Best brunch in London

The best brunch in London

Eggbreak

Open seven days a week, Notting Hill’s Eggbreak is a great option for a weekday brunch. As the name suggests, eggs are a big focus here: signature dishes include the egg, bacon, and cheese toasty with chipotle ketchup; the eggbreaky melt; and the sabich eggs benedict created with chef John Gregory Smith – poached egg, tahini hollandaise, bharat aubergine, spinach and cream cheese on a toasted bagel. But there’s much more than eggs on offer. Sweets include chocolate french toast with a corn flake crumb and mascarpone; and buttermilk pancakes with banana and salted caramel butter. There are some healthier options too: a broccoli & avocado grain bowl (with the option to add a poached egg, naturally) and homemade quinoa granola with date yogurt. The Eggbreak experience is rounded out with coffee, fresh juices, iced tea and smoothies, as well as three varieties of bloody mary, a selection of cocktails, and wines.

Sunday in Brooklyn

New York's brunch hotspot, Sunday in Brooklyn, opened in Notting Hill in 2021. The Williamsburg original found fame for its modern twists on classic American brunch dishes, in particular the hazelnut maple praline pancakes with brown butter: a triple stack of thick fluffy pancakes that are every bit as good as they look. It's worth a visit for them alone. Savoury options are just as good, though, including the cheddar scramble with Long Island potatoes and bacon; the crisp fried chicken sandwich with sweet and sour hot honey; and the cauliflower melt, with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. For a boozy brunch, there’s even a special ‘brunch cocktails’ menu, featuring the Sunday Espresso – mezcal verde, banana, espresso, vanilla bean – and the Sunday bloody mary. The restaurant is packed every day of the week and channels big New York energy through the exposed brick, bright interiors, and energetic soundtrack.

Dishoom

Dishoom offers one of the finest brunches in London. The Indian mini chain turned the bacon roll on its head when it first started serving breakfast, with a genius twist on the British classic. Its bacon naan roll is now the stuff of brunch legend – a freshly baked naan, stuffed with smoked streaky bacon, a little cream cheese, tomato chilli jam and coriander. Other equally good twists include the bacon & egg naan, the sausage & egg naan, or the ultimate ‘wrester’s naan roll,’ which has all three and is an unbeatable brunch dish. And that’s not all. Dishoom offers an Indian version of the classic fry-up, the Big Bombay – masala beans, egg, sausage, bacon and mushroom; the Parsi omelette; and chilli cheese toast with fried eggs. Vegans are well catered for too, with a vegan sausage naan roll and a plant-based version of the Big Bombay, which includes tofu and vegan black pudding. To drink, there’s warming masala chai, fresh juices, tea and coffee.

Milk Beach

Australia is famous for its brunch and café culture, and, fortunately, there’s no need to travel halfway around the world to get a taste. Breezy all-day restaurant Milk Beach has a brilliant Aussie brunch. It has two locations: the original in Queen’s Park and a big new restaurant in the heart of Soho, which faces out on to an attractive internal courtyard. Come summer, both have lots of outdoor space, so Milk Beach makes a great choice for an outdoor brunch in London. Fresh, vibrant brunch dishes are the order of the day, with dishes on the menu, including overnight oats, poached pears, and coconut granola; eggs Florentine with wild mushrooms, spinach, and pickled daikon; and a green bowl, with broccoli, wild grains, Thai-spiced carrot and a poached egg. It wouldn’t be an Aussie brunch without avo on toast, and Milk Beach offers a great twist on the classic with the addition of watercress pesto, feta and pumpkin seeds. Coffee is taken seriously in Australia, and the same is true of Milk Beach, which has its own in-house coffee roastery called Album that supplies both restaurants with fresh beans that have been sourced directly from farmers.

The Good Egg

The Good Egg is a Middle Eastern-inspired, all-day restaurant that became just as famous for its long queues as its brunch when it first launched in Stoke Newington in 2015. There’s now a location in Soho, too, and both still draw huge crowds, who are happy to wait for what’s considered to be one of the best brunches in London. The menu takes inspiration from Israel and across the Middle East, with standout dishes like shakshuka with preserved lemon yogurt, za’atar and fluffy pittas; the lamb shawarma hash with amba mayo, pickles and aleppo fried egg; and the bagel stuffed with house-cured salt beef brisket, smoked cheddar, mustard, Russian dressing, garlic, and dill kraut. There are excellent sweet options too, such as the challah french toast sandwich with poached rhubarb, orange syrup and honeycomb, and the chocolate babka. To drink, there’s brunch cocktails, beers, ciders, and natural wines, including a few from the UK, as well as juices, teas, and coffees.

Norman's Cafe

Launched in 2020 during lockdown, Norman’s Café quickly became popular for its modern, hipster spin on the traditional greasy spoon. With its smart but stripped back interiors, featuring checkerboard floors, Formica tables, pinboard menu and plastic bucket seats, Norman’s has all the hallmarks of the classic caff. The menu is typical café fare on paper, but Norman’s take it up a notch by using top-tier ingredients: sausages and bacon from the local butcher in Tufnell Park, free-range eggs and homemade brown sauce. Dishes are simple but perfectly executed, from the beans on toast with red Leicester, and the classic fry-up, to the bacon sandwich and chip butty. There’s also a brilliant chicken escalope sandwich with spicy mayo, which has become one of Norman’s signatures. Combine with a classic builder’s tea for £1, or juices, fizzy drink cans, hot chocolate and coffee.

Caravan

Caravan first opened in Clerkenwell back in 2010, and now has locations in King’s Cross, Fitzrovia, Bankside and Bloomberg Arcade in the City. Its success has been driven by its relaxed all-day dining set-up and its weekend brunch, which is widely regarded as one of the best in town – the fried jalapeno cornbread with avocado, curd cheese, fried egg, and mojo verde is a must-try. Other standout dishes include the chorizo & potato hash with spinach and poached eggs; the baked eggs with spiced tomato, pepper and chickpea ragu; and the vanilla pancakes with vanilla cream cheese and poached strawberries. Lighter options include the seasoned rice, hot-smoked salmon, avocado and miso mayonnaise, and the golden spiced yogurt with berries, maple sesame granola and toasted hazelnuts. Caravan is also a coffee roaster, so it’s a huge part of the brunch experience, especially at the King’s Cross location where you can see the coffee being roasted in the back of the restaurant. Beans and coffee pods are also available to buy.

Milk

Not to be confused with Milk Beach, Balham’s Milk is one of the best brunches in south London. Big, bold flavours are the order of the day here, with stand-out signature dishes like the ‘convict’: a sausage, bacon, and scrambled egg muffin topped with Lincolnshire poacher cheese and hangover sauce, and the ‘sweet Maria’ sweetcorn fritters with halloumi, avo, and kasundi. Joining these favourites are regular specials, which are announced via Milk’s Instagram, and have featured everything from a blackened spice chicken sando with piquillo pepper relish, to buckwheat pancakes with apple and black cardamom crumble. There’s the usual line up of teas, coffees and juice, as well as seasonal fruit kombucha, which is brewed by the team in-house. With a loyal local following, expect long queues at weekends – but it’s very much worth the wait.

Chet's

At Chet’s in Shepherd’s Bush, Thai flavours are combined with American diner classics to make this one of the most fun and original brunch spots in London. Open every day from 7am, Chet’s offers the perfect antidote to early mornings, with dishes like the bodega sandwich, a kaiser roll filled with spicy sai uah sausage, fluffy scrambled eggs and ketchup, and the chicken ‘n’ roti – crisp spicy fried chicken and tom yum sauce served on roti waffles. From 10am, an extensive menu ushers in the likes of the tuna melt – tuna larb, spring onions, mint, Kewpie mayo and American cheese – and the mushroom & cheese roti (portobello mushroom, Thai basil, lemongrass, lime, chilli, coriander, provolone, scrambled egg), among many others. The fun continues over on the cocktail menu with creations like the Thai-Ball and the Thaiami Vice offered alongside beers and natural wines. There’s also coffee and tea served in classic American diner-style chunky mugs, as well as juices and soft drinks.

Sunday cafe and restaurant

Located on the quiet backstreets of Barnsbury in Islington, Sunday is the neighbourhood brunch spot that everyone wishes they had at the end of their road. Despite the name, it serves brunch every day apart from Monday, and during midweek you can even make reservations – at the weekend, you’ll have to queue with everyone else. Sunday’s brioche french toast with vanilla crème fraiche, banana and salted caramel is a stand-out signature dish, as are the corn fritters with bacon, avocado, chilli jam and poached egg. Among the brunch standards are a few more unusual dishes for London, such as soft corn grits with avocado and chorizo; the salt beef and sweet potato hash; and the smoked haddock rarebit with poached egg. With friendly staff, a homely vibe, and even some outdoor seating for summer, Sunday is a true star in London’s brunch game.

Riding House Cafe

When the first Riding House Café opened in Fitzrovia in 2011, it set a new standard for brunch in London. Bringing big modern NYC vibes with its stripped back wooden furniture, hanging plants and art deco lighting, Riding House is a bustling spot that’s packed with people having breakfast meetings during the week and lazy brunches on the weekend. The wide-ranging menu ranges from brunch standards like malted deep-dish pancakes topped with bacon and maple syrup, and a full English breakfast to original creations like the ‘burgerdict,’ a twist on eggs benedict that swaps out the ham for an aged beef patty. Drinks include several brunch cocktails as well as wines and beers, and coffee, juices and smoothies as booze-free options. There’s now a second location in Bloomsbury as well as a sister Rail House Café in Victoria, but it’s the cosy original that’s a true stalwart of the London brunch scene.

Duck & Waffle

With incredible views from the 40th floor of Heron Tower in the City and 24-hour service, Duck & Waffle is one of the most unique brunches in London. Although the menus change through a 24-hour cycle, there is one dish that's always available – the eponymous duck & waffle, with crisp duck leg confit, fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup on a sweet waffle. At breakfast and brunch, this signature dish is joined by a wealth of other waffle-based creations, including a duck benedict; a smoked salmon royale; and sweet caramelised banana with peanut crunch and hazelnut chocolate spread all piled on top of a waffle. Not everything comes on a waffle however: there’s also shakshuka, a full English breakfast, and homemade baked beans with feta and a cheese scone. The food is great, but it’s the views that really set the place apart, with wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows offering up panoramic views of London. It’s perfect for a celebration, so if you’re looking for a special occasion brunch spot, Duck & Waffle ticks all the boxes.

Towpath

Located on the Regent’s Canal between Haggerston and De Beauvoir, the Towpath café has one of the most picturesque brunch settings in London. With almost all of the tables set outdoors along the towpath, it’s only in operation during spring and summer, and its reopening each year is a keenly anticipated event among East-Londoners. Towpath is open from 9am Wednesday to Sunday and it’s advisable to get down early, especially on weekends, if you want any chance of nabbing one of the few coveted tables. It’s not just the setting that has people flocking down here, however; the menu, chalked up on the backboard each day, is a delight. First thing in the morning, there are simple breakfast dishes like fried eggs with chilli and sage butter; a grilled cheese sandwich with quince jelly; and miranda tomatoes with mojo verde on toast. At midday, the menu expands to include seasonal brunch dishes like asparagus with ajo blanco; friggitelli peppers with chopped egg and smoked anchovy; and smoked haddock with soft boiled egg and sweetcorn salsa. There’s a short list of wines, beers, and cocktails too – any of which is hard to turn down when the sun is shining.

The Anchor Bar & Terrace

Brunch should be a treat and what better way to make it memorable than to spend it in the very special Chelsea Harbour? The Anchor Bar & Terrace is situated in The Chelsea Harbour Hotel and overlooks the yachts that are moored outside. Served with bottomless prosecco, the brunch is a three-course affair making the most of seasonal produce and classic ingredients. Pancakes, the brunch favourite, are served with English strawberries in the summer (or a nutty, chocolatey number in the winter). Eggs, also a classic, are served in purgatory (with a spicy ‘nduja sauce), as benedict or Florentine, or with lobster if you’re feeling especially extravagant. If it’s featuring on the menu, the pistachio tiramisu is an excellent way to finish. £45 per person.