Best of the brunch
From banoffee pancakes to breakfast pizza, from Brighton’s Lanes to Penny Lane, Richard Mellor picks his...
MANCHESTER
TREACLY banana bread spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, then topped with vanilla mascarpone; cheddar corn fritters and a pile of bacon; French toast under a berry compote, plus some white chocolate and almond crumble or chorizo ciabatta injected with manchego cheese. All reasons to skip breakfast and make a mid-morning visit to the Northern Quarter and its Antipodean-run Federal Cafe Bar.
Ozone coffee and a comfy room of pot plants and mustard-coloured comfy banquettes help with the motivation, too (federalcafe.co.uk).
NORTH YORKSHIRE
INSPIRED by the trendy East London area of the same name, and founded by relocated Londoners, Hoxton North is a buzzy place for Harrogate’s hip young families and creative crowd. And anyone else, really, thanks to a very welcoming vibe. The only challenge is getting a table.
Available until 3pm, its brunch menus span classic egg dishes and avocado options, chocolatey French toast, croque monsieurs, cinnamon buns and pastrami sandwiches.
Specialty coffee and Origin hot chocolates headline the drinks card, with cocktails dispensed from midday onwards (hoxton north.com).
LAKE DISTRICT
THERE’S an irresistibly jolly quality to The Old Sawmill Tearoom, found between Bassenthwaite and Keswick.
Cheeriness comes both from its decor of polka-dot tablecloths and bunting, and the fun nosh on offer: pork, bacon and maple sausage rolls with apple chutney; toasted Welsh rarebit muffins with green-bean pickle and so on, all available from 10am.
Opt for a shortbread squirrel, meanwhile, and you’ll be helping local wildlife. Money for these treats goes towards the conservation of red squirrels in adjacent Dodd Wood (theoldsawmill.co.uk).
ABERDEEN
OIL workers, students and seemingly everyone in between gathers for brunch at The Craftsman Company, just steps from the station and Union Square shopping centre.
In a cosy room blending scrubbed floorboards, husks of original stonework, industrial piping and chunky timber joins, an all-day menu features superlative Turkish eggs – essentially poached eggs with Greekstyle yogurt, chorizo oil and sourdough toast – plus fluffy pancakes, bacon rolls and sharing boards. And the coffee is excellent (thecraftsmancompany.com).
BELFAST
ORMEAU ROAD is a gentrifying area of South Belfast where shabby River Laganside warehouses are becoming smart flats, and ramen bars neighbour pawn shops.
An early adopter was General Merchants, whose brunch menu delivers acai and banana granola, huevos rotos and triple-cooked potatoes with labneh, as well as toasted Belgian waffles with cherry gel and caramel, all amid varnished wood fittings and crisp white walls (generalmerchants.co.uk).
If that sounds far too millennial, head east instead and hole up at The Lamppost Cafe, where frescoes herald local legend C.S. Lewis and his Chronicles Of Narnia. A Sunday brunch menu stars sriracha beans and truffle mushrooms (thelamppostcafe.com).
WALES
IDRIS STORES, which is a shop and gallery space as well as a cafe, is firmly in the ‘hidden gem’ category. Found in Corris, a pine-swathed old slate-mining village on Snowdonia National Park’s southern tip, it usually offers a superb sit-in brunch. At present, alas, its savoury and sweet treats – such as sesame-bagel sandwiches, scones and peanut-butter energy balls – are available only for takeaway from 10am to 1pm. On Saturdays it offers an inventive burrito of the week. One recent example contained sausage, cumin, potatoes and black beans (facebook.com/idrisstores).
Scoff it all on nearby narrow-gauge railways or before tackling family-friendly maze Lost Legends Of The Stone Circle.
Cwtch (pronounced ‘cutch’ as in ‘much’) means two things in Welsh: a cuddle and a cosy place. The latter perfectly describes the Cwtch Cafe in Abergavenny, whose charming service and food have earned nationwide repute. There’s no shortage of all-day options for brunchers, from toasties to American-style pancakes to salads to sausage rolls.
Yet, ultimately, there’s really only one option – a superlative Welsh rarebit, done here with a mustard kick (although you can request otherwise). Coffees and cakes stand by if needed, and prices are preposterously good.
Extract from Foodie Breaks: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, by Richard Mellor, available from Tuesday in Kindle and paperback editions via Amazon from £7.99.