From casual antipodean brunches and neighbourhood cafes, to the bottomless, glamourous and party ones, here is The Resident's pick of where to go for some of the best weekend morning meals across the capital.
1 Kolamba, Soho
Start your morning with spice and flavour at Kolamba, an understatedly cool and compact restaurant in the throng of Soho. Authentic Sri Lankan dishes are vibrant and speak of fresh, tropical island flavours. Go the hopper pancake with glaze bacon, or string hoppers to dunk into a bright egg curry. Make sure you get a couple of pots of curry on the side as well as Pol Sambol - fresh coconut flesh minced with lime, chili and red onion - which will lift any meal it touches.
Address: 21 Kingly Street, Carnaby, W1B 5QA
Website: kolamba.co.uk
2 Quaglinos, St James's
Inject a little glamour into your morning meal with Quaglino’s Champagne brunch. Every Saturday and Sunday, get glammed up for live music, food and free-flowing Taittinger Brut Reserve. While you quaff your fizz, dine on Quaglino favourites such as lobster thermidor and oak-smoked salmon rillette.
Address: 16 Bury Street, St James's SW1Y 6AJ
Website: quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk
3 The Barbary Next Door, Covent Garden
Serving the morning meal every day from 9am, The Barbary Next Door has a breakfast menu that takes its cues from Andalusia in Spain and North African cooking. Baked eggs, cheese bourekas, and pumpkin bread with clotted cream; menu items are elegant and uncomplicated riffs of time-old Moorish dishes.
Address: 16a Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP
Website: thebarbarynextdoor.co.uk
4 Farzi, West End
With a menu inspired by the balmy days of late Indian summers, there’s something for the intrepid eater, such as the raw banana culet with tempered green pea foam, and for those who find comfort in the familiar, like the Farzi egg royale with tandoori salmon. For drinks, there’s coffee, teas and fresh juices available, as well as an extensive and exotic cocktail menu – we recommend the simha spritz.
Address: 8 Haymarket, SW1Y 4BP
Website: farzilondon.com
5 Caravan, Fitzrovia
Caravan has nailed the all day eatery vibe with a laid back dining area, cocktail bar and coffee bar. The classic menu caters to all tastes – think various avocado and egg based dishes, as well as more adventurous offerings such as the bacon chop with bubble and squeak fritters, or the broken lamb meatballs with grilled aubergine. If you're not Fitzrovia way, there are five other locations too.
Address: 152 Great Portland Street, W1W 6AJ
Website: caravanrestaurants.co.uk
6 The Fat Badger, Richmond
The Fat Badger combines a rural farm to fork philosophy with urban chic. The menu champions British produce and promises the spoils of the English countryside and coast with classic brunch dishes and morning plates with a twist, such as the mushroom marmite éclair, AAA Maldon oysters shucked at the counter, honey-glazed gammon benedict, mushroom ragu and the hearty Badger English breakfast.
Address: 15-17 Hill Rise, Richmond TW10 6UQ
Website: thefatbadger-restaurant.com
7 Minnow, Clapham Common
With a terrace overlooking Clapham Common, Minnow is a great spot to while away a morning at over a couple of breakfast cocktails and a hefty cooked breakfast. The all day eating haunt serves up all your eggy, breakfast classics, such as eggs Florentine, Benedict and Royal, as well as lighter morning grain bowls too. On the weekends, the early bird gets the worm here with seats on the terrace - which comes with heaters and parasol -are on a first come first served basis.
Address: 21 The Pavement, Clapham Common, SW4 0HY
Website: minnowclapham.co.uk
8 The Farmer’s Mistress, Battersea
A stylish yet laidback all-day dining destination, The Farmer’s Mistress has a weekday and a weekend brunch menu to feast on. Go for a vegan, vegetarian or meaty full breakfast or something lighter and on the sweet side such as peanut butter and jelly waffles. You’ve also got brunch classics such as steak and eggs or chicken waffles too.
Address: 300 Battersea Park Road, SW11 3BU
Website: thefarmersmistress.co.uk
9 Wood and Water, Brixton
This modern Jamaican restaurant in the heart of Brixton has a weekend brunch which you can make bottomless if you choose. The brunch menu is varied, and some dishes put an island spin on familiar meals. Go for the banana pancakes which come with crispy bacon, caramelised bananas and rum sauce, or slow cooked goat croquettes with plantain ketchup. You can also try a Jamaican breakfast of ackee and saltfish with bammy flatbread and plantain.
Address: 412 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton SW9 8LF
Website: woodandwater.uk
10 Milk, Balham
A popular little neighbourhood cafe here that is heavy on the laidback vibes and sweet treats, and comes with freshly baked pastries on the counter. Brunch dishes are modern and varied. You’ve got plates laden with eggs with dehydrated miso and cumin; sweetcorn fritters with halloumi avocado and kasundi mustard; as well as a dish called the convict that one for the morning after, with old spot pork patty muffin, streaky bacon, scrambled egg and hangover sauce. No bookings here, just rock up.
Address: 18-20 Bedford Hill, Balham, SW12 9RG
Website: milklondonshop.uk
11 Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Housed in the beautiful Grade-II listed Old Westminster Library, the Cinnamon Club's, jazzy Saturday brunch comes with live jazz and a three-course meal that makes the most of traditional Indian flavours. Feast on dishes such as jackfruit and lotus root kebab with poppy seed and tomato chutney; and smoked haddock kedgeree with a poached egg. Pair this with a cocktail flavoured with the likes of spiced rose and apricot puree. Cinnamon Kitchen in Battersea also whips up a mean weekend feast.
Address: The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith Street, SW1P 3BU
Website: cinnamonclub.com
12 Il Pampero, Belgravia
Inside this Belgravia five star hotel, guests will find Il Pampero, a stylish Italian restaurant that prepares a brunch with authentic Italian flavours. There are lunchy dishes such as pizzas or pastas as well as lighter meals including french toast with fried egg and truffle, as well as pancakes with banana, tonka beans and dulce de leche.
Address: 20 Chesham Place, Belgravia SW1X 8HQ
Website: ilpampero.com
13 Daisy Green, Paddington
Exclusively designed by legendary British pop artist Sir Peter Blake, Darcie & May Green's canal boats have been transformed into bustling, Australian-inspired all-day cafes. Taking its ques from Melbourne and Sydney cafe culture, tuck into the likes of buttermilk blueberry pancakes and house maple granola or the sweetcorn fritters and smashed avocado on charcoal sourdough for something more savoury.
Address: Grand Union Canal, Paddington W2 6DS
Website: daisygreenfood.com
14 Sette, Knightsbridge
Sette’s weekend brunch is your chance to luxuriate in an impossibly stylish restaurant steeped in timeless Italian glamour - and the brunch is equally sublime. It's a three or four extravagant course affair, which can either lean towards either breakfast or lunch. Dishes include cheese-laden polenta with truffled mushrooms, and a selection of handmade pastas, and you can make it bottomless, or try a couple of bloody Marys from the Bloody Mary Bar.
Address: Ground Floor, 4 Knightsbridge Green, SW1X 7QA
Website: settelondon.co.uk
15 Bistrotheque, Bethnal Green
Start with one of the many breakfast cocktails while you decide what you want to eat from the fairly long brunch menu, which serves up both lunchy and breakfasty dishes. Go for something a little big different like the soft shell crab Benedict, or the mushroom ragu with fried bread, or if you need to soak up the remnants of the night before, the Bristrotheque Breakfast is a big English fry up, that works well with several bloody Marys.
Address: 23-27 Wadeson Street, Bethnal Green E2 9DR
Website: bistrotheque.com
16 Rapsa, Hoxton
Filipino fusion restaurant Rapsa serves up punchy flavour-laden dishes, which, on the weekend, you can pair with bottomless Aperol spritz, fizz or boozy slushies. Go for one of the big breakfasts, or try something a bit different such as the halloumi finger sandwich with fried egg, banana ketchup, tomato, avocado salsa and spring onion hash or cured salmon bibingka loaf with scrambled eggs and herb creme fraiche. Delicious. Available Saturday 11am-4pm and Sunday 11am-3pm.
Address: 100-102 Hoxton Street, N1 6SG
Website: rapsa.co.uk
17 Dirty Bones, Shoreditch
American-style restaurant and cocktail bar Dirty Bones, serves up an indulgent brunch, which you can make bottomless (for £25pp) should you want a bit more hedonism in your morning. Dine on steak and eggs, chicken and waffles, short rib crumpets and butternut pancakes while you quaff pink grapefruit mimosas, dirty Marys or a cocktail, call hip monkey made with Bacardi, martini Rosso, fresh lime, bitters and grapefruit soda. Also has locations in Soho, Carnaby and Kensington.
Address: 1 Club Row, Shoreditch E1 6JX
Website: dirty-bones.com
18 Ozone, London Fields
One of the best east-side antipodean cafes in London, Ozone serves up a stellar brunch alongside good, strong, coffee and bloody Marys with kick. Friendly and always busy, the cafe’s long menu covers all bases, whether you’re hankering for a meaty fry up, or going meat-free. Faves include smoked fish kedgeree with soft poached egg, chimmi and labneh; and the kimchi fritters with wild garlic, soft greens and Ozone pickles.
Address: Emma Street, London Fields E2 9Ap
Website: ozonecoffee.co.uk
19 Berber & Q, Haggerston
With smokey-grilled Middle Eastern dishes the ticket here, Berber & Q serves up a delicious savoury weekend brunch. Pimp up your regular shakshuka with avocado, chickpeas and a chili salsa. There’s also Turkish eggs with baba ghanoush and a yoghurt sauces and the full Israeli to share between two - a platter laden with dips, marinated feta, eggs and and roasted beets. For more of a sweet breakfast, chose the cholla French toast with creme fraiche and raspberry compote.
Address: 338 Acton Mews E8 4EA
Website: berberandqgrillhouse.com
20 Granger & Co, Notting Hill
An easy going cafe plating up a strong Australian-style brunch, Granger & Co fits right into Notting Hill's chilled out vibes. The avocado-heavy menu focuses on feel good ingredients and the types of dishes speak of warm weather beach-side cafe dining - try the ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter with an iced matcha latte.
Address: 175 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill W11 2SB
Website: grangerandco.com
21 Porte Noire, Coal Drops Yard
I don’t want to name drop, but this is Idris Elba’s wine bar. Housed in the always charming Coal Drops Yard, it’s a place to quaff great drops of plonk and inject a little bit of style into your (or night). The kitchen plates up light bites all day long, with the brunch menu serving classic brunch dishes such as egg royale, and steak tartare on the weekend.
Address: Gasholder 10 , Unit A, 1 Lewis Cubitt Square, N1C 4BY
Website: portenoire.co.uk
22 Plaquemine Lock, Islington
Perched on Regents Canal, Plaquemine Lock’s Jazz Brunch is an ode to Southern American cuisine and culture. The Louisiana-inspired pub offers up a brunch menu with a cajun spin, and live jazz to boot. Enjoy southern brunch favourites including buttermilk fried chicken pancakes, bacon beignets and eggs sardou, as well as creole cocktails and craft beer.
Address: 139 Graham Street N1 8LB
Website: plaqlock.com
23 BAO, King's Cross
The weekend breakfast menu here serves up contemporary takes on Taiwanese breakfast classics. The menu offers a list of baked goods, as well as a breakfast BAO made with a sausage and cheese patty and layered with a hash brown and fried egg. Also try the Taiwanese Savoury Soy Milk which is a version of the traditional dou jiang breakfast dish found across Taiwan and China. Savoury soy milk is flavoured with Taiwanese sun-dried daikon, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil, and served with crispy fried dough, or youtiao, to dip into the milk.
Address: 4 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, N1C 4AG
Website: baolondon.com
24 Decimo, King's Cross
Another Saturday party brunch, and this one’s at Michelin-starred Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’ Mexican fusion restaurant at The Standard London. Knock back Sevilla mimosas and margaritas as you feast on sharing dishes and small plates that are a mix of popular taps faves and breakfast plates such as pork belly tacos, chorizo, croquets de jamon and tortilla. Make sure you dress sharp for this one.
Address: The Standard London, 10 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EG
Website: decimo.london
25 Milk Beach, Notting Hill
Another cafe bringing Sydney’s causal beachy vibes to north London, Milk Beach is an Australian-style cafe serving up warm weather cocktails, pancakes, banana bread and eggy-breakfast mains including the comfort eating soft boiled egg in a jar with sweet potato puree, cream and toast soldiers.
Address: 19-21 Lonsdale Road,Notting Hill NW66RA
Website: milkbeach.com
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