Legends in their own brunchtime
EVERY week our Holiday Hero
NEIL SIMPSON takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the leg-work so you don’t have to. This week: Britain’s best brunch venues.
Bank on New York style
WALK the marble floors of the City of London’s former Midland Bank – now sprinkled with Soho House stardust and transformed into hotel and restaurant complex The Ned – for a New York-inspired brunch including waffles, French toast and ‘Lower East Side’ bagels. There’s also the £13 ‘full English our way’ (challah bread and pastrami in place of bacon).
Quick tip: After brunch, check out the 25-ton steel door that once guarded £335million in the bank’s vault. thened.com
Maria’s real deal
FOR the ultimate authentic experience find Maria’s Cafe in London’s Borough Market. It’s so old-school it doesn’t have a website. Think egg, bacon and chips for £4 offered by someone who’s worked in the market since she was seven.
Quick tip: It’s busy, so it is frowned upon to linger, but look out for famous faces. Maria’s poured tea for Charles and Camilla.
Singing its own praises
IT’S a rare cafe that has its own choir. But Foxy’s Deli in Penarth has. Its singers meet weekly, amid a programme of community events and classes. Brunch includes Glamorgan sausage sandwiches, ‘Breakfast in Bread’ or Welsh crumpets topped with bacon, oats and fried eggs for £6.
Quick tip: Gift hampers let you share the love of Welsh food. The cafe also serves Welsh-inspired afternoon teas. foxysdeli.co.uk
Battle through a Warrior
LOCAL owners of Waylands Yard in Worcester and Birmingham promise ‘a game-changing brunch’. Take your time with a full, Warrior Breakfast (£11.95), a veggie fry-up or active oats soaked for 24 hours and topped with anything from blueberries to peanut butter. Staff are serious about good coffee.
Quick tip: Look out for cafe dog Kobe, who flits between both locations. waylandsyard.com
Savour the sunshine
EXPECT brunch packed with fruits, grains and colourful ingredients at Real Food Kitchen in Neston, Cheshire. It’s run by a family who’ve banned processed foods from their menu and brunches include flour-free pancakes, Scandinavian-style rosti and ‘sunshine oatmeal’ with pineapple, mango, maple syrup and mint for £4.95. Quick tip: Take a cookery workshop ending with a sit-down meal prepared by the class. realfoodkitchen365.com
The Quay to success
IT CALLS itself ‘a small coffee house underneath a big bridge’. So head below the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle’s Quayside area to find Quay Ingredient where you can go back to basics with a boiled egg and soldiers, or try kippers with lemon parsley butter or cinnamon pancakes with chocolate.
Quick tip: Stay local with a £3.95 bacon, sausage and fried egg stottie: a Northumbrian classic. quayingredient.co.uk