Legends in their own brunchtime
EVERY week our Holiday Hero NEIL SIMPSON takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the leg-work so you don’t have to. This week: Britain’s best brunch venues.
Bank on New York style
WALK the marble floors of the City of London’s former Midland Bank – now sprinkled with Soho House stardust and transformed into hotel and restaurant complex The Ned – for a New York-inspired brunch including waffles, French toast and ‘Lower East Side’ bagels. There’s also the £13 ‘full English our way’ ( challah bread and pastrami in place of bacon).
Quick tip: After brunch, check out the 25- ton steel door that once guarded £335 million in the bank’s vault. thened.com
Maria’s real deal
FOR the ultimate authentic experience find Maria’s Cafe in London’s Borough Market. It’s so old-school it doesn’t have a website. Think egg, bacon and chips for £4 offered by someone who’s worked in the market since she was seven. Quick tip: It’s busy, so it is frowned upon to linger, but look out for famous faces. Maria’s poured tea for Charles and Camilla.
Singing its own praises
IT’S a rare cafe that has its own choir. But Foxy’s Deli in Penarth has. Its singers meet weekly, amid a programme of community events and classes. Brunch includes Glamorgan s a us a ge s a ndwiches, ‘ Breakfast in Bread’ or Welsh crumpets topped with bacon, oats and fried eggs for £6.
Quick tip: Gift hampers let you share the love of Welsh food. The cafe also serves Welsh-inspired afternoon teas. foxysdeli.co.uk
Battle through a Warrior
LOCAL owners of Waylands Yard in Worcester and Birmingham promise ‘a game-changing brunch’. Take your time with a full, Warrior Breakfast (£11.95), a veggie fry-up or active oats soaked for 24 hours and topped with anything from blueberries to peanut butter. Staff are serious about good coffee.
Quick tip: Look out for cafe dog Kobe, who flits between both locations. waylandsyard.com
Savour the sunshine
EXPECT brunch packed with fruits, grains and colourful ingredients at Real Food Kitchen i n Neston, Cheshire. Cheshire It’s run by a family who’ve banned processed foods from their menu and brunches i nclude flour-free pancakes, Scandinavian-style rosti and ‘sunshine oatmeal’ with pineapple, mango, maple syrup and mint for £4.95. Quick tip: Take a cookery workshop ending with a sit- down meal prepared by the class. realfoodkitchen365.com
TheT Quay to success
IT CALLS itself ‘ a small coffee house underneath a big bridge’. So head below the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle’s Quayside area to find Quay Ingredient where you can go back to basics with a boiled egg and soldiers, or try kippers with lemon parsley butter or cinnamon pancakes with chocolate.
Quick tip: Stay local with a £3.95 bacon, sausage and fried egg stottie: a Northumbrian classic. quayingredient.co.uk