London's best breakfasts and brunches

Time Out's guide to breakfasts in west London

• Lola & Simon, 2011 - © Rob Greig

  Lola & Simon

  278 King St, W6 0SP (8563 0300)

  Breakfast served 8-11.30am Mon-Fri. Brunch served 9.30am-3pm Sat, Sun.

  With brews supplied by Monmouth and meats from Macken Brothers butcher (a nearby Chiswick institution), Lola & Simón is a place that’s passionate about sourcing ingredients carefully and is busy even on weekday mornings. The breakfast menu lists simple egg dishes (scrambled or poached) and pastries, but on weekends it gets an upgrade to include eggs Benedict, or pancakes served with caramelised bananas and generous lashings of maple syrup. Breakfast or brunch for two with service: around £30. See more details
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  Granger & Co

  175 Westbourne Grove, W11 2SB (7229 9111)

  Breakfast served 7am-5pm Mon-Sat; 8am-5pm Sun

  Aussie chef Bill Granger brings his sunny Antipodean-style breakfast and brunch dishes to Westbourne Grove. The menu offers a list of bakery items (toasted coconut bread, avocado with lime and coriander on rye bread, bran muffins) as well as the much-lauded ‘Bill’s Classics’, of which we tried two familiar dishes. Sweetcorn fritters, golden and crisp and served with bacon, spinach and roasted tomato, is a solid option, but more work is needed to perfect their famous ricotta hotcakes. Known for their fluffiness, ours on this occasion were unpleasantly soggy; we also wished there was more of the accompanying honeycomb butter. No complaints about the perfectly executed flat whites (made with beans from Allpress Espresso) and a virtuous ‘sunrise drink’ smoothie packed with juicy fruit. Be warned that the service can be a hit-or-miss, ranging from mellow and relaxed to chaotic, and that no bookings are taken.Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £40. See more details
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  Tom's Kitchen

  27 Cale St, SW3 3QP (7349 0202)

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

  Breakfasts on weekdays and weekend brunches at Tom Aikens’s original Chelsea brasserie remain deservedly popular. Tables are wedged in and some diners have complained about erratic service but bag a seat at the long marble bar and this becomes irrelevant. Every passing member of staff is then at your disposal, leaving you to concentrate on the food. This menu caters to all breakfasters, even late risers. Our neighbour at the bar described her eggs Florentine as ‘heavenly’. Our full English came with crisped streaky bacon, glowingly orange egg yolks (courtesy of Clarence Court free-range hens), a sausage green with parsley, plus Heinz beans. Airy waffles – good even by US standards – came with a dollop of cinnamon cream, caramelised apples and maple syrup. Breakfast for two with service: around £40. See more details
• Brook’s Counter and Table

  140 Shepherds Bush Rd, W6 7PB (7602 0664)

  Breakfast served 8-11.30am Mon-Fri; 8.30am-1pm Sat; 9am-2pm Sun.

  At the Brook Green edge of Shepherd’s Bush Road, Brook’s has been keeping locals happy since 2007. A deli and eatery, with wooden tables throughout the shop and on the pavement out front, it serves mainly organic and free-range produce. Orders are taken at the counter, which is laden with platters of pastries and tempting own-made cakes. Sundays bring sweet brunch crêpes and perhaps ricotta cakes to the menu. Our eggs Benedict had a light hollandaise seasoned perfectly with lemon and served with a thick fold of ham. Breakfast for two with service: around £15. See more details
• 202 Café

  202-204 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RH (7792 6888)

  Breakfast served 8.30am-noon Tue-Sat; 10am-noon Sun, Mon. Brunch served noon-10pm Tue-Sat, noon-4pm Sun, Mon.

  This see-and-be-seen café on Westbourne Grove is the epitome of chic and casual combined – at a price. Incorporated into the lofty, neutrally decorated space, the restaurant has a similarly elegant approach and like its clientele has a distinct international flair. Sweet potato was hashed with pancetta; sausages had a hint of fennel seed; pancakes a zest of lemon – the flavours combined well. Bloody Marys have a kick with freshly grated horseradish and parsley. With no bookings taken, there is subtle competition to get the coveted garden and street tables. Breakfast or brunch for two with service: around £45. See more details
• Lowry & Baker

  339 Portobello Rd, W10 5SA (8960 8534)

  Breakfast served 8am-5pm Mon-Sat.

  Since opening in June 2010, this one-room café at the Golborne Road end of Portobello has attracted a loyal collection of regulars, lured back time and time again by the homely baking, enthusiastic attention to detail and quirky character. Filter or espresso-based Monmouth coffee is made well and served on mismatched crockery at the indoor tables, or at the two pavement tables that catch the morning sun. The day’s menu is chalked up on boards and includes cinnamon toast, grilled pink grapefruit or own-made granola. Cooked breakfasts also boast sound ingredients and assembly: avocado, poached eggs and smoked salmon on sourdough toast; or multi-coloured heritage tomatoes drizzled with basil oil over a smear of goat curd. On one visit we had a rosemary and potato pancake – like a farl rather than a latke – topped with properly crisped bacon, a poached egg (done exactly as per our request) and picked thyme leaves. More brunch-like was a moist, own-made baked blueberry cheesecake. Breakfast for two with service: around £20. Cash only. See more details
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  Raoul's

  111-115 Hammersmith Grove, W6 0NQ (8741 3692)

  Breakfast served 8.30am-6pm daily.

  On a corner of leafy Hammersmith Grove, with tables outside to catch the morning sun, this brasserie (with adjoining deli) is the third branch of the Raoul’s chain. All three have proved especially popular for brunch, which they obligingly serve until 6pm every day of the week. Juices are freshly squeezed, eggs come any which way, French toast is made with tiger bread, which stays firmer after the dipping. An awning protects the fairer-skinned outside, or the cool and roomy interior beckons with banquettes and booths. Breakfast for two with service: around £40. See more details
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  The Scene at The World's End

  459 King’s Rd, SW10 0LR (3362 3362)

  Breakfast served 10am-4pm Sat & Sun.

  Old World England meets New World Americana at this new all-day diner in a gabled Victorian pub building. Tables, like the portions, are large – designed to be shared. Monochrome prints of Hollywood royalty flash their teeth from the walls. Staff are clad in denim shirts, and a distinctive US drawl emanating from the open kitchen lends an authentic tone to proceedings. Breakfast, however, is only served at weekends. Silver dollar buttermilk pancakes, in a generous stack, were larger than these miniature pancakes we’ve encountered in the US, and were simply adorned with a slab of butter and jug of maple syrup. Corned beef hash and vegetable breakfast burritos add heft to the menu. Breakfast for two with service: around £30. See more details