London Breakfast Archives - BURNESSIE TRAVELS

London

Coppa Club

We’ve all seen the wisteria laden cabanas at Coppa Club Tower Bridge on Instagram. By winter the restaurant terrace is decked out with festive igloos, during the summer they are draped in faux ivy and wisteria, fading from pink, to purple, to lilac and white. Add in the fact that Coppa Club sits on the river with a view of Tower Bridge and it’s pretty much as picturesque as you can get in Central London. The setting is beautiful and it’s no surprise that the bookable cabanas were full all the way through summer in a matter of days of release, but how does the food stand up against the pretty surroundings?

I took my dad out to Coppa Club for Father’s Day and by sheer stroke of luck, there was space under one of the coveted cabanas for us to sit for our meal. They do hold some back for walk ins and we got there at just the right time. Since it was sweltering we would’ve probably been a little more comfortable in the cool inside space, which is beautifully designed with brass accents, old fashioned cane backed chairs and a big sweeping bar in the middle. But of course I couldn’t resist the wisteria so we sweated it out under one of the cabanas instead. When in Rome, after all.

Whilst sat in the sun and having ordered a pint of the Coppa Club lager on draught (£4.25) for my dad and the Cotes De Provence Chateau Minuty rose (£8.95 250ml) for myself – which was bloody delicious – we started to dig through the starter options to share. There are plenty of small plates and nibbles to order at Coppa Club and it strikes me that this is a great after work pit stop for a few drinks and some tapas style dishes to tide you over as you plough through some cold prosecco. Crispy fried truffled gnocchi (£3.50), fresh crab and avocado on crostini (£5.95) and Italian sausage rolls with hot mustard (£3.50) are as good an accompaniment to evening drinks by the river as any, in my opinion, but I digress. That afternoon we opted to share the seared king prawns marinated in olive oil, chilli, garlic and lemon with sourdough bread (£6.95) and crispy calamari served with a delicious paprika and sriracha mayo (£5.95). Both were excellent and the prawns in particular were huge and juicy. A good start.

Although I’m usually one to be all over a brunch menu, we went to Coppa Club later in the day and had both eaten a decent breakfast so opted to order from the All Day menu rather than the brunch. Mains were their signature Coppa Club Hot sourdough pizza with spicy salami, Nduja, chilli, tomato and mozzarella (£9.95) which was definitely as hot as it sounds – and a solid pizza in a competitive market, though not up there with the specialists like Forza Win or Pizza East. My super greens and grains salad made up of quinoa, fregola, roasted beets, peas, broccoli, toasted seeds and chilli with added roast chicken (£12.90) was delicious and filling, something I’m always concerned places don’t get right with their salad offering. I did peek at the table next door at the brunch dishes that they were tucking into and have to say that the baked eggs and their Benedicts in particular looked very good, so I’d love to return to sample the brunch menu another time.

I also need to return to get another fix of that sticky toffee pudding they serve (£5.95), because that was good. I am a serious judge of London’s STPs and Coppa Club’s was very much up there – only pipped by my forever favourite from Hawksmoor. It was served with a good scoop of vanilla ice cream and most importantly, plenty of toffee sauce – enough that I had leftovers to scoop into my gob once the actual pudding had been demolished. That’s the sign of a good sticky toffee pudding if you ask me. So yes, happily the food and service do measure up to the beautiful setting at Coppa Club Tower Bridge. Go forth, get your wisteria Instagrams but moreover – eat and drink well.

Coppa Club, 3 Three Quays Walk, Lower Thames Street, London, EC3R 6AH
020 7993 3827

There are also Coppa Clubs at St Paul’s, Oxford Circus and Sonning-on-Thames in Berkshire, though the Tower Bridge one is the only one with cabanas on their terrace.

Liked this post? Subscribe here so you never miss an update!

Grind

Once upon a sunny September Sunday, I had the joy of a late summer brunch with a very generous pour of bottomless bubbles at Cafe Pistou in Exmouth Market. Sadly, Pistou’s warm pain au chocolats and excellent croque madames are now long gone, but when one door closes…there is now a Grind in its place. And I’m pleased to confirm that the Exmouth Market Grind fills the boots of brunches of Pistou past admirably.

With a brunch menu designed around mostly smaller dishes, this is the perfect place to take a group of friends and order everything to try to share. The atmosphere was buzzing on our visit, filled with big tables of friends laughing over their filled champagne coupes. The marble tables laid with pale pink and grey menus make this an extremely photogenic brunch to partake in, and a neon sign demanding you ‘Don’t Just Stare At It, Eat It’ completes the signature Grind Instagrammability in style.

But, you know, don’t just stare at it…no problems there, because the food here is too good to stare at it too long. Chorizo and smoked cheese croquettes (£5.50) were just as delicious as they sound: rich with cheese and chunks of spicy sausage in them, perfectly golden on the outside. I had my eye on the sprout spring salad with goats cheese (£5) but sadly they’d run out by the time we ordered – surely a good sign. Being the cliche I am, I also had smashed avo on sourdough with chilli and poached eggs, adding feta to the mix after a big debate between that or bacon (£8.50). Luckily for me my friend L ordered a side of bacon with her meal but found it too salty, letting me at it – super crispy, just the way I like it. The poached eggs were perfectly done with the brightest of orange runny yolks oozing out at the slightest nudge. The wild mushroom hash with harissa (£6) got full marks from L though noted it would have been easier to eat from a plate than a bowl.

Speaking of, there are ‘bowls’ on the menu, with nut granola with agave and winter fruits, porridge and coconut soaked oats with nuts and seeds on offer for those who are inclined to be more health conscious at brunch. On the other end of the spectrum there’s a full English, cheeseburger and a brilliant sounding eggs benedict on the menu with wild boar and chilli.

Obviously, we left room for afters, L getting the creme brûlée (£3.50) which was smooth with a lemon twist to it, whilst I got the chocolate hazelnut parfait with espresso streusel (£6). The latter was excellent, with layers of different textures topped off with sea salt to give it extra depth. Of course, brunch these days wouldn’t be complete without a consistent flow of prosecco, and I’m very much a fan of Grind’s styling: the menu lists this option as “Bottomless prosecco, seriously” – and it’ll only set you back £13 each. What are you waiting for? Grab some friends and get down to Grind. Seriously.

8-10 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QA
+44 20 3019 7709

Bottomless prosecco, seriously, also available at Clerkenwell Grind, 2-4 Old St, London, EC1V 9AA and London Grind, 2 London Bridge, London SE1 9RA

Bottomless brunch for 2 came to £30pp.

Liked this post? Subscribe here so you never miss an update!

A Bit Fancy Breakfast and Brunch London

Darwin Brasserie at Sky Garden

What’s a better way to start your day than a huge breakfast with a stunning view of London and your best friend after a session of sunrise yoga? Okay, fine, I can hear you shouting a fair few alternatives at me, but I stand by it that this was a great way to spend a Thursday morning, despite the 5.15am alarm.

Design My Night have brought back sunrise yoga at Sky Garden for just a tenner a go, which is pretty good as far as yoga classes go price wise in London these days. The catch is you’ve got to get yourself to the top of 20 Fenchurch Street by 6.30am. Whilst the early wake up call is brutal, doing a bit of yoga as the sun rises and starts to beat down on the glass ceiling of Sky Garden feels pretty special, and the promise of a fancy breakfast as a reward of sorts makes the whole getting up before the sun thing totally worth it.

Whilst there is the option of a breakfast buffet on the Sky Garden terrace for an extra £10 after yoga with Design My Night, we opted to book a table at Darwin Brasserie just above the terrace instead. With a view overlooking London from every table, there’s a kind of magic in the setting. Our spot looked down onto the river and the Shard – a view I for one never tire of seeing.

A continental buffet of mini pastries, cereals, fresh fruit and jams lined up next to soft, freshly cut bread and pats of butter line along the bar as you walk into Darwin Brasserie, and naturally we launched into this to start off with aplomb. Bircher muesli and yoghurt with granola, freshly squeezed juices and vats of fresh tea and coffee complete the buffet, and all of this comes in at £16.50, which considering the setting and the important fact the buffet is unlimited, is a pretty good deal in my book. For an extra £8.50 you can order one of the hot dishes from their a la carte breakfast menu which includes pancake stacks, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, wild mushrooms on sourdough and for a £5 supplement, you can go big and get a Full English.

Tempted by the pain perdu with crisp bacon, crushed pecans and maple syrup, I eventually landed on an old favourite, Eggs Royale, whilst my friend opted for smashed avocado on toast with poached eggs and tomato and chilli salsa. Whilst mine – being so rich with the hollandaise – was a punchy choice after so much food from the continental buffet, both were excellent and did the trick of keeping us full far into the afternoon. The bircher muesli and thick greek yoghurt with English honey were favourites from the buffet, and the choice of fruit was excellent – apple, grapes, pineapple, a selection of melon and mango, too. Please note I am also now looking at sourcing a set of drawers to hold mini pastries and muffins a la Darwin Brasserie for my own kitchen.

Often the quality of food and service is sacrificed when the view is this good, but not here. Sky Garden is a gem of London as it is, with its rainforest design and views of London on all sides, but Darwin Brasserie alone has made its mark as a foodie destination with one of the best breakfasts in London.

Sky Garden, at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 8AF
+44 333 772 0020