Breakfast Wednesdays

Breakfasting venue: Rucola (www.rucolarestaurant.com)

Date of Breakfasting: Wednesday 11th January

Time: 8:00am – 8:45am

Nearest tube is: St.Paul’s

Location: Foster Lane, London, EC2V 6HH

Due to a combination of seasonal pressures, and a memory lapse concerning photos (which I shall attribute to the lack of sleep induced by the arrival of Little Baked Bean), I’m afraid I can only offer a rather perfunctory review of our visit to Moorgate Buttery.

What it offers via promising facade and inspired title, it unfortunately rather fails to live up to in the quality of fare, which just about tips the balance in favour of “above average”, but certainly no more.

A lengthy menu offers various combinations of essential breakfast elements, but if you actually want a full English, you pretty much have to piece it together yourself – somewhat bizarrely, none of the set options gives you everything.

This then inevitably pushes the price up – which would be fine if it were truly outstanding fare, but is somewhat uncomfortable when it’s really quite middle of the road.

Upcoming breakfasts

December 14th (this Wednesday!):  Moorgate Buttery

This is just round the back of Moorgate tube station – access made a little trickier by the construction work currently blocking the most direct route from the tube station, but if you go up the stairs/escalators to the Moorfields Highwalk and head towards the Thames, you’ll be able to see it below you after about 50 yards … then head down the staircase ahead of you to get back to it.

All the rest you probably know, but just in case …

Breakfasting venue: Moorgate Buttery

Date of Breakfasting: Wednesday 14th December

Time: 8:00am – 8:45am

Nearest tube is: Moorgate (funnily enough)

Location: 5-6 Fore Street Avenue, London, EC2Y 9DT

Readers of the last entry may be disappointed to hear that Little Baked Bean will not be able to make it to December Breakfast.

Getting ahead of ourselves, we can announce that January breakfast (11/1/12) will be at Rucola, Foster Lane.

So, you may have wondered what happened to November breakfast.  Perhaps the more cynical and jaded among you may have supposed that it was overlooked – or maybe had become yet another victim of the all-consuming financial crisis.  Not so!

As it happens, November breakfast was a little late, however certain pressing duties undermined suitability of the generally designated day on this occasion – namely the arrival of the newest member of Brekmeister’s family.  Given the distinctly orange tinge to her head covering, we shall refer to her henceforth as the Baked Bean.

Of course, as the good book advises, “Direct your child onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”  Well I hardly needed more excuse than this to get little Baked Bean out to breakfast as quickly as possible.

November breakfast was duly held in Frankie and Benny’s … who offer a jolly good platter, and would get a hearty thumbs up in general from the Brekmeister, were it not for their misguided policy of only opening at 9am.  You serve BREAKFAST, guys!!  It should be available at BREAKFAST time!!   That gripe aside, they give a good menu,with the obligatory full english – but also a few American stapes (pancakes with bacon and Maple syrup …) 

So after much nail-biting and anxious email-checking, our booking for the Hawksmoor Guildhall ‘soft launch’ came good.  Calling to confirm the booking was slightly surreal, however.

Brekmeister: I’d just like to confirm our booking for Wednesday

Hawksmoor: That’s for a table of eight at 8am?  Yep, all good.  Would you be wanting the full beef tasting menu, at £700 for your group?

Brekmeister:  Uhhhhhhh … [trying not to appear unsophisticated and ignorant] … we are still talking about breakfast, right?

Having established, much to the benefit of my heart rate, my bank balance and my arteries, that it was permissible for us to order from the standard breakfast menu the excitement truly began.

The first thing to say about the Hawksmoor Guildhall is that you have to keep your eyes open not to miss the rather unassuming entrance.   Very smart, very professional – and very understated.  Booking details checked, we were whisked down to the tables.  I don’t think I’ve ever been in a restaurant so newly opened, and perhaps they all carry the delicate scent of fresh new leather, but it does seem particularly apt for a steak restaurant.  The interior was a vast and gleaming array of tables, through which we were led to a largish snug at the end of the room.

Hawksmoor interior

Service was friendly and knowledgeable, and within short order we were sat awaiting a promising array of breakfast delicacies, including Full English, devilled kidneys, bacon sandwich, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs – and, the piece de resistance, the infamous Hawksmoor breakfast for two.

Where to start?  The coffee.  Not perhaps the most intuitive element to assess first, but it was first to arrive – and on that basis, it would seem that Hawksmoor have the art of first impressions near to perfected.  Quite simply, I challenge you to find a better coffee to start your day with in central London.

Both the devilled kidneys and the smoked salmon and scramble were pronounced excellent by the partakers thereof.  However I think it is only fair to devote the rest of our attention here to the superlative ‘Hawksmoor breakfast’.  This is, without a doubt, the most impressive breakfast spectacle that I have seen since beginning my Grand Tour of breakfasts in the capital.

Arriving in its black iron oven pan, it looks an ample serving but no more.  However, much like the entrance to the Hawksmoor itself, it quickly reveals hidden depths.

Hawksmoor breakfast

Two perfectly fried eggs were delivered to our plates separately moments after, and we quickly supplemented these with helpings from the platter above.  Finally, once sausage, black pudding, bubble and squeak, trotter baked beans, bacon chop, mushrooms, and fried tomatoes have made their way onto the plate it looks a little like this …

Hawksmoor breakfast on a plate

Oh yes, did I forget to mention the grilled bone marrow?  Yep, that would be that massive joint across the top there.  Mmmmm.   “Trotter beans?” I hear you ask.  Pretty much exactly what they say, it turns out – baked beans with pig’s trotter.  Well I have never been a baked bean fan and tend to skip them in my breakfasts, but that just had to be tried.  And let it be recorded that it was good.

And that was the worst part of it.   The bubble and squeak is like no other that you’ve tasted, and there’s no point my trying to tell you why – you will just have to taste it and find out.  The mushrooms were deliciously juicy and bursting with the flavour – I think they must have been cooked in some of the fats from the meats in the dish.  The hunk of black pudding was big enough that it could have been used to sink the Bismark – yet was moist and more-ish.   The bacon chop was outstanding, salty and with a fresh clean taste as if that of a pig that has been bathed twice a day all its life.  To round it all off, there was a jug of Hawksmoor’s special gravy – once again, not something I normally bother with.  But you would be an absolute fool not to lap up the last drop of this stuff.  And did I mention that the eggs were perfect?

The only oversight was that there seemed to be no sign of the promised “unlimited dripping toast”.  In normal circumstances, this would have been quite a disappointment – but by the time I had got round the rest of the plate, it was actually quite a relief.   Even without finishing the last of the beans, it was abundantly clear that there was no chance that any more food was going to be necessary or indeed possible until dinner time.

All this, of course, does come at a cost.  With our dishes ranging from £7 for the bacon sandwich to £35 for the Hawksmoor breakfast (for two), plus drinks and service on top it’s not a cheap eat by any stretch – we were heartily glad of the soft launch 50% off offer.  But if you’re looking for quality, it’s here in spadefuls.

Come with an empty stomach and a full wallet, and leave the other way around – just  be prepared for a healthy snooze under the desk if you’ve opted for the Hawksmoor breakfast.    You won’t regret it though.

Smoked salmon and scramble

Devilled kidneys

Breakfast is served!

A fine looking greasy spoon is the order of the day for September.  For the historically minded among you, youll be treading one of the oldest pathways in the country, used by the pre-Roman Brits (or whatever they were at that time …).  The Romans, in anticipation of modus operandi of the Tesco empire, saw a good thing and paved it over.

And a head’s up for October – we’re planning to head down to the new Hawksmoor that’s currently being kitted out in Guildhall … provided they get the doors open by the second Wednesday of the month. 

Breakfasting venue:  Watling Sandwich Bar

Date of Breakfasting: Wednesday 14th September

Time: 8:00am – 8:45am

Nearest tube is:  St. Pauls / Bank / Mansion House

Location: 19 Watling Street, London, EC4M 9DD

Arriving for breakfast at the Cafe Below on a fine morning, all seemed good in the world – what better than to be sat up on the pavement under a parasol by St Mary le Bow, watching the Cheapside morning traffic roll gently by in front, and listening to the commoition of the florists setting up stall behind.

As no-one else had arrived, I decided to pop downstairs to the cafe proper to get a menu.  One slight problem though: “We don’t have printed menus for breakfast”.  Hmm … well either I have to memorise the menu and then relay it to everyone as they arrive, or else everyone has to trek down the stairs as they arrive – not ideal!  Fortunately technology provided a handy solution – and a phone-snap of the menu pinned on the wall did the business nicely.

With a good mix of new and old faces, we were able to survey a range of the options on offer.  As there was no full english option on the menu, I took the Eggs and bacon on toast, with an Americano.   Our new breakfaster could not resist the opportunity to sample pancakes, bacon and maple syrup which I have to say was very tempting indeed. 

However one wiser member of our company, better acquainted with the venue, knew that full english was available off menu – a sotto voce word with the staff is all that is required, it seems, and the magical combination can be procured. 

Fortunately I was able to nab a sausage from the enlightened one’s plate to supplement my fare, and so did manage to get a full english of sorts.  The food itself was excellent, with quality bread for the toast, tasty scrambled eggs and succulent bacon.  The sausage was not highly seasoned, but well cooked and flavoursome. 

On the downside, myAmericano arrived as a Machiato – but to the credit of the place, as soon as the mistake was realised, the offending cup was whisked away without hesitation and replaced with the correct beverage.

Overall, the Cafe Below gets the big things right (quality of the food, range of – but it’s not quite there on some of the little things.  Failing to have a full english option on a cooked breakfast menu like this is simply unforgivable; and to not have a menu that you can take up the outside table is an unfortunate oversight.  That said, go for the food and for the atmosphere and you won’t be disappointed.

Despite the name, the Cafe Below has a distinctly above ground presence in addition to its tables in the crypt.  Weather obliging, we’ll breakfast under the parasols … but come rain and storm, we’ll lurk down in the bowels of the church.  Coming applauded by Time Out, Metro, the Observer and, uh, Waitrose Food Illustrated this should be a good start to the day! 

Breakfasting venue:  The Cafe Below

Date of Breakfasting: Wednesday 10th August

Time: 8:00am – 8:45am

Nearest tube is:  St. Pauls / Bank / Mansion House

Location: Cafe Below, St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside, London, EC2V 6AU

Cafe Fresco offers a no-apologies straightforward greasy-spoon service.   A comprehensive array of options await the full English breakfaster, and I opted for the the “Country Breakfast”, which consisted of egg, bacon, sausage, chips, black pudding, hash brown and beans.  I’m not entirely sure what about this is “Country” – I suppose perhaps the use of every feasible part of a pig to populate the plate.  In any case, having made the usual request to replace the beans with mushrooms (seemed to be in keeping with the Country theme too), I sat down to await the goods.

Servivce was nothing if not prompt – I was barely waiting five minutes before a mounded plate appeared from the kitchen – and despite my fears at the speed of delivery, nothing was undercooked.  The chips were piping hot and delicious, and there were generous portions of all elements.  Except … where are the mushrooms?  Spot them if you can …

…. well, for the less eagle eyed among you, the mushrooms were later found to be hiding away beneath the chips.  Unfortunately, they weren’t especially appetising mushrooms, but they were at least there and in good number.  Overall the meal was good but not great, and though I won’t be rushing back it was a perfectly decent place to have a birthday breakfast.

As I’m away in Canada on the second Wednesday in July, breakfast will have to be a week later on this occasion.  Which will, coincidentally, be my birthday … come celebrate with me!

Breakfasting venue:  Cafe Fresco

Date of Breakfasting: Wednesday 20th July

Time: 7:30am – 8:30am

Nearest tube is:  St James’ Park

Location: 10 Greycoat Place, Westminster
London, SW1P 1SB (click for map)

As high class breakfasts go, Lutyens has stiff competition from some of the previous contenders we’ve made it to over the last year or two.  Nevertheless, having had several recommendations I was quite looking forward to seeing how it measured up.

The entrance is quite unobtrusive – so much so, in fact, that on my first pass I walked straight by it.  Fortunately, by the time that I had walked back and found the front, some fellow breakfasters had also arrived.  It turns out that turning up unbooked may be a slightly risky affair – for although we were led directly to a large empty table, all the places around us filled up in fairly short order with booked guests.

Nevertheless, we were attended impeccably, with staff spiriting away bags, coats and even a bike wheel to the cloakroom as we were seated without a even a flicker of the eyebrow.

The food itself was a delight.  My full English breakfast had possibly the best bacon yet seen on a Breakfast Wednesday, and the sausage was excellent.  A generous portion of moist and delicious black pudding accompanied, and the tomato was full of flavour, and cooked just to the right degree.  The mushrooms were juicy and good-sized.   But the true standout must be the centrepiece double fried egg that came as close to both aesthetic and culinary perfection as I have ever seen on a breakfast table.

Other breakfasts sampled included the omlette and waffles with bacon and maple syrup.  The latter presented the only glitch, arriving at first without any sign of the promised maple syrup.  This arrived five minutes later in the slightly incongruous form of a suited waiter squeezing indecorously on a blue plastic sauce bottle.  Still, better late than never.

Overall Lutyens provided a very satisfactory breakfast experience.  That said it’s not an experience you’ll want to try out with a light wallet .. and for a similar price, I think I would probably sooner go back to the Cinnamon Club.  Nevertheless, Lutyens did not disappoint, and I would happily recommend it.