Oxbo Bankside Bottomless Brunch

I’m on a bit of a quest to discover the bottomless roasts London has to offer. I’ve written about Tanner & Co’s offering – my first bottomless roast experience – but more recently I’ve been to one that has swooped in to the number one spot. How can you make a bottomless roast even better than it already sounds? Oh I don’t know, maybe have an unlimited buffet of starters and desserts on top of a stellar roast and as many bubbles as you can stomach? Enter Oxbo Bankside, whose bottomless brunches have stormed in popularity recently – and quite rightly, because they do it well. With live music playing, attentive and friendly service and the bubbles flowing for two hours from the time you sit down it’s off to a good start. With the food it just gets better.

Visually the restaurant is stunning – bright and spacious with an open kitchen style set behind the two islands of unlimited joy. On the starters island you’ll find everything from sashimi, ceviche, smoked salmon with capers, tiger prawns with lime and chilli, potted crab and shrimp – and that’s just the seafood part. There are salads and olives, chicken and smoked duck, as well as a charcuterie full of Iberico chorizo, peppered pastrami and prosciutto with pickles and mustard. The challenge here, of course, is to pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint and all that jazz. I don’t know about you but I could fill up on multiple trips up to the starters alone, but that would be a mistake, because the main event is yet to come and boy, that’s a damn good roast. We both went for beef, but Oxbo give you a choice – chicken, a veggie option and even a fish dish are on the menu to choose from. The beef was exemplary, the roast potatoes among the better ones I’ve had in a restaurant (my standards are incredibly high – my mum’s are of course the best) and the veg cooked perfectly. The roast is worth going for alone.

But don’t get full yet, you’ve got unlimited desserts to come. Two of the most magical words in the English language, I’d wager. There’s something for everyone for dessert at Oxbo – an extensive cheeseboard to hack your way through, an array of mini bite size cakes and tarts, even a sweet section of jars filled with dolly mixtures and haribo. We made a valiant effort to try as much as possible – the cookies, cheesecake, bread and butter puddings were favourites of mine, along with the mini eton mess meringues and praline tarts. Dessert here is a big kid’s dream come true.

It sounds like this one is going to be expensive, doesn’t it? Unlimited starters, desserts and prosecco, plus a huge roast? It’s all yours for £40 pp, £28 if you opt out of bubbles (but why would you?), making it not only one of the best bottomless I’ve been to, but a steal too. Whilst I’d usually go for a later afternoon slot for a brunch to avoid my table being turned over, the trick here is to go for an earlier table to make sure the unlimited buffets are fully replenished – as the day goes on they will dwindle and food will eventually stop being replaced so as not to waste it. Not into roasts? You’re sorted – Oxbo do the same on Saturdays, swapping out the Sunday roast for a waffle and egg station and sharing style mains at your table. The only thing left to say is, when are you going?