Top 5: Ways to Eat Brunch in London This WeekendBy Alicia Grimshaw
We won’t lie – we’re currently nursing the mother of all hangovers (damn you Lebanese wine), but the thought of brunch at the weekend is getting us through. A spicy Bloody Mary and a plate of eggs Benny sort out all your woes. Here’s 5 new brunch menus to try in London this weekend. Happy eating, folks:
1. For an Olympic Brunch: Ben’s Canteen
What: Ben’s Canteen is launching their Brazilian weekend brunch this month, featuring an array of dishes inspired by the heritage and culture of Brazil, all washed down with cocktails aplenty. If there was an Olympic sport for eating, we’d win gold.
Eat: Ben’s has introduced a new menu designed to transport your taste buds to Brazil. The menu runs throughout August and features dishes such as Huevos Rancheros (wack on some chorizo for a spicy bite), or for those who prefer a lighter, more tropical hit, try their papaya fruit salad with granola, coconut and yoghurt. For the Olympians, Ben’s menu also sports a protein-packed take on the Brazilian classic – pichana steak with fried eggs and a punchy green salsa. Hydration is important for sportsmen and dancers, and we all know brunch wouldn’t be complete without a little punchy numero, try the Passionfruit Batida, made with cachaça, passionfruit, condensed milk and lime juice.
Where: 422 Garatt Lane, SW18 4HW and 140 St John’s Hill, SW11 1SL
What: Like booze? Like ribs? You’ll be pleased to hear that the Big Easy Bar.B.Q & Lobstershack Covent Garden have rolled out their first unlimited boozy brunch, now available every Saturday and Sunday at the Maiden Lane restaurant. For £29.50, knock back Big Easy’s brew draught beer, Prosecco or house wine.
Eat: In true Big Easy style, the brunch offers a choice between a Bar.B.Q and lobster option. The Big Pig Gig – limitless Bar.B.Q includes North Carolina chopped pork, pit-smoked Bar.B.Q chicken and St Louis pork ribs served with slaw, pit-smoked beans, fries and fresh baked cornbread. Alternatively, if you opt for the Lobster Fest, select a whole fresh Nova Scotia lobster, lobster roll or lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, served with fries and house salad. Alongside the unlimited boozy brunch, an a la carte brunch menu is also available. We’re talking about French toast waffles with bacon and maple syrup, and the shrimp po boy on a soft hoagie roll.
Where: 12 Maiden Lane, London
3. For a Bottomless Brunch: Dickie Fitz
What: Straight from the sunshine drenched beaches of Sydney comes the bottomless brunch menu from modern Australasian restaurant Dickie Fitz. Situated in the heart of London, Dickie Fitz brings vibrant flavours to our shores with some of Australia’s best-known brunch dishes.
Eat: Avocado toast gets an upgrade with kale and feta while protein-rich hot smoked salmon muffins with dukkah and hollandaise offer an aromatic hit. There’s also zucchini fritters with roasted tomatoes and salty goat’s curd – the perfect textural balance, while those with a sweeter tooth, get involved by ordering the banana bread French toast or the buttermilk waffles with salted peanuts and fresh strawberry syrup. Don’t forget to save room for the summer berry pavlova and chocolate nemesis cake with bitter orange. Make brunch the best meal of the day and go bottomless with free flowing sparkling Aussie wine or a selection of incredibly creative Bloody Marys. Yuzu Bloody Mary? Madness.
Where: 48 Newman St, London W1T 1QQ
4. For a Meaty Brunch: Randy’s Wing Bar
What: Chicken seems to be one of London’s most celebrated ingredients right now – but there is nothing like a good finger-licking pile of Buffalo wings to get die-hard chicken lovers in a flap. London’s favourite wing enthusiasts Randy’s in East London have come up with the ultimate ‘wing brunch’ menu so that we no longer have to wait for lunchtime to get our weekend wing fix.
Eat: Their macon waffle wings – maple, bacon and pickled blueberry wings on a waffle are a thing of beauty as is the full Randy’s, their unique take on an English brekkie with bacon wrapped wings, buffalo bake beans, sausage and fried egg. Going meat free? Good joke. No, but seriously they rustle up one of the best cornbreads in town with lashings of chilli and honey butter. And if you’re a cereal lover – you can’t miss their brilliant bourbon, burnt butter syrup and cornflake ice-cream hardshake.
Where: Canal Side Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E15 2GW
5. For a New Brunch: The Manor
What: New brunch alert: Neighbourhood bistro The Manor are open this weekend with their brand spanking new brunch menu. Open from 11am to 3pm on both Saturday and Sunday, reservations are now being accepted from today. Don’t run around Clapham Common this weekend, choose eggs instead.
Eat: Head Chef Dean Parker has created a menu which will feature a selection of modern British dishes from local, seasonal produce; something which the restaurant has become known for since its launch in late 2014. Small plates will include venison, juniper and black pepper salumi, Hereford beef tartare, bone marrow, wild garlic and black radish, and fermented potato flat bread, smoked aubergine and mint. Larger plates will offer The Manor’s creative twist on classic brunch dishes, with options such as rye oat and chia seed bircher muesli, topped with greengages and Ivy House yoghurt, poached Tilley’s farm eggs, smoked potatoes and sorrel, and fried duck egg, crispy pig cheeks, nduja, borlotti beans and San Marzano tomatoes.
Where: 148 Clapham Manor Street, London, SW4 6BX
