Bank Holiday Weekend: Where to Eat Brunch in LondonBy Alicia Grimshaw
The bank holiday weekend is just around the corner, and there’s nothing better than spending your extra day off tucking into perfectly poached eggs. From bottomless brunches to new menus – here’s our favourite picks for this weekend:
1. For a New Brunch Menu: Swift Shoreditch
What: Swift Shoreditch, the new sister bar of the Soho site, is now serving an all-day brunch menu alongside their highly drinkable and well-loved cocktail menu.
Eat: Dishes included sweet and savoury waffles; wild mushrooms, parmesan and egg yolk on St John’s sourdough; and Neal’s Yard cheese toasties stuffed with a variety of produce (including homemade kimchi). These brunch dishes can be enjoyed alongside Swift’s renowned aperitif-style cocktails, Bloody Marys, and its ever-popular Irish Coffee which uses the bar’s own coffee blend.
Where: 91-93 Great Eastern St, Hackney, London EC2A 3HZ
2. For a Classic Brunch: Townsend at Whitechapel Gallery
What: Launching this bank holiday, Townsend Breakfast is a weekend affair featuring seasonally inspired takes on English breakfast classics, and a focus on creatively constructed dishes.
Eat: Taking pride of place is the Townsend breakfast bun, this packs in a Paddock Farm sausage patty, hash brown, fried duck egg topped with Townsend’s house-made brown sauce and served on a soft white roll. Also on the menu is treacle cured salmon, soft boiled egg, sour cream on soda bread; potato cake, fried hen’s egg with buttered girolles, chili and sage; and eggy bread with potted brown shrimp and spinach. On the lighter end of the breakfast spectrum, there’s poached summer berries, yoghurt and toasted oats.
Where: 77-82 Whitechapel High St, Shadwell, London E1 7QX
3. For a Bottomless Brunch: 100 Wardour St
What: 100 Wardour St is bringing back their Saturday bottomless offering, Rhythm & Brunch, featuring live DJs and a new menu curated by head chef Kim Woodward.
Eat: Choose between 2 or 3 courses and pay an extra £25 for unlimited bubbles. Starters include: buttermilk pancakes, topped with banana, pecan butter, and maple syrup; quinoa salad; and wild mushrooms on sourdough toast with poached eggs, and tarragon. Mains come in the form of truffle mac and cheese; English pea risotto; and ribeye steak with all the trimmings. Don’t miss the crème brûlée with peanut butter cookie for dessert.
Where: 100 Wardour St, Soho, London W1F 0TN
Photo credit: Paul Winch-Furness
4. For a Brunch Event: Vinegar Yard x Oyster Boy Events
What: Vinegar Yard has teamed up with Oyster Boy Events to run its very first Oyster and Fizz brunch for the long weekend.
Eat: From Friday 28th to Monday 31st August, 12pm – 3pm, expert shuckers from Oyster Boy Events will be shucking the premium West Mersea oysters at tables, with a selection of special oyster and drinks packages including Prosecco and Bloody Marys, starting from just £25 for 6 Oysters and 2 glasses of prosecco. The event is ticketed-only so booking a ticket is essential. Grab tickets here.
Where: 72-82 St Thomas St, Bermondsey, London SE1 3QX
Photo credit: Ryan Buoy
5. For an All-Day Brunch: Double Standard
What: On Sunday 30th August take advantage of the long weekend with Double Standard’s bottomless brunch from 12pm to 10pm, with bottomless Bloody Marys or prosecco for £20, and music from DJ Alex Bradley.
Eat: The menu offers brunch twists on Double Standard’s menu staples, including the Brunch Dog with crispy bacon, pickle sauce and onion and the equally delicious Brunch Burger with Bloody Mary ketchup, bacon and smoked cheddar. Fancy something lighter? Try the vegan banana pancakes with maple syrup and berries or avocado on toast.
Where: Double Standard, The Standard hotel, 10 Argyle Street WC1H 8EG
Photo Credit: Charlie Mckay