Another weekend, another brunch! I look forward to weekends not only because the whole week is so crazy busy but more so for the next brunch place I am dying to try out. I’ve saved a collection of my most recent and favourite brunches for you guys so you can pick and choose the ones you like! 😀
GOODE & WRIGHT, Portobello Road:
There’s always sooo much going on, on Portobello Road that you easily get overwhelmed and walk into the first cafe/coffee shop you find to hide away from the crowd of people every where. However, if you’re feeling brave, walk down Portobello Road right towards the bridge near Ladbroke Grove and you will find some lovely cafes and restaurants that aren’t too busy. One of these unassuming places I found was Goode and Wright. I went there with my friends for brunch as I wanted to try something different. I opted for the charred mackerel and salad (how healthy of me!) minus the chorizo where as my friends went for the buttermilk chicken schnitzel with avocado and lemon. We ordered their truffle fries to share because…why not?!
For a dish so simply described, I was a bit sceptical whether it would come up to my expectations. Despite the fish being cooked perfectly and me thinking how is this small piece of fish going to satisfy me :P, it was more the salad that sold the whole dish for me. Unfortunately I was too busy devouring the salad and forgot to take a photo (rookie error!) But take my word for it- it was so well made and the dressing made it irresistible! Thumbs up…I’m a convert.
Verdict for the chicken schnitzel? The BEST they’ve ever had! :O Their lunch and dinner menu is equally mouthwatering so go and check it out this weekend! x
So this place is not exactly a brunch restaurant. It’s a pub but one that I can’t get away without mentioning. Also, the food you have there for lunch is your breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner! You (well I) eat so much till you’re about to burst and need to be carried home…I’d pay someone to do that. No kidding.
Anyway, getting a table here is a mission especially on a busy day like Sunday. Everyone wants to eat here and if you miss that lucky hour when the pub opens, you’re in for at least an hour-two hours wait time! Yeah, a complete FML situation when you’re dying from hunger and need a good roast to pick you up. My second visit here and the food was still as good! One of my friends had to run there when they opened at 12PM to get us a table 😀
The sunday roast there is one of THE best- hands down! I opted for the 35 day aged sirloin where as my friends went for the roasted crown of special reserve chicken- I should’ve had that too and I did! ha 😀
JUST LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THESE YORKIES!! :O
And don’t even get me started on the dessert…we were SO full after our lunch that we ordered the chocolate hot pot with marshmallows & mint choc chip ice cream to share. There was no question about NOT ordering it- it was just who was going to have HOW much. It was that good. I don’t like marshmallows but they went perfectly with this dessert. And the mint chocolate chip ice cream was the perfect topping for this hot, gooey chocolatey dessert. Roll me home now…!
BOURNE & HOLLINGSWORTH BUILDINGS, Clerkenwell:
If you’re a regular reader of my blog (if not, you should be!) then you must have read my dinner review of Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings. It has become one of my favourites- not only is it a gem tucked away in Clerkenwell, the interior is a complete opposite of what you see from the outside, the staff is super friendly, the food absolutely delis and a fantastic tropical ambience.
They’ve gone even further and introduced their brunch menu. Wohoo! It was only two of us and we were starving- as always. We made our way inside, and it was full of groups and couples enjoying the food. You wouldn’t be able to tell from the outside as it was really quiet. We sat down and ordered a few drinks. They also do the bottomless drinks- you know what that means! Time to get draaaank- at 1PM in the afternoon…
We went a little crazy and ordered food for four people when it was only two of us. I ordered the B&H breakfast with a choice of 3 items- can never resist bubble and squeak and was tempted to try the ‘homemade’ baked beans.
We wanted to try some other vegetarian options so ordered the curried cauliflower and broccoli with poached hen’s eggs. I think of the four dishes we ordered, this one was our least favourite. It needed more oomph- just didn’t hit the spot! Reminded me of the ‘mix sabzi’ (sabzi=vegetable) I make some times but with more flavour and even more spice! 😀
My friend loves her eggs royale so we ordered those too- why not?! Who’s counting anyway? The thick dollop of hollandaise sauce on top of those perfectly poached eggs looked heavenly. She wiped her plate clean!
And the unexpected star of the brunch!? French toasts with caramelised bananas and mixed nuts. B&H Buildings- one thing you do: NEVER TAKE THESE OFF YOUR MENU!! Or change the way you cook them, for that matter. I am more of a savoury person than sweet and would hardly ever order something sweet for breakfast but these french toasts were everything. The whole combination of the brioche bread, caramelised bananas and the crunch of those toasted nuts…mmmm!! Even thinking about them is making me salivate haha!
A shot of our food- droooooool! 😛
So yeah! if you’re looking for one place to take your girls, guy brunch, your mum or even your whole family?! This is the place! 🙂
HOTBOX, Liverpool Street/Aldgate East, Commercial Road:
I was waiting to visit HotBox and THEN publish this blog post 🙂 I had heard quite a lot about these guys and dammit, everyone’s on Instagram which makes my life harder. I end up going through photos and photos of food right before I sleep!
Tucked a 5 minute walk away from Spitalfields Market in Liverpool Street on Commercial Street is HotBox. I had heard they do brunch and really good one at that! So I dragged 3 of my friends as guinea pigs to try this place out 😀
It opens at 11:30AM and only take group bookings of 6 and above. We got there for 12:15PM and were give a wait time of 45minutes. WHAT?! Who gets up this early for brunch that we had to wait 45 minutes?! haha dammit- people are getting smarter. But lucky us- there were cancellations and we were given a table within 10 minutes. YAAAS!
What did we order?! Well- A LOT! Skillet potatoes (definitely order these), mac and cheese to share, truffle egg toast, beef tacos, belgian chicken waffle, poached eggs, guacamole, belgian waffles with fruit- so yea A LOT of food!
Every single dish was made to perfection. Beef tacos can be tricky to make but surprisingly they were cooked perfectly. I loved the green chutney drizzled on the beef and the crispy onions. So many different textures- they were a treat to eat!
I had been meaning to try the Belgian Chicken Waffle since ages but never got around to it. This time, I ordered a portion for us all to share. I wasn’t disappointed. Fried chicken and waffle with a side of mac and cheese- mmmm match made in heaven and perfect comfort food for a Sunday brunch. Britney would sing GIMME MORE to this! haha
Just look at all this FOOOOD! :O
HotBox also has a cool space downstairs which is more of a bar so definitely go check it out during the week and apparently they do grilled meat too! What’s not to like?!
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