London’s best breakfasts and brunches
However you like your eggs in the morning, these memorable restaurants have you covered
These extra-special breakfasts and brunches are worth waking up for. From the perfect eggs benedict served at the marble counter of a Michelin-starred restaurant to soft, fluffy waffles enjoyed on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower, these are some of the best spots in London.
Booking Office 1869 at St. Pancras London, King’s Cross
This softly lit cocktail lounge and brasserie is set within the original 19th-century ticket hall of the famous station, now a part of the five-star St. Pancras London. The restaurant looks out over the platforms – you can even see the Eurostar trains pulling in from your seat. Decked out with gleaming dark woods, towering palm trees and colourful patterned fabrics, it has an intimate, buzzy atmosphere even in the afternoon. The new jazz brunch (Sundays from 12-3pm) features live music from talented musicians. We were treated to a guitar and vocal duo performing gently swinging standards by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Dishes are tasty and indulgent; highlights include waffle and buttermilk popcorn chicken drizzled with maple syrup, and shakshuka with herby feta and crispy flatbread. The real draw, however, is the cocktail menu which features a fun, inventive tipple for each decade dating back to the 1860s when the station opened. For the wow factor, try the 1890s creation: a heady mix of Eagle 10 Year Bourbon Whisky, bitters and demerara sugar, served with a touch of theatre at the table in a box filled with pecan smoke.
St. Pancras London, Euston Road, NW1 2AR, booking-office.co.uk
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Engel Bar, City of London
Located on the mezzanine floor of The Royal Exchange, the Engel Bar is a great spot for those wanting to take in the beauty of the historic architecture while soaking up the 1920s Berlin-style atmosphere. The Marlene Brunch, available only on Saturdays, takes it up a notch with a specially curated menu alongside live R&B, soul and jazz performances. With an amazing line-up of singers on the roster (such as Jermain Jackman and Natalie Williams), the experience is not to be missed.
The food is sublime: a mix of classic brunch go-tos and a few fun fusions. It’s hard to go wrong with the fried chicken and waffles. The sea bass with a yuzu and soy glaze is bursting with flavour. Diners are spoiled for choice drinks-wise with the option to pick bottomless fizz, Bellini or Aperol spritz. If that’s not enough, there is a champagne menu that’s 50% off for the afternoon. In all, the Marlene Brunch makes for a memorable experience in the heart of the capital. Something definitely worth leaving the house early for.
The Mezzanine, First Floor, Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LQ; engelbar.co.uk
Pavyllon London, Mayfair
There’s an effortlessness to dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant that is hard to replicate elsewhere. Pavyllon London achieves this in its breakfast offering but without forced pretension. This is impeccable, attentive and refined service at a marble counter, an experience that offers a front row seat to the theatre of the kitchen.
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A health shot to start will zap you awake. It is followed by a fluffy vanilla muffin, an amuse-bouche of sorts – and, of course, your choice of tea and coffee.
The eggs benedict here is certainly a contender for the capital’s best: toasted muffins are topped with pillowy eggs that break into golden silk with the puncture of a knife. The dish is drawn together with a rich, creamy hollandaise and paprika – flavours that make the breakfast sing.
Another must-have is the Frenglish platter, offering a bridge to Gallic finesse – it’s everything you’d expect of a full English, but with interesting twists like the crispy Pommes Anna, soft sourdough bread and tomatoes that taste as if they’ve just been picked from the vine. To finish, try the crepes. Thin and velvety with caramelised brown sugar, their flavours are elevated through a drizzle of maple syrup, fresh berries and a cloud of vanilla whipped cream.
Four Seasons London at Park Lane, Hamilton Place, W1J 7DR; pavyllonlondon.com
Duck and Waffle, Liverpool Street
No list of Britain’s best breakfast and brunch spots would be complete without Duck and Waffle. Located on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower right in the heart of the City of London, the restaurant is one of the highest in the capital, and boasts some of the best dining views on the planet.
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the restaurant attracts City types, foodies and tourists, with different menus for different times of the day. Brunch is available between 10am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, and includes the eponymous duck and waffle, alongside the more traditional fare of smoked salmon royale, the full English breakfast and vegetarian options, too.
110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY; duckandwaffle.com
Dishoom, various locations
Breakfast at this Bombay cafe chain is an evocative experience where flavours dance on your tastebuds. Bacon and eggs may be morning stalwarts; naans less so. But this combination, in tandem with some killer chilli tomato jam, cream cheese and fresh coriander, makes for a very tasty breakfast.
Dishoom also offers a host of other options, including Bombay omelettes, cinnamon-jaggery pancakes and the “Parsi power breakfast” of spicy chicken keema served with chicken liver, fried eggs and home-made buns. The chain has acquired a cult following since it was founded in 2010 and it is easy to see why.
Various locations; dishoom.com
45 Jermyn St, Green Park
It is no good adding salmon or caviar to eggs in a bid to improve them if you haven’t got the eggs right in the first place. Fortunately, that essential building block of the very best breakfasts is done perfectly at 45 Jermyn St.
And that isn’t the only basics the swish St James’s establishment does well. Coffee, juice, avocados and toast may all sound simple enough, but in the hands of the chefs at 45 Jermyn St, they are all elevated into something spectacular. The eggs, scrambled and mixed with cream, are quite possibly the most indulgent in London. And with a dollop of caviar or a side of salmon, they are pure brunching perfection.
45 Jermyn Street, St James’s, SW1Y 6DN; 45jermynst.com
St Pancras Brasserie by Searcys, King’s Cross
Sitting below St Pancras’ magnificent vaulted ceiling, with an art deco design by Martin Brudnizki, St Pancras Brasserie by Searcys feels like a throwback to the golden age of travel. It offers Europe’s longest champagne bar and the fizz to go with it.
The breakfast menu is available from 8am to 11.30am on Monday to Friday, and 10am to 11.30am on Saturdays, where visitors can enjoy a dish from the “bakery and bowls” section of the menu, eggs or the full English breakfast. Searcys also has a substantial menu for its bottomless Sunday brunch. Two courses and 90 minutes of free-flowing lager, prosecco or mimosas are available, and there is plenty to choose from. Stand out dishes include the mouth-watering breakfast cheeseburger, the pork belly benedict and the buffalo chicken waffle.
St Pancras International Station, N1C 4QL; stpancrasbysearcys.co.uk
Quaglino’s, Green Park
Brunch at Quaglino’s can be a disconcerting affair. The food, the wine, the dramatic lighting – and your fellow diners, dressed to impress – lull you into a late-night frame of mind, and you may well find yourself blinking in surprise as you emerge into the early afternoon sunshine.
The illusion starts the moment you step into the dark, cavernous restaurant and descend the illuminated stairs. Art deco glamour oozes from every surface, from the velvet curtains of the cabaret stage to the gilded marble bar. The menu is also suitably starry. Brunch classics – eggs benedict, royale or florentine, with avocado and smoked salmon – are tucked away in one corner, but there are also surprising options on offer. Take the Cygnet 22 gin cured trout, or asparagus and ricotta tortelloni, for instance. The brunch is available on Saturdays only.
16 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AJ; quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk
Theo Randall at the InterContinental, Park Lane
Celebrity chef Theo Randall’s Saturday brunch invites diners to enjoy la dolce vita in true Italian style, with a three-course festa in famiglia – a chance for families and friends to experience the best of the country’s produce.
Try not to fill up too much on the help-yourself antipasti – as tempting as the platters heaped with vibrant salads and cured meats are – as to follow is your choice of secondi, with options including porchetta (a slow-cooked crispy pork with potato and fennel al forno), as well as a sumptuous baked fontina cheese soufflé. Those with a sweet tooth will want to hold out for the desserts – a highlight of which is Randall’s palate-cleansing Amalfi lemon tart.
1 Hamilton Place, W1J 7QY; theorandall.com
Yauatcha City, Liverpool Street
On Fridays and Saturdays, this high-end Chinese restaurant offers one of the capital’s most sophisticated brunches: the Infinite Yum Cha Brunch.
Unlimited rounds of delicious dim sum (featuring black truffle dumplings, pork and prawn shui mai, and shrimp har gau) and soft bao buns are followed by a selection of signature main courses. Guests can choose from options including stir-fried rib eye beef in black bean sauce, sweet and spicy sea bass curry, and more, perfectly complemented by steamed jasmine rice or egg fried rice. End the experience with delicious soufflé pancakes topped with honeycomb.
1 Broadgate, EC2M 2QS; taogroup.com