausage, fried egg, gnocchi and caramelised onions was a highlight. Bold statement here, but the banana bread was the best I’ve ever had. Seriously!  Can’t wait to re-visit here soon!

Friends Of Ours – A short distance from Old Street station, an Australian inspired cafe, where you’ve probably seen a lot of their brunch dishes on instagram. You won’t be disappointed with the pulled beef brisket benedict or the smoothie bowl.

Dishoom – A chain of Indian restaurants, that I’m sure you Londoner’s are familiar with. You have to order the bacon and egg naan, it’s a game changer and super affordable. Next time I visit I want to try the big bombay, equivalent to a full english breakfast however with an Indian twist.

Hash E8 – This is the perfect hangover brunch, love the epic full english breakfast as well as the pancakes & french toast. Only down fall is for me was that in terms of coffee they only serve filter, just a heads up for all you flat white lovers!

The Barge House – A full english cooked in a loaf of  bread, yes that’s right! Slightly different, but it works really well! I recommend ordering a Bloody Mary to bring out the flavour. You can kick back here, and enjoy the view overlooking Regent’s Canal.

Violet Cakes – A small bakery in East London, with a counter full of home-made cakes, biscuits, quiches, whoopie pies. I loved the breakfast dish I had here which is pictured below, the tastiest avocado!

West London

The Locals Cafe – A relaxed brunch spot in Chelsea, serving healthy brunch with fresh, wholesome ingredients. A highlight for me were the matcha pancakes. The staff left a lot to be desired but the food was totally worth it.

Megans – An instagrammable restaurant located in Chelsea, Kings Road. The prettiest restaurant with the most beautiful garden. We enjoyed the mediterranean flatbread, cookie dough cookie and some ice coffee’s.

Bluebird Cafe, White City – A cafe in West London serving some epic wholesome brunch. Great atmosphere and vibe. An option of going bottomless on the weekend. I throughly enjoyed the breakfast bap and acai bowl. I wish this place wasn’t so far away from where I lived as I’d be in there all the time.

Granger & Co – Everyone knows Granger & Co, with four locations in London. This popular spot is known for their coffee and famous scambled egg. I’d totally recommend the ricotta hot cakes, they are delicious!

Farm Girl – A healthy restaurant in Notting Hill serving up juices, salads, cakes & smoothies. I love their buckwheat pancakes with berries.

Eggbreak –  think I have found my new favourite brunch place in Notting Hill. I loved the dish, the Eggbreak-Up, the dish is a take on Huevos Rotos, meaning ‘broken eggs’ in Spanish, and is served in a skillet stacked with roasted potatoes, two sunny side up eggs, chorizo and tomato salsa made with Tabasco Sriracha Sauce. This dish was made me for! It was heavenly! ⁣
⁣And if you have a sweet tooth like me they have NUTELLA FRENCH TOAST made with cornflakes & mascarpone which is totally to die for! 😍. I can’t wait to return to try the rest of the dishes on the menu.
⁣

South London

Burnt Toast Cafe – A favourite brunch spot of mine in South London. On a chilly day you can sit outside and they give you blankets and put the heaters on to keep warm. The french toast is sensational along with the eggs royale. Great spot if you’re around the Brixton area.

Arlos Steak – Think steak and brunch, they serve a variety of delicious dishes and a decent cocktail menu. It has a great atmosphere and on a sunny day it’s great as you can sit outside. We of course had to go for the croque moo’sier their signature dish which is full of steak, cheese and topped with a fried egg. The avocado and toast with vine tomatoes was also a winner.

The Breakfast Club –  I feel as though you can’t really go wrong with the breakfast here. They serve simple American dishes and now have seven locations within London. Their stack of pancakes are not to be missed and I love their avocado with eggs!

Brickwood London –  An Aussie cafe in Clapham, where I frequently visited when I lived in South London. They serve amazing brunch & coffee which is served until 15.00pm, bonus! Always love the playlist in here!