London's best breakfasts and brunches

Gail's

• Rated as: 4/5
• Price band: 2/4
• Critics choice

Upmarket bakery chain with branches across London

Kipferl

In April 2011, this Austrian café moved from its Smithfield location to the bijou Camden Passage in Islington. Walking into the wood-lined interior, you’re likely to be drawn to the kaleidoscope of mouthwatering cakes displayed in the counter vitrine. It might be hard for the breakfast menu to compete with moist topfentorte (the Austrian version of a cheesecake) or delicate apfelstrudel, but it has its own attractions. The bergkäse (mountain cheese) omelette, served in a skillet, impressed with its strong cheese flavour, and was served with caraway-studded bread, mushrooms and pickles. You don’t need to be an Alpinist to be tempted by the ‘sports breakfast’ – a big healthy bowl of muesli, fruit salad, nuts and honey – served with an orange juice and hot beverage included in the price. The coffee menu comes with a colour chart, so that diners can easily identify the strength of such typical Austrian concoctions as verkehrter (like a latte) or a schwarzer (like an espresso). 

Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £20. See more details

Ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi’s flagship café-brasserie in Islington remains as popular as ever. You can’t book a table for breakfast, so people queue, waiting to be delivered from temptation while being surrounded by displays of breathtaking cakes and baroque salads. It’s worth the wait. Apple and blueberry blintz (crepe-like filled pancakes) was a delightful plate of this Ashkenazi Jewish dish with an orange ricotta mixture, generously topped with blueberry coulis. Those who prefer a hearty start to the day can opt for a cannellini bean stew with bacon and chorizo (kosher this ain’t) – the smoky meat flavours leave their note through all the elements of the dish. There’s also the option to toast some of Ottolenghi’s breads at your table and top them with a selection of spreads. 

Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £25. See more details

Boulangerie Bon Matin

It’s only been open since March 2011, but already Boulangerie Bon Matin is a Stroud Green favourite. The place is buzzing on most mornings. Locals come here for the good coffee, cakes and pastries, but also for the breakfast menu. Scrambled eggs are served with smoked salmon, while grilled tomatoes and mushrooms come on rye toast. There’s also a ‘French crepe’ with strawberries, banana, maple syrup and Greek yoghurt, or cinnamon French toast made with sweet brioche. All this can be enjoyed in the light-flooded backroom, which benefits from an atrium roof – if it’s sunny, it really does makes for a ‘bon matin’ (good morning). 

Breakfast for two with drinks and service: around £20. See more details

Made in Camden

You’ll be hard pushed to find a decent weekend brunch place in the stretch between Camden Market and Primrose Hill. But there’s one worthwhile spot, opened in autumn 2010, in the unlikely location of the Roundhouse. Brunch at Made in Camden defies expectations: there are no queues, and the big café space is pleasantly serene. The menu relies heavily on eggs: from traditional eggs, tomato and bacon toast to more adventurous fried eggs on sweet spiced chickpeas with labneh (Middle Eastern yoghurt) and pangrattato (breadcrumbs with a hint of cinnamon). Sweet tooths will be happy to dig into grilled banana and chocolate bread with maple syrup butter, which goes very well with a cup of Caravan coffee. 

Brunch for two with drinks and service: around £25. See more details

Penk's

At weekends in fair weather, the sandwich board is outside and the French windows thrust apart, opening Penk’s entire shopfront to Salusbury Road in fashionable Queen’s Park. A couple of tiny pavement tables are set out; a leather Chesterfield sofa, strewn with newspapers and imbibers’ bible Decanter, makes an inviting entrance. The menu’s on a blackboard, or printed and brought to the tables. The brunch menu includes the expected full English and eggs Benedict/Florentine/royale (the last with smoked salmon), plus some more imaginative offerings. We liked the kedgeree, spiked with whole cloves and green cardamoms plus bacon, boiled egg and even a slice of orange; and the pancakes, crêpe-like but topped with dried cherries, cranberries and golden sultanas steeped in coulis-style red berry juice. A local favourite, and deservedly so. 

Breakfast for two with drinks: around £30. See more details