Breakfast in London

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, it's my favourite. I always make time for a yummy, healthy breakfast to kick start my metabolism in the morning - usually porridge. So while we were in London I did my best to keep this up. We went somewhere different each morning and each one was a big hit, so I thought I'd share them with you.

The Breakfast Club


An obvious place to start. London bloggers seem to take over my instagram feed with The Breakfast Club every single Sunday. So obviously I had to see what all the fuss was about. We headed to the Soho branch (there are 5 in total, but this is the original one) as it was the closest to our hotel.


Gordon turned into an English breakfast connoisseur on our trip and had one every day! The Breakfast Club's "Full Monty" came loaded with fried potatoes and he actually struggled to finish it. I went for the porridge which was served with mixed berries and honey and, although nothing fancy, it was delicious. Washed down with a good cup of green tea and a stolen slice of sourdough toast - cheers Gordon! I'd recommend The Breakfast Club - and it's quirky, retro decor - for a quick, no fuss back street caf' style breakfast with a healthy portion of tongue-in-cheek humour. If you're visiting later in the day, their cow vs pig burger sounds epic! Find your nearest Breakfast Club here.


All Bar One


I first discovered All Bar One when a friend took me to their Glasgow bar. Think of it as a classier Weatherspoons. If you live in England, Glasgow or Edinburgh you'll probably have been in an All Bar One at least once in your life. There's loads in London. We found one right around the corner from our hotel on Ludgate Hill (next to St Paul's Cathedral) so headed there one morning for convenience. Gordon had another full english and this time I opted for granola. It was actually described on the menu as "Strawberries, Bananas & Granola with Greek-style Yoghurt" but when it arrived there was strawberries, raspberries and no banana. Not a big deal, but still... it was enjoyable anyway. All Bar One has a good selection on their breakfast menu and is really reasonably priced. The full breakfast was £7 and the granola was only £3.75! Their lunch/dinner menus are worth a look as well and they do a "Five O'clocktails" deal where you can choose from a selection of cocktails for only £4.95 each after 5pm! Find your nearest bar on their website.

Bill's


On our last morning we were heading to Covent Garden for last minute souvenir shopping. I remembered spotting a Bill's nearby when we'd been here earlier in the week so we made this our final breakfast destination. Bill's is another restaurant I've spotted on Instagram a few times so I trusted it would be decent and was not disappointed. Again it's reasonably priced. £7.95 for the "Bill's Breakfast" - which, surprise surprise, Gordon ordered - and £3.95 for my porridge. The blueberry and buttermilk pancakes were tempting, as was "Bill's healthy breakfast board" but I reckon I made the right choice! Normally porridge looks a bit gloopy and messy but Bill's served it with style! Not only did it look amazing, with it's swirl of honey and scattered hazelnuts and bananas, but it tasted amazing! Creamy oaty goodness! There are 11 Bill's Restaurants in London and another 2 on the way so it shouldn't be too difficult to find one. Check their website here.

Duck and Waffle


Saving the best for last, our most memorable breakfast in London has to be Duck & Waffle! That view! The restaurant is on the 40th floor of Heron Tower, making it the highest restaurant in the UK, and offering an impressive panoramic view of the capital city. You reach the restaurant via a glass elevator (FROM HELL) that travels at 5mps and convinced me I was going to DIE! (I didn't. But I don't recommend looking out while it's moving!) Once we reached the 40th floor and were back on non-moving ground I was happy. We were lucky to be seated in the far corner of the restaurant where, when we weren't too busy looking for London landmarks, we could also watch the chefs hard at work in the open kitchen. It was a beautiful morning that day. The sun was streaming in through the windows and our seats gave us a magic view of the nearby Gherkin and Tower Bridge in the background.


We started with tea and coffee while we perused the impressive breakfast menu. You can choose from classics like the english breakfast and baked pastries or sample something a little bit different, such as the foie gras all day breakfast or the namesake duck 'n' waffle. I'm sure by now I don't even need to tell you what Gordon had. His English breakfast did look seriously good here though, especially the hash brown and trotter-braised beans! This was my only "treat" breakfast on our whole trip but I just couldn't resist the waffles. The waiter wasn't going to let me either; I told him I couldn't decide between them and the granola, to which he simply said "waffle!" with a horrified look on his face haha. He was right. I chose the banana 'n' nutella waffles and oh my god, they were amazing! The banana had some sort of sweet, honey glaze and the nutella melted in the sun, making a big chocolatey waffle mess from heaven.


Duck & Waffle was the most expensive breakfast we had but it was definitely a treat and well worth it! The full English comes in at £14 and the waffles were £8.50. Personally I'd say the extra cost is worth it just for the view but the food itself exceeded our expectations and justified the cost. The restaurant is actually open 24/7 so you could check out their other menus but I'd imagine they're even more pricey. This place is not to be missed though so if you're on a budget at least head to Duck & Waffle for breakfast. Start your day with amazing food and breathtaking views. I promise it'll set you up for the day! You can book online here.


Where are your favourite breakfast haunts? I'm especially on the lookout for recommendations in NYC if you know of any?

Christy
xx

2 comments:

  1. Gorgeous pics! I'm moving to London soon (im from Manchester) to go to uni so will add these to my list of places to go to!
    http://abigailalicex.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. jealous! I'm sure you'll discover plenty more too :) x

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