Breakfast Wednesdays

As August’s tender tendrils tentatively take root, the time for Breakfast tip-toes near once more. This month, the hallowed ground will be found at 57 Borough High Street, home to the estimable provider of provender, Cafe Rossi.

The usual rules apply. For the uninitiated, the rules are basically that you do what you like. We’ll be there from 7.30am till around about 8.30am - if you fancy coming along, just turn up at any point roughly in that span. Look for the Breakfast Wednesdays sign (if we’ve remembered to bring it - if not, just cast your eyes around for the usual suspects as evidenced in photos from past breakfasts), plonk yourself down, order your brekkie, and enjoy the scintillating conversation proffered by an ecclectic assortment of Londoners, stimulated by a fine breakfast and a strong coffee … or, if you prefer, just grunt and scowl in that early morning kind of way.  Either way, we’ll be glad to see you!

Here’s a photo and a map to help you find your way:

a quick edit: I’m sure you all know but just in case, the closest tube is London Bridge

So, as was entirely predictable, the rain was the sixth guest at Breakfast Wednesday on our first attempt at a summer style outdoors breakfast.  Fortunately the Park Cafe are prepared for such eventualities (well, it would be quite poor business planning if they were not … ) so we sheltered under their canopy and had a thoroughly decent breakfast.

Our Breakfast Wednesday sign was admired at length by the staff, earning them instant points in our write-up.  Not that they really need it, as the food is of top quality and the service cheerful .. and at only a fiver for a full english including your tea or coffee, the price is perfectly reasonable.

I should also note that they appear to be doing a roaring trade from all the smokers who are now no longer able to have a breakfast and a smoke anywhere else due to the new smoking rules.  Since the Park Cafe is completely outdoors, it holds instant attractions for the nicotine addicts among you.

If Full English brekkie’s not your thing, there’s plenty of other options - as you can see from the alluringly stuffed serving hatch below.  There’s also paninnis and other such healthy fare should you so wish.   I would happily recommend this to anyone - even if it’s raining!

Eh? That time already?! So it is!! July is fully upon us and tis time for Breakfasting once more. But where, I hear you cry! Well, as the ancient rhyme goes:

Sumer is icumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu!

Come along to Red Lion Square

And get your morning brew

You may of course have seen a slightly different version of this poem, but most modern scholars now agree that the alternate readings are a corruption of this true original. As such, we can hardly refuse its injuncture and will therefore be supping at the historic Park Cafe in Red Lion Square at the usual time 7.30am on Wednesday July 9. They do good cheap grub, and it’s a couple of minutes’ walk from Holborn tube so very accessible!

Hopefully the weather will be kind to us, but if not the seating is largely covered so a little rain shouldn’t be a problem. Here’s a handy photo of the kind of weather we won’t be having on Wednesday at the cafe:

Even the late start of eight o’clock wasn’t quite late enough as despite promising to serve breakfast from 8.00 - 10.30 AM they didn’t open the doors until around quarter past, this was one black mark against them. Once we finally managed to get inside it was all quite pleasant, though there is always something slightly disconcerting about walking into an empty pub (mostly because it never happens).

Then we got to ordering and found that despite a full english breakfast being advertised, all that was available were breakfast sandwiches with a choice of two fillings out of tomato, egg, sausage and bacon (only the egg was off) so another black mark there too.

Anyway, when the food arrived it was very nice, or at least my sausage and bacon one was with the contrast of the crispy bacon and the chewy sausage in nice soft bread (and not forgetting a healthy dollop of brown sauce) all working very well together

Drinks wise, booze was apparently available but with everyone heading into work straight afterwards no-one was brave enough to take up this option and so we just stuck to tea/coffee; given how boring my day in the office then was perhaps this was a mistake and I should have gone for a pint instead.

Overall the experience was just that, an experience; just a distinctly mediocre, middle of the road type one as there was just about enough positive to counteract the negative (though I’m probably being generous; having to wait outside a pub for it to open is not a fun experience) but it’s not one I would care to repeat.

Yes, it is true. We are finally going to join those two great bastions of British culture, breakfast and beer, as we hold the next Breakfast Wednesday in a pub! The watering hole in question is the Viaduct Tavern on Newgate Street.^*

The nearest tubes will therefore be St. Pauls, Blackfriars or Farringdon (or so it looks on Google Maps). Actually I can’t guarantee that the pub’s license will extend to serving alcohol at that time in the morning, but they definitely have a sign outside saying they do breakfast, and that has to be tried out really. One side-effect of choosing this venue is that we will be forced to begin at the slightly tardy time of 8am, since they don’t open till then. Shocking, I know!

I’m not sure that I can really improve much on the fine photos and review of Full English below for the Casa Cafe. Suffice to say that despite having scouted out this venue myself AND printed a map the night before, I still managed to take a wrong turn out of the tube and walk half way to Oxford Street before I realised I was heading in the wrong direction, and had to turn back. After that strenuous early morning exercise, cardboard would have tasted good so judgement is probably best left to my colleague.

^{*UPDATE:  Venue is confirmed - the Viaduct Tavern - to get to it, follow the exit from St. Paul’s for “Newgate Street”.  Coming out of the exit turn left and cross over the double crossing to get to Newgate Street, which is the one straight ahead of you (not the one going off to the right).  Walk straight along, past BT and all the swanky law firms, and it’s on your right on the corner of Newgate Steet and Giltspur Street}

Except that wouldn’t really work as a basis for a cafe if you want to make money, so let’s ignore the title and concentrate on the breakfast itself…

Since it was a nice day I chose the option of breakfasting outside on the pavement, and this worked out quite well until the sun went in and it suddenly got a tad colder. Fortunately the food arrived at this point, along with other breakfasters, which was nice and was consumed (the food, not the other attendees) - too many beans for my liking, but the sausage, egg and bacon were well done enough to more than make up for this.

Hopefully my cullinary comrade will be along shortly to provide details of the next breakfast experience (which i think is going to be in a pub, and could be the best breakfast in the world) and maybe add a few thoughts of his own about La Casa Cafe.

As the sausage of time is thrown under the fiery grill of destiny, I see that it is time for another Breakfast Wednesday. This month we will be protesting our shameful exclusion from the Guardian’s Breakfast supplement last month by holding Breakfast Wednesday round the corner from their offices at La Casa Cafe .. and if we’re lucky then we can bag those outside tables and make the most of the summery weather (if indeed it lasts till Wednesday, that is …)

The location is 4 Rosebery Court and the nearest tube is probably Farringdon, although Chancery Lane, King’s Cross, Angel and Russell Square are all in walking distance.

Click here to see map

Well, only if you go by the art. It’s a given that caffs have to have some sort of naff hanging material on the walls, but this place goes waaaay beyond the call of duty. But (hopefully) in a self-concious kind of way. However, the menu board is suitably expansive and provides a massive array of options for all and sundry. The quality of the breakfasting nosh was high, with eggs done just right, and it’s good to see somewhere that actually offers hash browns, which appear to be a frequent omission from many menus.

My only complaint would be that it does seem a little measly to provide only one sausage on a standard set breakfast.   However it seems petty to split such hairs, as they did not bat an eyelid at my standard request to substitute an alternative for the beans - on this occasion, a mighty fine fried tomato.  The bacon was done just to my taste - soft, succulent and tasty.  Coffee, which can also prove a danger area in some venues, was also good.

An admirable turnout this month, aided by the school holidays which meant that some education professionals who are usually unable to attend were dragged out of bed at an unsociably early hour to join the fun.  No doubt, also encouraged by our new professional look with the official “Breakfast Wednesdays” table placard.  So no excuse now for you lurkers who are thinking about turning up, but not sure how to pick us out at the caff … just look for the sign!

Also the first breakfast, to my knowledge, where the Brekmeister has had to go back and pick up the tab for someone who deviously sneaked off without paying (the shameless offender claims absent mindedness .. a likely story!)  The caff staff were very bemused when I turned back up at lunch time to pay up - seems they didn’t even notice.  Must be because everyone else tipped so much

Well financially at least, and year end is my excuse for not posting anything earlier (though in my defence I did update the current breakfast page). So yes, April’s breakfast will be held at Andrew’s, 160 Gray’s Inn Road on the 9^th at the usual time of 7.30ish onwards.

It’s also going to be be brief as i’m at work and actually have stuff to do. Anyway, Diana’s was pretty good; they do a decent sized plate of food with pretty much everything on it which was nice, loads of people turned up and we probably annoyed the place by rearranging all the furniture (they didn’t complain so that was a bonus). Hopefully the pictures will tell it better than i just have as this is (so far) possibly the worst post ever…

the Diana’s Diner Special, mmm… tasty

the breakfasting masses

Justin trying to get in on the wall of photos