Rolling in the Dough: London’s Best Breakfast PizzasBy Alicia Grimshaw
We love pizza. Morning or night. Pizza is life. The thing we can’t quite seem to get our heads around is cold pizza. Some call it the holy grail of leftovers, but we can’t entertain rock hard cheese and tired looking meats. We need hot. We need crispy. We need melty. And so, for us, pizza is best enjoyed fresh outta the oven – whether that’s for the first meal of the day, or the last. Here’s where to get your breakfast pizza fix in London:
1. For a Thin and Crispy Pizza: Polpo
Order: Brunch pizzetta with prosciutto, mushrooms, parmesan and soft egg
The Lowdown: Polpo’s brunch menu is what your lazy weekend morning needs. The menu features an happiness-inducing mix of Italian flare meets UK classics, with dishes like silky smooth scrambled eggs, mushrooms on sourdough, and the limelight hogging, brunch pizza. This dough-y bite is topped with slithers of prosciutto, hunks of mushroom and a soft egg with a burnt orange runny yolk. It’s sublime, utterly sublime.
Where: 126-128 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3QG
2. For a Brunch Pizza to Share: Radici
Order: Brunch pizza for two to share – 1/2 smoked salmon, avocado, yoghurt, and 1/2 pancetta and baked egg
The Lowdown: Francesco Mazzei’s Islington trattoria, Radici features dishes inspired by the warm climate and wonderful ingredients of Italy – think Tuscany meets Puglia in north London. The Brunch pizza for two to share features several brunch dishes all rolled into one: the pizza is topped with smoked salmon and poached eggs as well as avocado, prosciutto and mushroom. This carb creation packs some serious flavours. Don’t miss it.
Where: Radici, 30 Almeida Street, London N1 1AD
3. For a Brunch Party: Bunga Bunga Battersea
Order: Englishman’s Breakfast – Bunga tomato sauce, topped with fior di latte mozzarella, sausage, wild mushrooms, semi-dried tomatoes, pancetta and egg
The Lowdown: You’ve got karaoke, you’ve got a pizzeria, AND you’ve got gondola bar, Bunga Bunga Battersea is a playful restaurant serving cocktails and Italian munch. Party time awaits at Bunga Bunga’s pizza brunch; it’s an all-singing, all-dancing, all-drinking affair with metre long pizzas featuring well-loved toppings along with their flavour-bomb beauty, the Englishman’s Breakfast. The pizza is well-sauced, cheesy, and comes topped with all the usual fry up fare, with a hit of Italian flavours.
Where: 37 Battersea Bridge Rd, London SW11 3BA
4. For a Beirut Breakfast: The Lebanese Bakery
Order: Manousheh with f
The Lowdown: Born and raised in Beirut, brothers Samer and Bassam’s passion for food led them to create The Lebanese Bakery back in 2016 – and their first international flagship store is located in Covent Garden. Made from a soft dough similar to pizza, Manousheh – Beirut’s most popular snack – is typically eaten at breakfast time in Lebanon. Grab yours, fresh outta the oven, sprinkled with nubbins of spicy sausage, and free range eggs, sunny side up.
Where: Drury House, Russell St, London WC2B 5HA
5. For a Sourdough Pizza: Hai Cenato
Order: Breakfast Pizza – San Marzano tomato, sausage, prosciutto, mushroom and egg
The Lowdown: Jason Atherton’s trendy New York–style Italian eatery, Hai Cenato in the Nova development, take their sourdough pizzas very seriously. Nothing short of a bread-based work of art, the pizzas are made using British milled flour and cooked in ovens handmade by third-generation Neapolitan craftsman Stefano Ferrara. The result? Chewy crusts, a sublet tang to eat bite, and a blanket of cheese and sauce. The poached egg makes this pizza: tear off the crusts and get dunking into that gloriously runny yolk.
Where: 79 Buckingham Palace Rd, Westminster, London SW1E 5D
One to make at home…
Order: Pitza Falafel – tomato, cheese, mushroom, spinach, and egg
The Lowdown: Already a major hit in Holland, Magioni has made its way to British shores. Magioni create pizza bases that contains 40% more veggies than the classic dough base. And the base counts as two of your 5-a-day. If you’re making a breakfast pizza at home, opt for the pitza falafel base, and load with chunks of tomato, a heavy hand of cheese, spinach, and if you’re feeling adventurous, an egg (poached, fried or boiled, it’s up to you).
Where: Waitrose