The Best Breakfast Spots In London
The most important meal of the day, they say – though I’ve never really known who ‘they’ are – but for Londoners, breakfast is a meal you’re least likely to eat out for. It’s a shame, because London has such good and varied options, you could just as happily eat breakfast out and dinner in, rather than the usual inverse. You’d probably save money too.
We’ve rounded up some of our favourite spots in the city, from 100-plus-year-old greasy spoons and the best eggs you’ll have in your life, to life-changing bakeries and Turkish specialities.
Vori
Vori is a family-run modern Greek taverna on Holland Park Avenue, just a short walk from the tube. Light, airy and full of warmth, it’s the kind of neighbourhood spot that quickly becomes a local favourite.
At weekends, the kitchen turns its attention to brunch, inspired by the soulful cooking and spirit of the Greek island of Andros. Expect generous plates built for sharing, with the same focus on seasonal Greek ingredients and fire-led cooking that Vori is known for at dinner. Think fresh, vibrant flavours and a relaxed pace, with Greek wines and traditional spirits if you fancy making a longer morning of it.
Warm, welcoming and brimming with Greek hospitality, it’s a great spot for a long, lazy weekend brunch with friends or family, or a more laid-back alternative to the usual brunch crowd.
Where: 120 Holland Park Ave, London W11 4UA
Website: https://vorigreekitchen.co.uk/menus
Fink’s at Clissold House
One of North London’s prettiest breakfast spots has finally found a permanent home inside Clissold House. Fink’s signature seasonal sandwiches, pastries and excellent coffee are joined by breakfast plates designed to be enjoyed overlooking Clissold Park. Arrive early, grab a table outside if the sun’s shining and don’t leave without something from the bakery counter.
Clissold House is one of the most beautiful café locations in London. They do the simple things in such a thoughtful way.
Where: Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 9HJ
Website: www.finks.co.uk
Granger & Co.
If there’s one restaurant that has perfected breakfast in London, it’s Granger & Co. The ricotta hotcakes remain legendary, the sweetcorn fritters have their own devoted following and the menu is packed with fresh, Australian-inspired dishes that somehow make getting out of bed feel worthwhile. It’s busy for a reason.
Where: multiple locations
Website: www.grangerandco.com
Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley
Cédric Grolet hardly needs an introduction. The French pastry chef’s extraordinary trompe-l’œil fruit creations have become social media sensations in Paris and London, but breakfast at The Berkeley Café gives you an excuse to go beyond the viral pastries. Settle in for a proper breakfast alongside Grolet’s pastries, cakes and savoury creations.
Where: Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RL
Website:www.maybourne.com
Sanderson
The Sanderson in-house restaurant has gone through a complete transformation, introducing a bold new food and beverage direction inspired by the irreverent energy of 1990s New York. The new brunch menu is less polite, more decadent. Inspired by the unhurried excess of a Manhattan weekend, this is diner-style indulgence. Think Katz Deli Reuben, Bagel Towers, Truffled Mac & Cheese with optional lobster, buttermilk pancakes and a Brioche Gelato Sandwich.
Where: 50 Berners St, London W1T 3NG
Website: www.morgansoriginals.com
Dishoom
Breakfast at Dishoom has become something of a London rite of passage. Whether you’re ordering the iconic bacon naan roll, a generous Full Bombay or a comforting bowl of porridge with jaggery, it’s one of the city’s most satisfying ways to start the day. Add a house chai and you’ve got breakfast sorted.
Where: multiple locations
Website: www.dishoom.com
Claridge’s Foyer & Reading Room
Breakfast at Claridge’s is every bit as glamorous as you’d expect. The Foyer & Reading Room forms the grand central hub of the Mayfair hotel, where guests and Londoners settle in for an unhurried start to the day. Even breakfast comes with a sense of occasion: the golden Claridge’s crest waffle arrives on the hotel’s distinctive green-and-white china, piled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
Where: Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4HR
Website: www.maybourne.com
Inis
Tucked away in Hackney, Inis has quietly become one of East London’s best breakfast destinations. Seasonal ingredients and thoughtful cooking define the menu, whether you’re dropping in for coffee and pastries or settling in for something more substantial. It’s relaxed, understated and well worth seeking out.
Where: 13 Rookwood Way, Fish Island, London E3 2XT
Website: www.inisfishisland.com
The Dusty Knuckle
Few bakeries inspire queues quite like The Dusty Knuckle. While the sourdough loaves are famous, breakfast is equally worth the trip, with excellent pastries, breakfast sandwiches and some of the best baked goods in the capital. Go early — the best bits don’t stick around for long.
Where: Abbot St, London E8 3DP
Website: www.thedustyknuckle.com
St. JOHN
Simple, unfussy and unmistakably British, breakfast at St. JOHN is all about letting quality ingredients do the talking. Expect everything from bacon sandwiches and boiled eggs with soldiers to smoked fish and freshly baked bread, served with the same understated confidence that has made the restaurant a London institution.
Where: multiple locations
Website: www.stjohnrestaurant.com
Fallow
Fallow has earned a reputation for inventive cooking, and breakfast is no exception. The menu puts a playful spin on familiar favourites, from its cult croissant sandwiches to hearty cooked breakfasts and sustainably sourced ingredients that showcase the restaurant’s nose-to-tail philosophy. It’s one of the most exciting morning menus in town.
Where: 52 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RP
Website: www.fallowrestaurant.com
What is your ideal London Breakfast?
Pavyllon
Breakfast feels particularly luxurious at Yannick Alléno’s Pavyllon London inside Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. Expect beautifully executed classics, elegant pastries and impeccable service in surroundings that make lingering over a second coffee feel entirely justified.
Where: Hamilton Pl, London W1J 7DR
Website: www.pavyllonlondon.com
Colbert
For a breakfast that could easily be mistaken for one in Paris (or for a bistro in New York), head to Colbert. The all-day menu covers everything from buttery viennoiserie and eggs to French toast and classic café breakfasts, best enjoyed with a coffee while watching Sloane Square slowly wake up.
Where: 50-52 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AX
Website: www.colbertrestaurant.com
Mount St. Restaurant
Breakfast at Mount St. Restaurant is every bit as elegant as you’d expect. Served in one of Mayfair’s most beautiful dining rooms, the menu features refined takes on morning classics alongside excellent pastries and perfectly cooked eggs. If you’re looking to start the day in style, this is hard to beat.
Where: First Floor, 41-43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX
Website: www.mountstrestaurant.com
HIDE
One of London’s famous breakfasts – from its twist on the classic full English and truffled scrambled eggs to avocado on toast and homemade granola, HIDE’s breakfast is now a full-on foodie bucket list experience. Don’t skimp on the open bakery, which serves signature breads and pastries baked fresh every morning. We’re particularly partial to the pistachio, white chocolate and orange blossom soaked bun and the scorched banana and pecan croissant.
where: 85 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NB
website: www.hide.co.uk
La Maison Ani
If breakfast is your favourite meal of the day, Maison Ani is worth setting an early alarm for. Its Petit Déjeuner à La Maison Ani captures the effortless elegance of a Parisian morning with a beautifully curated spread of freshly baked viennoiseries, artisan breads, seasonal fruit and classic French breakfast favourites. Paired with expertly brewed coffee, fine teas and fresh juices, it’s the sort of leisurely breakfast that encourages you to linger just a little longer before the day begins.
Where: The Carlton Tower, 1 Cadogan Pl, London SW1X 9PY
Website: www.lamaisonanilondon.com
Regency Cafe
An institution that has been going since 1946. It’s either a step back in time or through a portal to a Guy Ritchie film, but the Regency Cafe is a capsule we’re thankful still exists. London’s most famous greasy spoon has queue’s out the door most of the time, but wait until you hear the prices: Egg and two pieces of bacon for £3.90, and omelette for £4.80, and a set breakfast (egg, bacon, sausage, beans, toast and coffee) for just £9.99.
where: 17-19 Regency St, London SW1P 4BY
website: www.regencycafe.has.restaurant
Zahter
To my mind, the greatest breakfast of them all is Turkish eggs, or Çılbır. Poached eggs swimming in garlic yoghurt and chilli, if I spot it on the menu, I have no choice but to order it. Open for breakfast on Saturdays, Zahter does a great one alongside some other Turkish classics like Menemen and Sucuklu Yumurta. On the sweet side, choose Açma and Simit alongside homemade jams and tahini butter, as well as some of the best baklava in the city.
where: 30 – 32 Foubert’s Pl, Carnaby, London W1F 7PS
Website: www.zahter.co.uk
Maison Francois
One of London’s best French bistros is also a must-visit breakfast spot, open from 7am on weekdays and from 9am on the weekend. Of course, expect irresistible pastries all baked in-house, excellent coffee and some truly miraculous things done to eggs.
Don’t miss the breakfast sandwich, packed to the brim with jambon blanc, fried egg, potato rosti, gruyére and spiced ketchup.
where: 34 Duke Street, St. James’s, SW1Y 6df
Website: www.maisonfrancois.london
Don’t Tell Dad
A buzzy East London opening that doubles as a bakery and restaurant, that makes you feel like the least cool customer in the place? Who’d have guessed?
Don’t Tell Dad is one of our standout openings of the year so far, and the breakfast is not to be missed. Served from 8 every day are classics with a twist, sweet and savoury pastries, sourdough bread and creative sandwiches prepared daily. There’s also some seriously good coffee.
Don’t Tell Dad is one of the best spots I’ve visited in the last year. The vibes are on point, and I thoroughly recommend it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with friends.
Natasha, Digital Editor
where: 10-14 Lonsdale Road, London NW6 6RD
website: www.donttelldad.co.uk
Tamil Prince
Dishoom might be a great hybrid, but our pick for the best traditional Indian breakfast goes to the Tamil Prince. It serves up a South Indian spread on the weekends from 9am to 11am.
Expect Indian filter coffee alongside classics like uttapam, a savoury Indian style ‘pancake’ topped with gunpowder beetroot, carrot and onion, and gunpowder idlis made from a lentil and rice fermented batter.
where: 16 Elia Street, London, N1 1bz
Website: www.thetamilcrown.com
E Pellicci
Another time capsule of a café, E Pellicci delivers its own unique Italian and British twist to the grade II-listed greasy spoon, and has been going since 1900.
The style is just as good as the substance – the art deco interiors feel opulent and classic. The food is great; there’s a clear reason why this is every celebrity’s secret favourite spot.
where: 332 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 0ag
Website: www.epellicci.com
Yopo
Did you know that acai bowls originated from Brazil, and not Bali? South American spot Yopo, situated within a green oasis in The Mandrake, showcases breakfast specials from the continent.
Indulge in new sweet plates on the menu, including the mango, lime and spiced agave and caramelised brioche French toast, served with strawberries and coconut ice-cream. Savoury dishes include huevos rancheros and Portland crab and egg muffin, plus an all-time favourite, yellow tail and black sesame mole, will return to the kitchen.
Where: YOPO, The Mandrake
Website: yoporestaurantlondon
Towpath
Eating canal-side is one of East London’s best summer pleasures, and the Towpath Café is the best place to do it. Only open during the warmer months and from Wednesday to Sunday, it’s definitely good vibes only at this spot, which has become integral to the Hackney food scene. Get stuck into sausage and cheese sandwiches, coconut sesame muesli, fried eggs with caramelised sage and other dishes from its ever-changing menu.
where: 42 De Beauvoir Cres, London N1 5SB
Website: www.towpathlondon.com
45 Jermyn St
If you’re someone who really likes options with your breakfast spot – maybe the chance to go for a whole starter, main and dessert? – then Jermyn Street should be on your radar. They take breakfast seriously here and have the menu to match. Healthy buckwheat pancakes and full English fry-ups sit alongside old-school throwbacks like Orkney kippers and Welsh rarebit. They also have an entire section dedicated to Bloody Marys, because why not?
where:45 Jermyn St, London SW1Y 6DN
website: www.jermynst.com
