London Archives - BURNESSIE TRAVELS

The Best of the Bottomless Brunches

It’s no secret that I’m somewhat experienced in the bottomless brunch arena. The long time Manhattan tradition of a boozy weekend brunch finally made its way across the pond a fair few years ago now and it has snowballed with huge effect. From high end hotels to pop ups and even your local boozer, there are bottomless deals on everywhere you look. Not that I’m complaining, I would spend every weekend at a different boozy brunch if I were able to. The introduction of the lesser known Bottomless Roast and Bottomless Dinner indicates the trend has no chance of slowing down, so it’s high time for an easy look guide at the best of the best in London’s bottomless. (more…)

London

Pizza Pilgrims

There are plenty of places to get a brilliant pizza in London now, and constant debate around which is the best. Is it Homeslice with their gigantic pies to share? Or Naples’ very own export, L’Antica Pizzeria de Michele? I haven’t tried all of these rivals yet, but I can put in a well researched and firm vote for Pizza Pilgrims certainly being up there among the best.

One of London’s original street food vans to bricks and mortar success stories, there are now half a dozen Pizza Pilgrims restaurants over the city – a chain has formed. We’re seeing this happen a lot with our favourite street food places now, and the worry is whether the food we’ve grown to love, served out of a van in a car park, will stay the same. Switching from a small operation to building up an array of restaurants runs a risk of losing both the personality and quality of the business. Being a returning customer over the years, I’m impressed with the consistency of both of these factors: Pizza Pilgrims have succeeded.

Pizzas are of the Neapolitan style and made with as many ingredients local to Italy as can be. Flour is shipped from Naples istelf; the two different types of mozzarella are shipped from Caserta twice a week; their nduja arrives weekly from Calabria. Even the source of their basil has a kind of romance to it – it’s from down the road at Berwick Street market, the location of Pizza Pilgrims’ first foray into the food world. Quality ingredients are paramount, particularly in Italian cooking, and it is clear the level of care that continues to go into this side of the business, nearly six years on from them serving their first pizza. The result is the perfect pizza – better than some I’ve had in Italy, even. Puffed up crusts surrounding a sweet tomato base, oozing with mozzarella. It smells incredible.

There are a few changes to the menu between locations: their fantastic arancini wasn’t on the Dean Street menu last week, for which I wept, but in a genius move they’ve added crust dippers. If you can’t choose between pesto aioli, gorgonzola and garlic or smoked chilli jam mascarpone, they’re only two quid each so cut your decision making anxiety in half and get more than one. I’ll help you out further – whichever pizza you opt for (though I always seem to go for the salami with added nduja – highly recommend), add on buffalo mozzarella for an extra £2.75. It makes for a messier pizza but it’s totally worth it, and all the best food is messy anyway. Wine comes by the carafe (even the prosecco) and sides and desserts are kept simple – the main event here is the pizza and Pilgrims are devoted to delivering their specialty well and without distractions.

The story behind Pizza Pilgrims is a great one, and as you read about the brothers’ pint fueled agreement to give the street food scene a go, through to their six week pilgrimage around Italy in the name of research, you can’t help but cheer them on. Good job we can continue to do so, because Pizza Pilgrims are still serving up banging pizza to punters queuing out the door, no matter how much they’ve grown.

Multiple locations in London

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Bottomless Breakfast and Brunch London

The Best of the Bottomless

It’s no secret that I’m somewhat experienced in the bottomless brunch arena. The long time Manhattan tradition of a boozy weekend brunch finally made its way across the pond a fair few years ago now and it has snowballed with magnificent effect. From high end hotels to pop ups and even your local boozer, there are bottomless deals on everywhere you look. Not that I’m complaining, I would spend every weekend at a different boozy brunch if I were able to. The introduction of the lesser known Bottomless Roast and Bottomless Dinner indicates the trend has no chance of slowing down, so it’s high time for an easy look guide at the best of the best in London’s bottomless.

South Place Chop House

An old favourite of mine, South Place Chop House in South Place Hotel is one of the original stalwarts of London’s bottomless brunch scene. With an ever changing menu you’ll never be too bored for a repeat visit, which is ideal as this brunch is perfect for big groups celebrating as well as being classy enough to take your parents to. There’s plenty of variety between breakfast and lunch dishes, some seriously good desserts to get stuck into (shout out to the salted caramel chocolate pot) and the staff are generous with the boozy top ups. The restaurant has evolved to offer a bottomless roast on Sundays, and remains at the top of my list to try immediately if not sooner. If their brunch is anything to go by, I imagine their roast will be one of the best in town, and with the menu boasting three roast meats to choose from as well as pie and fish and chips, I think I might be right.

Price: Brunch: 2 courses for £22.50 or 3 for £27.50. Roast: 2 courses for £25, 3 for £30. Go bottomless for £18
Bottomless drinks: Brunch: Prosecco, bellinis and mimosas; Roast: red, white and rose wine
Duration: Whilst you dine (take your time over those three courses why don’t you)
When: Every Saturday and Sunday between 12 and 5pm
Address: South Place Hotel, 3 South Pl, London EC2M 2AF
TOP TIP: Great for initiating the parents into the bottomless brunch scene

The Botanist

My favourite place for a boozy brunch in London. From the brilliant menu and the beautiful decor to the fantastic service and live music: The Botanist has it all. Pride of place in the buzzy Broadgate Circle near Liverpool Street, The Botanist throws its doors open in the summer but remains cosy in the winter with copper accents, leather booths, dark wood and soft mood lighting. Favourite dishes on their seasonal menu include the macaroni cheese croquettes with truffle mayo; shrimp and bacon croquettes and the huge chicken schnitzel. For a twist on the traditional eggs Benedict, order the soft shell crab benny with jalapeno hollandaise, and if you’re a fan of Sticky Toffee Pudding, the one at The Botanist is a great contender, served with sounds-odd-but-is-strangely-good cornflake ice cream. All this, plus you’re allowed two drinks on the go at any one time. Bottomless brunch perfection.

Price: 2 courses for £20 or 3 for £25. Add £15 for bottomless for 2 hours
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco, Bloody Mary’s, bellinis, mimosa and red, white or rose wine
Duration: 2 hours
When: Every Saturday between 11.30am and 4.30pm
Address: Broadgate Circle, London EC2M 2QS
TOP TIP: The Botanist also do a Bottomless Dinner from 6pm every Saturday with live music. The perfect way to kick off a big night out

Gaucho

Gaucho’s Electro Brunch is not only a winner on the bottomless brunch front, but is available up and down the country, so not just one for those in that there London. Small plates are the name of the game at Gaucho, and come unlimited as do the drinks – you just need to finish the dish you’re on before ordering the next. Fried Provoleta cheese with caramleised onion chutney is the perfect small plate, whilst the peanut butter dulce de leche served with mini croissants at the start of brunch is utterly beautiful. Mini avocado on toasts and Eggs Benedict round off the traditional brunch dishes, and Gaucho’s Bloody Marys are one of the best I’ve ever had. Aperol Spritz as a bottomless is a novelty, though a little watered down compared to those you may order elsewhere. Not many brunches allow you to order as much steak as you want though, do they? Great for a more special affair.

Price: £49.95 for all food and drink
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco, Bloody Mary’s, Aperol Spritz, Pilsener Lager and non alcoholic fresh juices
Duration: 2 hours
When: Every Saturday between 11am and 4pm
Address: Multiple locations in London, plus Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds
TOP TIP: Ask for extra peanut butter dulce de leche because it may just be one of the best things on God’s green earth.

Grind

Famous for their espresso martinis and fun neon signage, before long Grind will be as well known for their £13 bottomless bubbles. With a range of small plates, classic brunch dishes and even a flat iron steak for a tenner, you can’t go far wrong at one of Grind’s restaurants for brunch. Endless prosecco is served in old fashioned coupes whilst you dine, and those marble table tops make a brunch at Grind seriously Instagrammable. Special mention to the chorizo and smoked cheese croquettes, as well as the bacon, which is astonishingly crispy – just the way it should be.

Price: Plates priced individually, bottomless prosecco £13
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco
Duration: 90 mins
When: Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 5pm
Address: London Grind, 2 London Bridge, London SE1 9RA; Clerkenwell Grind, 2-4 Old St, London EC1V 9AA; Exmouth Market Grind, 8-10 Exmouth Market London EC1R 4QA; Covent Garden Grind, 42 Maiden Lane, London, WC2E 7LJ
TOP TIP: At £13pp for bottomless prosecco, this is one of London’s cheapest ways to get boozed up through brunch – perfect just before pay day.

Oxbo Bankside

We’re starting to get greedy and seek out all you can eat as well as all you can drink: enter the bottomless buffet at Oxbo Bankside. With towering buffet stations of salads, sushi, charcuterie, cheese boards and a huge array of bite sized cakes, tarts, cookies and jars on jars of penny sweets, this is a brunch that is sure to have something for everyone. And all of this is before you’ve ordered a main! On Saturdays the table is served three hot sharing dishes for everyone to tuck into and on Sundays you can choose between roast beef, chicken, cod or vegetarian dhal. The beef was superb on my visit and a decent roast in its own right despite all the buffet and bottomless fanfare. This is a great one for bigs groups given the nature of the buffet set up, and live music keeps the atmosphere buzzing throughout the afternoon. For Saturday brunch there’s a waffle and egg station too, so go hungry for this one.

Price: £45 for all food and drink
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco
Duration: 2 hours
When: Saturday and Sunday between 12pm and 3pm
Address: Hilton London Bankside, 2-8 Great Suffolk St, London SE1 0UG
TOP TIP: Get an earlier booking for this one – the buffet stations stop being replenished as the afternoon goes on so as to not waste food, so an earlier slot will ensure you don’t miss out on any of the amazing food on offer.

Tanner & Co

A boozy brunch is fantastic, but how about a boozy roast? Tanner & Co have spruced up their Sunday bottomless roast menu so you can now choose between beef, pork, chicken or vegetarian with all the trimmings, plus you’ll get a dessert thrown in too. On Saturdays it’s a brunching affair – you’ll be brought some nibbles to start, and something small and sweet afterwards, but the pick of the main event is all yours. All eyes on the beef, bacon and brie burger with beetroof chutney, or perhaps the classic poached eggs and avo on sourdough is more your thing?

The huge advantage at Tanner & Co is the wide range of drinks on offer and the freedom with which you will find whole bottles of bubbles on your table to keep you satisfied. Also, Tanner & Co now offer espresso martinis among their bottomless poisons, which is frankly both ridiculous and one of the best things I’ve ever heard.

Price: £40 for all drink and food
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco, Bloody Mary’s, beer, wine, cider and Espresso Martinis
Duration: 2 hours
When: Brunch every Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 4pm; roasts on Sunday between 11am and 4pm
Address: 50 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3UD
TOP TIP: Probably the most broadly catered for bottomless out there in terms of drinks, this will keep the fussiest of drinkers happy

Avenue

Avenue is a part of the extensive D&D family, who offer bottomless brunches at a fair few of their restaurants, practically enough of them to keep you going all year round. Brunch in Avenue is a buzzy affair, with great food and plenty of fizz to keep you going through your two hour slot. Its central location and their ability to cater for large groups makes it a favourite for birthday celebrations. The menu has a very American feel, with different types of Eggs Benedict, macaroni cheese, burgers, buttermilk pancakes and waffles all on the menu. Not forgetting that New York cheesecake for dessert – if you have room that is. On Sundays unlimited Aperol Spritz are on offer so if you’re a fan of Aperol, get yourself down there!

Price: 2 courses for £25.50 or 3 for £28.50. Add £18 for bottomless
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco and Bloody Mary’s on Saturdays; prosecco and Aperol Spritz on Sundays
Duration: Whilst you dine
When: Every Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays between 11am and 4pm
Address: 7-9 St James’s Street, London, SW1A 1EE
TOP TIP: A later brunch booking means your table will not be turned over for another group, which usually means a more leisurely experience and sometimes, if you’re lucky, over two hours of bubbles…

ROKA

One of the pricier bottomless brunches in town, ROKA is unique in that it’s one of the only places you’ll find geared around sushi rather than your more traditional eggs and pancakes. There are three price brackets to choose from at ROKA, though if you’re going to do it, do it properly I say. The priciest menu gets you champagne on arrival, added premium sashimi, offers the famous black cod as a main and serves premium wines, including rose. Sushi starters are all you can eat from the counter in a help yourself buffet style, before leading onto hot dishes at the table for mains such as salmon teriyaki and a beef ribeye. A dessert platter to share is served at the table for afters and the wine free flows the entire time.

Price: £49 in Canary Wharf; £59 in Aldwych
Bottomless drinks: Bellini or Bloody Mary on arrival and paired wines throughout brunch
Duration: 2 hours for bookings up to 3 people; 2.5 hours for 4 or more
When: Every Saturday between 11.30am and 3.30pm, Sundays and on bank holidays at Canary Wharf between 11.30am and 8pm
Address: ROKA Canary Wharf, 40 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FW; ROKA Aldwych, 71 Aldwych, London WC2B 4HN
TOP TIP: Get a group of at least 4 of you to go to maximise that bottomless drinking time

Bōkan

Canary Wharf is becoming a bit of a destination in its own right, though if you’re not familiar with the area you’d never think it. Bōkan is the restaurant and bar occupying the top three floors of new Novotel, and they are firmly on the bottomless bandwagon. With a carefully curated three course menu to choose from with dishes such at game and foie gras terrine, scallops tartare, beef carpaccio, duck breast and a Wagyu beef burger, this brunch feels decidedly fancy. Everlasting prosecco sees you through your meal and being 37 floors up means the views of London’s skyline are unparalleled.

Price: £49
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco
Duration: 2 hours
When: Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday between 12.30pm and 2.30pm (last orders)
Address: 40 Marsh Wall, Isle of Dogs, London E14 9TP
TOP TIP: After brunch head 2 floors up to Bōkan’s rooftop bar and terrace for more of those striking views and live music into the evening.

Megan’s

Megan’s is a great little restaurant and lucky for us there are now three different locations of this gem in South West London; Fulham, Parson’s Green and Balham. Warm and inviting, with blue and white checked tablecloths and the prettiest of fairy lights strung up either inside or out in the courtyard (in Fulham), Megan’s is a lovely laid back choice for brunch. Rightly famous for their Shakshouka and their brilliant deli style counter where you pick your salads and quiche at free will, Megan’s have also gone bottomless on the weekends. Although charming all year round, an al fresco brunch at the Fulham Megan’s in the summer is particularly brilliant since one of their bottomless drinks is Pimm’s – and we all know how easy it is to drink that stuff like it’s juice. The perfect summer brunch spot.

Price: Plates priced individually, go bottomless for £18
Bottomless drinks: Prosecco, Bloody Mary’s and Pimm’s
Duration: 90 mins
When: Every Saturday and Sunday between 2pm and 6pm (last sitting 4.30pm)
Address: 571 King’s Rd, Fulham, London SW6 2EB; UNIT B 69, 57 Parsons Green Ln, Fulham, London SW6 4JA; 41-43 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9EY
TOP TIP: Megan’s do a half baked cookie dough dessert stuffed with Nutella and topped with pistachios and salted caramel ice cream. Thank me later.

Have you been to any of these bottomless hot spots? Let me know what you thought and where your favourite is in the comments below!

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Bottomless Breakfast and Brunch London

Gaucho Electro Brunch

Excellent news, I have finally made it to Gaucho’s legendary Electro Brunch – all you can drink and all you can eat. Yes, really. Gaucho has long been a favourite place of mine for steak: the meat is of such quality you won’t need a steak knife, the service is great and the wine is always excellent. So when I found out about Gaucho’s bottomless brunch I was eager to try it and see how the quality compared to their usual dining experience. Also, bottomless Aperol? Frankly it’s shameful how long it took me to get around to booking a table.

To kick off proceedings, our waitress Amanda brought over mini croissants with something that I can only describe as a game changer: peanut butter dulce de leche. Sweet caramel flavours mixed with the salty peanut: I honestly feel it changed my life a little bit. Amanda explained that she would wait for us all to be comfortably seated before bringing our first drinks over, and that the two hour bottomless time would start from then. We could order one dish at a time each and once that one was finished, order another. Simple.

Gaucho’s exemplary Bloody Mary’s have pulled me through on occasion before and sporting a slight headache from the night before’s escapades, so starting off with one of these was the best course of action. I actually would go so far as to say that Gaucho’s BMs are my favourite – though if you have any further recommendations, do let me know, as research in that area is a cross I’m willing to bear.

The food menu had everything from different Eggs Benedicts: salt beef, florentine, royale; bacon sandwiches, pancakes, french toast… I started with avocado on toasted sourdough with pancetta, which I wolfed down in record time, though the dishes you are served are small in order to allow you to fit more variety in, which is fine by me. The beans on toast with Spanish chorizo was another winner and the bacon sandwich on ciabatta was good too, though I feel bacon sandwiches are better on a softer bread with lashings of butter. Steak and eggs with chimchurri added on was as good as you would expect at a steak restaurant, and gives you a taste of their regular menu have you not eaten there before. A favourite was the fried Provoleta with caramelised onion chutney because what’s not to love about deep fried cheese, but I would go for that first next time as was quite rich after a few other dishes. The banana pancakes with Nutella went down well with my companions, whilst I grabbed the chance for more of the peanut butter dulce de leche on French toast with strawberries. Full disclosure: I did ask for extra dulce de leche as there wasn’t enough served with the dish, slash I truly have no shame, and laid it on as thick as possible. Washed down with their excellent Argentine sparkling wine it was the ultimate in brunching indulgence.

I’m all about an Aperol Spritz, especially in the summer months, so one of the big pulls for this brunch is the fact it’s the only one I’ve come across that offers Aperol as one of their bottomless drinks (along with their signature Bloody Mary, Domaine Chandon, Rubia Pilsener Lager and juice bar soft drinks). As we walked in we could see these big fish bowl wine glasses lined up on the back bar, gradually being filled with the good orange stuff. I was a little disappointed to find that the Aperols served did taste quite watered down, and whilst it’s to be expected on some level at a boozy brunch, I would hope the taste would stay the same! The only other slight gripe I had on an otherwise excellent brunch was the speed at which it took to get another drink and order the next dishes. There were times where we were waiting for a good 15 to 20 minutes for a refill, and when you have a time limit that does start to bother you. Other than that, the service was excellent and so friendly.

Gaucho is definitely one of the more grand bottomless brunches out there; great to take your parents to, or get dressed up a bit for – it feels special. That’s reflected in the price at £49.95 pp (£45 outside of London), but I do think it’s worth it. If you don’t fancy going for the brunch, the a la carte menu is fantastic and as previously mentioned, the steak is one of my favourite in London. Oh and the tuna ceviche to start is out of this world – if that found itself onto the brunch menu, that would truly be a fine thing. Though when you’ve got those Bloody Mary’s and that peanut butter dulce de leche you don’t really need any other excuse to visit Gaucho’s Electro Brunch.

Available every Saturday between 11am and 4pm at the following restaurants: Broadgate, Canary, Piccadilly, Sloane, Smithfield, Tower Bridge, Birmingham, Leeds & Manchester

£49.95 pp, or £45 in Birmingham, Leeds & Manchester
£10 deposit pp necessary on booking

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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.

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Bottomless Breakfast and Brunch London

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.

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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

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Bottomless Breakfast and Brunch London

Tanner & Co

Everyone loves a bottomless brunch; London is so full of them now I really cannot keep up. Something new is rearing its head though, and I’m so on board with it I can no longer keep it to myself. Having planned to try Tanner & Co in Bermondsey for brunch for some time now, I stumbled across the golden information that whilst they run a brunch (which sounds great, by the way) on Saturdays, Sunday sessions come in a different form: the bottomless roast.

Serving up a set roast dinner and dessert, it’s wanting in choice but certainly solves the problem of hangover ordering and the ever dreaded food envy. Besides, at £35pp all in, you really cannot go far wrong. The booze options are fantastic though: Bloody Mary’s (beware, they are particularly spicy at Tanner & Co), mimosas, processo, red and white wine, cider and pints of lager – there is truly every hair of the dog going here. Bottles of prosecco are left in ice buckets with a jug of orange juice to make your own mimosas, which adds to ease for both customers and busy wait staff, and this casual nature gives Tanner & Co the warming feeling that you’re sitting around a mates’ kitchen table for a roast

Roast beef was offer of the day when we went, and it was perfectly cooked, pink in the middle but not too rare. Potatoes were crispy, veg cooked very well (i.e. still crunchy as is the only way to serve veg) and the Yorkshires were great too. A solid roast, and paired with a few mimosas, the perfect antidote to kick any remaining hangover from the Saturday night to the kerb. Dessert was apple crumble with vanilla ice cream: the crumble topping was lovely but the apple filling was just okay and nothing to write home about, passable but not among the best crumbles I’ve had. It would be nice to see a selection of desserts to choose from, and different meats on offer for the roast, but the beef was fantastic and is always my go-to roast order, so fine by me.

I’d definitely return to Tanner & Co for another bottomless roast, and also can bottomless roasts just be a thing now? A lazy roast with endless wine, and I don’t have to do any cooking for hours on end? I am all in.

50 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD
+44 20 7357 0244

Sunday Roasts run from either 12.00 – 14.00 or 15.00 – 17.00, £35pp.

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Bottomless Breakfast and Brunch London

Tanner & Co

50 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD
+44 20 7357 0244

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London

Padella

Pasta. The freshest of pasta made in house every day with homemade sauces and the very best of simple ingredients. That’s all you need to know, really. I’d heard about Padella via Sabrina Ghayour’s Instagram, and figured if Sabrina was a regular who raved about it, it was certainly worth trying. I trust Sabrina. Then one of my colleagues pounced on me one morning and went on and on and on about how it’s the best pasta he’s had in London, and he continued to hound me until I went. They were both right – this is without question some of the best Italian food I’ve had in the city.

I am a long time fan of a ‘small plates’ menu, mainly because I want to try everything in any given restaurant, which I think is totally acceptable. I don’t want to be tied down to one choice, suffering from food envy should my companion have chosen wiser than me. Luckily for me, restaurants going down the small plates route are hugely popular and opening at a rapid rate in London, and Padella is one of them, taking inspiration from traditional Italian small plates. Coming from the team behind Trullo (er hello, one look at that sample menu and I’m now desperate to visit), Padella is based on years of travelling through Italy making and eating a shit tonne of pappardelle. Sounds like the perfect excuse to open a pasta bar if you ask me.

After a 30 minute wait in line for a table (for Padella is one of those no reservations places we don’t mind so much in the summer months but cry about in the winter), we were fortunate to get a table outside on one of the last warm, sunny evenings in September. Vowing to eat as much as we could, we went in hard with an order of four dishes to share as a start to our meal. We went classic with cold meat and cheese with bread and salad – the simplest of European combinations that is always some kind of perfect. The salami was excellent and the burrata spot on (£5), but when is burrata not spot on? Next time I would opt for the spinach with chilli, garlic and anchovy (£5.50) over the radicchio, watercress and rocket salad (£5.50), though it’s not like we didn’t polish it off – the spinach just sounds more interesting. I have apparently memorised the beauty of Padella’s sourdough (£2), crunchy on the crust but so soft and warm on the inside, the perfect accompaniment to soaking up the Puglian olive oil it’s served with. A very solid start.

Despite a great start to our meal, the mains really did steal the show. The ricotta ravioli in sage butter (£7) came out on top, helped by the fact it’s one of my favourite dishes of all time, but therefore at high risk of being judged too harshly. It was second only to some ravioli I’ve had at a wedding in Tuscany, which I swear to God I can still taste if I close my eyes. The ravioli is a must order, as is the pappardelle with 8 hour Dexter beef shin ragu (£8.50), on par with that I’ve eaten in a Florentine trattoria. Tagliatelle with nduja, mascarpone and parsley (£5.50) was creamy but much spicier than expected – not necessarily a bad thing, and I am certainly one for spice, though I may substitute for fettuccine carbonara next time (£7.50). Or maybe just go with more people and get both? That’s probably a better idea. Also worth a mention – aforementioned colleague of mine still talks about their Taglierini with Dorset crab, chilli and lemon on a weekly basis, so there are two things we can take away from this: a) you cannot go far wrong choosing between any of the eight mains Padella offer, and b) we thank the pasta Gods once more that Padella is somewhere you are actively encouraged to order multiple dishes to share (around three or four dishes between two).

Desserts came in the form of a chocolate tart, an almond and blueberry tart or salted caramel ice cream. We tried the chocolate and ice cream, and whilst both were pleasant they did pale next to the high standard of the starters and mains, which is perhaps to be expected when the pasta is known to be the star of the show. And for all of this, wager how much the bill came to? Four dishes to start, three pastas, two desserts, and a very decent amount of wine, prosecco and Aperol came to £45pp including service. For this amount of food, I consider this a great deal in a city such as London, and for food of this quality, it’s heaven.

Despite being advised that the tables had a turn around of 1.5 hours per sitting, we didn’t feel rushed whilst we had our meal which is absolutely key. Service was friendly and accommodating, offering drinks to those waiting in the near constant queue that didn’t die down until gone 9pm. Sure, a queue can be off putting and I for one have little patience to wait outside in the cold, but the reward is a great one: a warm, friendly atmosphere with good wine and what surely must be some of London’s best pasta.

6 Southwark Street, London, SE1 1TQ
Mon – Sat: 12-4pm; 5-10pm; Sun: 12-5pm