BRUNCH
This New York export has become a favourite among Londoners, and cafés across the capital are scrambling to meet demand. The following eateries are the cream of the crop for indulgent late breakfasts.
LOWRY & BAKER
A visit to the cosy (some may say slightly cramped) Lowry & Baker is a bit like having brunch in someone’s ramshackle kitchen. The narrow space is crammed with borderline-rickety furniture – sometimes sent wobbling by the jostles of staff members, brunchers and people milling by the door waiting keenly for a table – and features a counter topped with brilliant cakes and bakes. It’s homey, cute and very popular with Notting Hill locals, particularly at the weekends, when the kitchen dishes out an excellent brunch menu. The typical brunch elements are served in classic combinations – smoked salmon, avocado, eggs – and the coffee is Monmouth. If you’re making a day of it among Golborne Road’s market stalls and shops, this is a lovely little retreat.
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339 Portobello Road, W10 5SA.
No phone.
Ladbroke Grove tube.
CARAVAN
The food paradise of Exmouth Market – a pedestrianised street brimming with restaurants (and sometimes food stalls) – has seen many businesses come and go over the years, but Caravan has remained a successful constant. The dining room, with its careworn tables, bistro chairs, eclectic prints and bare bulbs, looks the part in this cool but chic part of town, and it occupies a prime street-corner spot with windows overlooking the market (bag a bench outside to get closer to the action). Tuck into an all-day menu of inspired east-meets-west sharing plates, such as fragrant spiced quail with tahini-laced yoghurt and vibrant chickpea salad – they make for perfect brunches and laid-back, lazy lunches alongside more classic sourdough/egg options. Don’t leave without ordering a top-notch espresso, made with a blend of beans roasted on site – or try one of the regularly changing filter coffees.
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11-13 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QD.
020 7833 8115
Farringdon tube.
BRANCHES: King’s Cross N1C 4AA.
TINA, WE SALUTE YOU
This tiny corner café in Dalston has a devoted local fanbase, no doubt drawn in by the small but perfectly formed menu of essentials. There’s excellent coffee by Alchemy, a couple of tempting homemade cakes and a short brunch menu starring offerings such as a stack of fluffy pancakes, brioche French toast, and poached eggs with avocado. A convivial communal table topped with condiments from Marmite to Nutella makes the tight squeeze bearable, but if you want to stretch your legs there’s a larger branch by the Olympic Park: this one has space for a more comprehensive all-day menu, as well as beer and cocktails, and is brilliantly located alongside green lawns and a children’s play area. Both cafés make a fuss over Tina – not the owner, but rather the subject of a kitsch 1960s painting by JH Lynch.
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47 King Henry’s Walk, N1 4NH.
020 3119 0047
Dalston Kingsland Overground.
BRANCHES: East Village E20 1FT.
LANTANA
Hidden down a boutique-lined alley off hectic Goodge Street, Lantana is usually filled with the area’s arty types. The close-set tables and high perches aren’t everyone’s cup of tea – you won’t find mummies with buggies or all-business executives here – but for informal meet-ups, Lantana’s brand of casual all-day Antipodean-style brunches are just right. On the menu, towering breakfast burgers filled with sausage, bacon, egg, smoked cheddar and spinach vie for attention with the likes of poached egg and smashed avocado on sourdough, or French toast with banana and pecans. The drinks list is all about the Alchemy coffee, with a few wines and beers too. Larger groups should head to the communal table downstairs – but if you can’t get a seat, there’s a Lantana takeaway next door.
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13 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SN.
020 7637 3347
Goodge Street tube.
BRANCHES: Camden NW1 8AF; Shoreditch EC1Y 1HQ.
SUNDAY
Was there ever a better name for a brunch spot than Sunday? It’s one that speaks of poring over the paper with friends as late morning turns into a sleepy afternoon. You may not be able to stay quite that long at this shabby-chic café-restaurant in Barnsbury, as competition for tables is fierce, but you won’t be rushed. It’s open for dinner three nights a week, but brunch (served daily except Monday) is the speciality, and you’ve a creative menu to choose from. Try the delicious corn fritters with smoked salmon and avocado, or the cornbread waffle with pork belly, pit beans and fried eggs. If you’re feeling extra indulgent, you can round things off with a crisp, buttery croissant or gooey slice of toasted banana bread. It is Sunday, after all.
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169 Hemingford Road, N1 1DA.
020 7607 3868
www.facebook.com/sundaybarnsbury
Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Overground.
TRADE
Trade is a very zen place to chill out over a long lazy brunch with its mellow décor and blooming, flower-pot-laden terrace. Lucky, since you’ll want to linger over your brunch. There’s a big menu, from simple scrambled eggs on toast with a side of chorizo to a pile of Trade’s own pastrami (made in the café’s backyard smokery), which is elaborately served with a toasted cholla roll and poached eggs, and comes glistening with hollandaise. The handmade philosophy stays through into lunch, with more house-smoked deli meats in generous sandwiches, as well as grilled cheese on artisan sourdough. There’s homemade cakes, coffee from small-batch roasters and fine teas. There’s really nothing more to ask for.
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47 Commercial Street, E1 6BD.
020 3490 1880
Aldgate East tube.
E PELLICCI
If you crave a solid, hangover-quashing fry-up with a generous side-order of banter, this Grade II-listed Bethnal Green institution (and former haunt of the notorious Kray twins) is the best in town. The handsome, wood-panelled interior (reverently adorned with signed shots of cockney icons Kat Slater and Grant Mitchell) makes a cushty spot to peruse the back pages over an egg sandwich washed down with builders’ tea. What really makes this caff a destination, though, is the warm welcome from Nev, scion of the Italian clan that first set up shop here in 1900. A genuine ‘character’, nothing escapes a big-hearted mickey-take from this East End geezer, be it the weather, your daft haircut or the football scores (heads up – he’s a Spurs man).
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332 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AG.
020 7739 4873
Bethnal Green tube.
ESTERS
Just far enough off the beaten Stokey track that you’ll likely get a table at any time of day, this tiny backstreet gem is a cracking place to grab a bite. Yes, the yummy mummies have colonised it, but only because it’s really, really good; we defy you to find a more tantalisingly billed brunch than French toast with roasted strawberries, caramelised white chocolate, rosewater and crème fraîche. The menu has a connoisseur’s depth, all the way through to the pastries (which include kouign-amaan, a Brittany speciality) and the impressive array of long-leaf teas. If you crave a caffeine spike, the latte is as smooth and velvety as the best in London. Special mention to the décor – Esters totally rocks a spry, Danish look, all smart-brushed concrete and metal, with a pretty garden out the back.
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55 Kynaston Road, N16 0EB.
020 7254 0253
Stoke Newington Overground.
COUNTER CAFÉ
This local institution doesn’t just serve coffee, it roasts its own – so you can buy bags of the stuff to take home after you’ve enjoyed a delicious cup. In true Hackney Wick style, Counter Café is housed in a converted warehouse (neighbouring a gallery and gift shop), and at weekends it’s packed with a local trendy crowd. But brave the queue (or get up early) and you’ll be rewarded with an eclectic choice of breakfasts. Like eggs? There’s plenty, from Benedict to Turkish. Plus more unusual contenders, such as the incredible radish and apple coleslaw alongside potatoes, bacon, eggs and chickpeas. Counter is right on the canal, across from the Olympic Park, so hustle for a table with waterside views, or if the weather’s playing nice then sit out on the café’s pontoon and watch the boats drift past.
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7 Roach Road, E3 2PA.
No phone.
Hackney Wick Overground.
STORIES
If you’ve been to east London bar-venues The Book Club and The Queen of Hoxton, you won’t be surprised to learn this Broadway Market café-bar is their younger sibling. In fact, it looks like the missing link between the two – it’s inherited TBC’s bare brick walls and laid-back vibe, combining it with the Queen’s bright colours and hanging plants. With all-day brunch and mean bloody Marys, Stories is practically designed for hangovers. Big hearty full-English style breakfasts (with refined twists, such as red pepper and chilli ketchup, or the odd brioche bun) sit alongside granola or buttermilk pancakes. If you’re too late for brunch (which finishes at 4pm), the lunchtime burger menu is brilliant (the beef and chorizo is not to be missed), or stick around for a selection of bar food later in the day (think pulled pork nachos with a side of polenta chips).
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30-32 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ.
020 7254 6898
Homerton or London Fields Overground.
HACKNEY BUREAU
If you’re taking a lazy stroll along the Regent’s Canal, veer off at Hackney’s Mare Street, where you’ll find this café-bar-restaurant on a slightly scruffy, graffiti-clad corner. Having started out as a gallery in 2010, Hackney Bureau later added a kitchen and now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, but stays true to its roots with rotating exhibitions. Brunch includes egg and avocado-based combos and bowls of tasty bircher muesli, plus there’s a changing menu of more inventive and substantial lunch and dinner dishes. The bar serves craft beers and cocktails, or you can keep it teetotal the fun way with a Caravan coffee. Pick an outdoor table or a window seat for optimum people-watching, particularly on Saturdays when Londoners stream past on their way to Broadway Market, just around the corner.
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3 Mare Street, E8 4RP.
020 8533 6083
Cambridge Heath Overground.
CREAM
This spacious, low-key café on a quiet London back street is classic Shoreditch: kitted out with industrial-chic fittings and statement lighting; and filled with Lululemon-clad yoga devotees and freelancers busy working on laptops. The brunch menu is a strength, ranging from light bites such as homemade granola, to blow-out options such as airy scrambled eggs topped with thick slices of cold-smoked salmon or a whole ball of creamy burrata with spicy, smoky chorizo and roasted peppers. The Campbell & Syme coffee is good – and all the better paired with something fresh from the wooden counter, such as a thick-filled sandwich wrapped in wax paper, or a slice of delicious three-tiered carrot cake.
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31 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EY.
020 7247 3999
Shoreditch High Street Overground.
GINGER & WHITE
This bijou café just off Hampstead High Street is the perfect place to read the Sunday papers over brunch – if you can get a spot at the large communal table, that is. Once you’re in, the compact size works in its favour as everyone piles in, creating a relaxed, friendly feel. Kids – more than welcome – will enjoy Marmite soldiers and soft boiled eggs, while adults will be torn between homemade baked beans with chorizo and comfortingingly childish fish finger sandwiches. The Square Mile coffee is excellent (flat whites, ristrettos and cortados all well-executed) and the choice of enticing cakes on the counter is almost too much – opt for an apple crumble muffin, which is just the breakfast side of sweet.
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4a-5a Perrins Court, NW3 1QS.
020 7431 9098
Hampstead tube.
BRANCHES: Belsize Park NW3 4TG.
