London's best breakfasts and brunches

Time Out's guide to breakfasts in central London

• Bills, 2011 - © Bills

  Bill's

  28 St Martin’s Courtyard (off Long Acre or St Martin’s Lane), WC2E 9AB

  Breakfast served 8am-noon Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat, Sun.

  Brighton’s Bill’s (not to be confused with Australia’s Bill Granger) has finally made it into the capital, serving a similar menu of classic breakfast items in a fun, laid-back space. The breakfast options include a vegetarian version of a fry-up with two poached eggs, mushrooms, guacamole, sweet chilli sauce and toast, topped with basil leaves. There’s also porridge with banana and honey, egg and soldiers and greasy-but-great bacon sandwiches (you can take those away too, if you’re a local worker in a rush). Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £20. See more details
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  Dean Street Townhouse

  69-71 Dean St, W1D 4QJ

  Breakfast served 7-11.30am Mon-Fri; brunch served 8-11.30am Sat, Sun.

  Soho’s smarter denizens can be found breakfasting at this polished and very English restaurant, which – as part of a boutique hotel – opens early. If you prefer your morning repast to be accompanied by starched linen, heavy cutlery and smarly uniformed service, you’ll be impressed, although the dining room always carries a lively and informal buzz. The menu caters for those after something healthy (fruit salad, pink grapefruit, bramble porridge) and diners who need something meaty and cooked before lunch (ham hock hash with fried egg, full English). There’s also a comprehensive section offering eggs boiled, poached, scrambled and fried, Benedict, with bacon and Royale. One our most recent visit we found the service muddled and a little fraught: we were brought the wrong order twice. The second time we ate it to avoid further delays. But we’d still return here for the Soho buzz – or for the outdoor tables, which sit right on Dean Street. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £30. See more details
• The Delaunay

  55 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BB (020 7499 8558/www.thedelaunay.com).

  Breakfast served 7-11-30am Mon-Fri; 8-11.30am Sun

  Breakfast here is treated with as much reverence as in its sister venue, The Wolseley – the display of pastries and Viennoiserie at the door is tempting, but the rest of the menu lists almost everything the morning diner could desire. There are eggs every way, muesli, granola, kippers, a full English, pancakes, muffins, waffles, fruit, yogurt… You can pop in for a coffee or settle in for a decadent three-course ante-meridian feast – service will be formally attentive either way.
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  Dishoom

  12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9FB

  Breakfast served 8am-11am Mon-Fri; 9am-1pm Sat, Sun.

  Dishoom’s a convivial brasserie that loosely styles itself after the ‘Irani’ cafés of Mumbai. What of course you won’t find in India is such an abundance of bacon and sausage: there’s even a sausage naan roll or a bacon naan roll. Notable by their absence are real Bombay breakfasts, such as idlis or dosas. But what Dishoom does, it does well. The Bombay omelette was piquant with chilli, but what really transported us across the Indian Ocean was the chai (Indian tea): sweet and spiced. Other options include Western dishes such as porridge, granola, and of course variations on the fry-up. We particularly like Dishoom on weekday mornings, when it’s pleasingly quiet. Breakfast for two with drink and service: around £22. See more details
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  Hawksmoor Guildhall

  10-12 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5BQ

  Pre-lunch powerbrokers, or just those in search of a refined breakfasting experience, will aprreciate the high-end, mainly meaty offerings at Hawksmoor's City branch, a vast, wood-panelled basement space. Juices are freshly squeezed; tea and coffee is particularly sophisticated. The food is hearty fare, with steak and eggs, bacon chops, devilled kidneys and full English breakfasts assembled with the finest ingredients. Those who can't face meat in the mornings can go for pancakes, say, or wild mushrooms with poached eggs.
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  Kopapa

  32-34 Monmouth St, WC2H 9HA

  Breakfast served 8.30-11.30am Mon-Fri; brunch served 10am-3pm Sat, Sun.

  Kopapa is a smart, Kiwi-style café on Seven Dials, Covent Garden. The team behind it is the same which runs Providores, the best-known of them being top Kiwi chef Peter Gordon, who came to fame as chef at the Sugar Club. We tried the ricotta pancakes with avocado and roasted grapes, topped with a handful of rocket leaves; a very refreshing alternative to the usual breakfast options. If you must get eggy, Kopapa can provide – for example with a bowl of ‘Turkish eggs’, poached and served with whipped yoghurt and hot chilli butter. Spiced banana French toast with orange blossom labneh, tamarind raisin relish, grilled streaky bacon and orange vanilla syrup also gives you some idea of what goes on in the basement kitchen. The coffee, it almost goes without saying, is exemplary. The original branch, Providores and Tapa Room, in Marylebone, is very good too. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £25. See more details
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  Lantana

  13 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SN

  Breakfast served 8am-11.30am Mon-Fri; brunch served 9am-3pm Sat, Sun.

  Lantana – a previous winner of our Best New Café award – continues to dish up inventive and exciting brekkie dishes the Aussie way. Brunch is considered as important Down Under as afternoon tea is to us Brits, and there are still few places in central London better to take it – dishes such as baked ricotta with herbs, spinach, portabella mushroom and tomato salsa is about as far from a full English as you can get, but traditionalists will be reassured by the organic bacon or sausage sandwich. Those of sweet tooth will be delighted by alternatives to the standard pancakes or muffins by the like of toasted banana bread with rhubarb and Greek yogurt, or brioche toast with vanilla poached pears. Coffee is expertly made. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £25. See more details
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  The Modern Pantry

  47-48 St John’s Square, EC1V 4JJ

  Breakfast served 8am-11am Mon-Fri; brunch served 9am-4pm Sat, 10am-4pm Sun.

  Anna Hansen’s Clerkenwell restaurant is a popular destination for those who like a breakfast with wow factor. Nearly all the essentially classic dishes are jazzed-up with unusual ingredients. Instead of cinnamon, the Modern Pantry’s French toast is spiced with vattalapam (a Sri Lankan coconut custard) and comes with tamarind purée, maple syrup and bacon. Fan of a morning fry-up? Here you can have your eggs with grilled chorizo and plantain fritters. There’s a big selection of grain and fruit dishes, including Bircher muesli with pineapple and raspberry compote. And not only the dishes impress – the spacious ground-floor café benefits from a wash of natural light thanks to its big windows. On warmer days, tables are spread out on St John’s Square, making it the ideal place for a breakfast or brunch in the sun. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £30. See more details
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  NOPI

  21 Warwick St, W1B 5NE

  Breakfast served 8-11.30am Mon-Fri; brunch served 9am-5pm Sat, 10am-4pm Sun.

  In central Soho did Ottolenghi a stately pleasure dome decree. With more marble and gold than a dictator’s palace, this place is perfect when you don’t want a fry-up and need some elbow room at breakfast time. Then, of course, there is also Yotam Ottolenghi’s menu which, although short, is sweet. How about black rice with coconut milk, banana and mango; or pancake with yogurt and date syrup? We opted for the savoury choices: shakshuka is a vegetarian (and therefore kosher) breakfast dish from the Tunisian Jewish community, popularised in Tel Aviv by the excellent Dr Shakshuka café. Compared to the Old Jaffa original, which is of Goliath proportions, this Nopi version is David-sized; but the mixture of braised eggs, red pepper and tomato was correctly spiced and tasted right. Nopi is also notable for having the best-looking toilets in Soho, as long as you don’t mind the hall-of-mirrors effect which some can find disquieting. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £28. See more details
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  The Riding House Café

  43-51 Great Titchfield St, W1W 7PQ

  Breakfast served 8am-noon Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat, Sun.

  This new brasserie (opened April 2011) is already doing a busy breakfast trade, mainly with professionals having meetings before going to work. Breakfast diners are directed left towards the comfier of the two main dining areas, which has deep leather banquettes and is slightly more private. The menu covers lighter options such as Bircher-Benner muesli (soaked, with lots of fruit), poached rhubarb and plum with greek yogurt and granola, or buttermilk pancakes. Our hash browns were topped with mushrooms and two poached eggs, the potato cakes studded with thin slices of chorizo to add flavour. The smoothies are served in pint-sized milk bottles, and include unusual combinations such as peanut butter, banana, strawberry and apple juice. The coffee – from Caravan roastery – is pretty good too. Service is chirpy and keen. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £28. See more details
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  St Ali

  27 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1M 5RN

  Breakfast served 7am-4pm Mon-Fri; 9am-4pm Sat, Sun

  A relative latecomer to the Aussie brunch bunch – St Ali opened early in 2011 – but one worth seeking out. The original branch has been a fixture in Melbourne for more than a decade, and this new one feels right at home on London’s ever-expanding coffee scene. Beans are roasted in-house to ensure control over the whole process, and staff really know what they’re doing, whether operating the impressive Seattle-built espresso machine or pouring superb filter brews. Breakfast skips the full English and instead opts for healthy, innovative dishes that travel the world for inspiration. Eggs any way come on Turkish pide bread; French toast is served with streaky bacon, maple labna and apple balsamic; bircher muesli is perked up with Middle Eastern compote, seeds and nuts. The menu segues neatly into light lunch options. The living wall of plants provides a relaxing backdrop in the morning. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £24. See more details
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  St John Hotel

  1 Leicester St, off Leicester Square, WC2H 7BL

  Breakfast served 7-10.30am daily.

  We’ve removed St John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields from our list of best breakfasts this year, but this outpost in the new St John Hotel in Soho has appeared to fill the gap for nose-to-tail eating in the morning. The menu here is more extensive (and more expensive) than the East End branch and offers several stoutly British breakfast options, served in the trademark white dining room. Special mention must go to the own-made baked beans – too often, attempts at these feel like fixing something that isn’t broken, but the St John version beats Heinz hands-down. We enjoyed them with slices of own-made blood pudding and sourdough and were stuffed until lunch. You might also consider boiled eggs and anchovy toast, or ham, eggs and fried bread. Lighter options (‘starters’) include prunes or granola. Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £30. See more details