Full English in London
Apr 13, 2022, 3:42 am
#16
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When I lived in London (in Kensal Rise in the 80's) there was an amazing cafe in Queen's Park, but when I went a couple years ago in search of it all I found was places that no previous patron of that cafe would ever have gone. Very sad evolution, understandable, but sad.
Apr 13, 2022, 4:34 am
#17
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There may also be many pubs in central london that would offer an all day breakfast
Apr 13, 2022, 5:14 am
#18
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And I've found that in an unfamiliar UK neighbourhood if you want the best available greasy spoon breakfast look for the spot with the most fluorescent vests inside.
Last edited by Badenoch; Apr 13, 2022 at 5:36 am
Apr 13, 2022, 5:48 am
#19
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Yes, this is the dilemma is it not? And the key to this is whether the venue has much of an internet presence since the genuine experience would be at a place where the trade is almost all repeat and thus doesn't need an online showcase. The traditional working class caf - which was very much open to anyone who showed up - has been pushed out to places like Barking and Leyton, with a few corners hidden closer in such as Bow or Brixton. But there are also the middle class coffee cafés where advocado toast may feature alongside full English, in places like Ealing or Southwark. No avocado would be found in a true working class joint.
If you want a true experience, at the very least you should be drinking builder's tea out of a chipped enamel mug whilst contemplated your fried toast and squidgy tomato.
I don't really do high end breakfast, as you can tell.
Apr 13, 2022, 6:05 am
#20
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Agreed, that's why I like the Ritz. It's not an everyday place - and if you make it such then your doctor will want to have a word with you - but it's well and truly 'London'. The clientele can't pronounce the r's at the end of any words that demand it, you hear more 'innit' than please and if you ask for a babyccino I think they will get Big George to have a word with you. The only other cafe I can think of that is as non-fussy is the one inside Billingsgate market but I've just had a coffee there before.
Apr 13, 2022, 6:41 am
#21
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Fat Boys Cafe - English Restaurant (business.site)
This is the sort of place you need to find, but will be difficult in the tourist areas of central london
This particular place is in Colnbrook, between the HI T5 and the Hilton T5
Maybe a little far away, but if the weather is good you may want to look at somewhere like Rooftop Kitchen > Top Tastes near Regents Park, this place is moving into the relms of advocado as mentioned by corporate-wage-slave
This is the sort of place you need to find, but will be difficult in the tourist areas of central london
This particular place is in Colnbrook, between the HI T5 and the Hilton T5
Maybe a little far away, but if the weather is good you may want to look at somewhere like Rooftop Kitchen > Top Tastes near Regents Park, this place is moving into the relms of advocado as mentioned by corporate-wage-slave
Last edited by scottishpoet; Apr 13, 2022 at 10:18 am
Apr 13, 2022, 9:08 am
#22
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The Mona Lisa in SW3 is an exception to the rule that you can't find a good Full English in central London. Plenty of builders there around 10:30.
Apr 14, 2022, 2:10 am
#25
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I've been trying to remember the places I used to have breakfast during my many years in London. Most are now gone: there was Giraffe, which used to have several branches in London but which now seems to be limited to railway stations, airports and tourist hot-spots, and the 24-hour Old Compton Cafe in Soho, which was always busy.
The Breakfast Club still exists, and was always a favourite when I had people staying. It has several branches across London, though mostly in the trendier neighbourhoods such as Angel, Hoxton and Soho. Unless you get there very shortly after opening time you're likely to have to queue/wait in line at weekends.
Of course, we don't know what the OP has in mind: is it Simpsons or the Savoy, a neighbourhood greasy spoon or something in between?
The Breakfast Club still exists, and was always a favourite when I had people staying. It has several branches across London, though mostly in the trendier neighbourhoods such as Angel, Hoxton and Soho. Unless you get there very shortly after opening time you're likely to have to queue/wait in line at weekends.
Of course, we don't know what the OP has in mind: is it Simpsons or the Savoy, a neighbourhood greasy spoon or something in between?
Apr 14, 2022, 11:16 am
#26
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I've been trying to remember the places I used to have breakfast during my many years in London. Most are now gone: there was Giraffe, which used to have several branches in London but which now seems to be limited to railway stations, airports and tourist hot-spots, and the 24-hour Old Compton Cafe in Soho, which was always busy.
The Breakfast Club still exists, and was always a favourite when I had people staying. It has several branches across London, though mostly in the trendier neighbourhoods such as Angel, Hoxton and Soho. Unless you get there very shortly after opening time you're likely to have to queue/wait in line at weekends.
Of course, we don't know what the OP has in mind: is it Simpsons or the Savoy, a neighbourhood greasy spoon or something in between?
The Breakfast Club still exists, and was always a favourite when I had people staying. It has several branches across London, though mostly in the trendier neighbourhoods such as Angel, Hoxton and Soho. Unless you get there very shortly after opening time you're likely to have to queue/wait in line at weekends.
Of course, we don't know what the OP has in mind: is it Simpsons or the Savoy, a neighbourhood greasy spoon or something in between?
Apr 17, 2022, 5:46 am
#28
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It's been a few years since I've been in the area early enough for breakfast, but certainly there also used to be a few greasy spoons in the side streets around King's Cross station. Sadly the ubiquitous Wetherspoon option - cheap and cheerful, but probably not sufficiently fresh ingredients or greasiness to qualify as traditional - has rather taken over the budget market in the centre of the city. I'd not normally describe a Wetherspoon's experience as gentrified, but in this case it's relatively so.
If you want a true experience, at the very least you should be drinking builder's tea out of a chipped enamel mug whilst contemplated your fried toast and squidgy tomato.
I don't really do high end breakfast, as you can tell.
If you want a true experience, at the very least you should be drinking builder's tea out of a chipped enamel mug whilst contemplated your fried toast and squidgy tomato.
I don't really do high end breakfast, as you can tell.
Used to squat a flat in Chalton St. back in the mid-80's.
Apr 17, 2022, 6:54 am
#29
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But those who run this place say that their main customer route is via Insta, indeed customers are known to order things on their Insta feed rather than look at the menu. The other places mentioned in London are Regency, E. Pellici in Bethnal Green, Rock Steady Eddie's in Camberwell. The article almost looked like a response to this thread, so the OP may find it useful This link may or may not work
https://www.ft.com/content/180720aa-...4-4baf945c2da3
if it does not work, Google:
Long Live the Greasy Spoon Financial Times London
https://www.ft.com/content/180720aa-...4-4baf945c2da3
if it does not work, Google:
Long Live the Greasy Spoon Financial Times London
Apr 17, 2022, 10:52 am
#30
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The Breakfast Club still exists, and was always a favourite when I had people staying. It has several branches across London, though mostly in the trendier neighbourhoods such as Angel, Hoxton and Soho. Unless you get there very shortly after opening time you're likely to have to queue/wait in line at weekends.
The first time I just went with my wife to see what all the fuss was about. Our verdict was that we wouldn't go again if there was a queue - but sometimes the other members of the party really want to go there, and sometimes because the queue makes them think it must be worth waiting for.
Once I managed to convince the others to go to another place nearby, and when we were done we saw the people who had been ahead of us in the Breakfast Club queue were still waiting.