The best brunches in London

Despite its focus on superfoods, Andina also works wonders on the indulgent brunch front. Alongside nut-laced chia seed puddings and seasonal quinoa-filled granolas sit the likes of sweet-potato pancakes topped with spiced honey, fruit and whipped coconut cream, or soft baps filled with confit pork belly – a South American take on the bacon roll. If you accidentally pig out, balance the books with a colourful superfood smoothie.

Don’t miss: The corn soufflé with smoked bacon, poached eggs and coriander-flecked hollandaise. It's the second-best way to start the weekend off with a rosy glow.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Brunch at Antipodea is an Aussie affair. Sipping your flat white in the conservatory-style dining room, you could almost be in Melbourne. Apart from, you know, the British weather. There's brilliant variety here for brunch: all manner of eggs (poached, folded, soft boiled with Marmite soldiers), treacle-cured bacon sarnies, Turkish pides loaded with toppings, sweetcorn fritters, fish cakes, burgers or flat-iron steak with fries. See? Spoilt for choice.

Don't miss: The lobster brioche roll topped with poached egg and caviar.

Brunch for two with service: around £55.

It’s dude food with attitude at this deliberately scruffy City hangout, where at weekends you can go all out on a bottomless brunch (with or without booze) at any time of day – including Friday night ‘Frunch’. Neon signage flashes and a punk soundtrack plays as brunchers sit at diner-style red leather booths and hoover up dishes from a deliciously meaty, North American-influenced menu featuring pulled pork, eggs, fries, mini tacos and pancakes topped with fried chicken. At weekdays, there’s a shorter, slightly more restrained all-day brunch offering.

Don't miss: Unlimited Bloody Marys, mimosas and prosecco on the boozy brunch menu (£35pp).

Brunch for two with service: around £50, or around £70 with unlimited brunch cocktails.

Once a pub, this brick-walled space is now Madame Babette’s pride and joy – a neighbourhood restaurant with a Gallic vibe, chandeliers in the front room, Bermondsey beers on tap and blackboard menus focusing on ‘meaty’ and ‘veggie’ sharing boards. Weekend brunch (till 4pm) tells a different story, with everything from sultry croque madame and plates of scrambled eggs to homemade sausage, home-cured bacon, homemade beans, slow-roasted tomato, crispy mushroom Kiev and buttered kale – Saturday done right.

Don't miss:  The toasted bread with ‘herby’ butter or the French fries with ‘herby’ salt.

Brunch for two with service: around £20.

The brunch menu at this snazzy French-brasserie-by-way-of-Manhattan covers the usual gamut of eggs (boiled with soldiers, Florentine, egg-white omelettes and so on), plus American-style pancakes – but you can go in even heavier with lunch-style dishes such as steak frites or shellfish linguine. Wash it down with one of the best classic Bloody Marys in town.

Don't miss: Of all the egg-based dishes, opt for the scrambled egg with Cornish crab. Sounds odd, but it's a delicacy brought together with a light dollop of crème fraîche on top.

Brunch for two with service: around £45.

Occupying a quiet sweet spot on Islington Green in Angel, this Alsatian-themed high-end Paris-style brasserie from the folk behind The Wolseley does weekend brunch in unhurried style. The menu takes a no-holds-barred approach to combining the first two meals of the day. Want to kick off with oysters? Why not? Feel like ordering tarte flambée or waffles loaded with Alsatian cheeses instead of your standard eggs and smoked salmon? Be their guest. Finish it all off with ice cream? No one will judge.

Don’t miss: The sweet tarte flambée options – try the one with strawberries, crème fraiche and marshmallows.

Brunch for two with service: around £40 (on average).

It’s brunch time all of the time for Beany Green at the weekend. The Australian café in Broadgate Circus lays on a killer all-day menu which moves from broccoli and corn fritters with egg and bacon to banana bread sarnies filled with mascarpone, berries and almonds. Their ‘fancy’ bacon roll includes The Rib Man’s Holy Fuck Hot Sauce in hollandaise form, and of course they slice and dice the avocado every which way. If this brekkie spot doesn’t have you feeling sunny, we don’t know what will.

Don’t miss: Fancy somethin’ sweet? The banana bread sandwich – piled with mascarpone, berries, honey and almonds – is worth the approving whispers.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Cosy up on the banquettes of this Haggerston railway arch, where the sexy low lighting eases you gently into the day ahead and the smoky, meaty smells coming off the grill snap you right back to your senses. There is, of course, plenty for meat-eaters to love here (the mangal breakfast sharer alone contains chops, sausages, kidneys and bone marrow), but veggies can feel just as satisfied with a plate of comforting Turkish eggs, poached and smothered in paprika butter, or the Israeli breakfast for two, an exotic mezze complete with roasted beets and honeyed feta.

Don’t miss: The harissa bloody mary is one of the best twists on a classic mary you’ll find in London, sweet and spicy all in one.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

In the lowlands between Holborn and Covent Garden lies The Black Penny, a cheery café where diners will struggle to choose just one of the enticing cooked brunches on offer – there’s brioche French toast, crispy confit duck hash and even bubble and squeak. High-quality, fresh ingredients and ample portions justify its pricing, and attention to detail is a strong point – look out for cucumber-infused tap water. A selection of arty magazines and a super-soulful soundtrack make it far too easy to spend all day here.

Don’t miss: Make an absolute hash of it. Here, they do them with wild mushroom and crispy polenta, salt beef with green tomato chutney, or crispy confit duck with sweet potato, chilli, coriander and a poached egg – take your pick.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Brunch is served from 8.30am every day of the week at Green Lanes’ Blend, which explains why it’s usually filled with local mums and their nippers. Keep your brekkie simple with a ham and cheese croissant or superfood-filled porridge, or live it large with Amaretto-laced French toast or a full-on fry-up. The convivial daytime vibe is aided by pretty pendant lighting and lovely works of art on the walls. Service can slow a bit at busier times, but Aussie coffee will make the wait pleasurable.

Don’t miss: Treat your kids to the ‘toddler-approved’ mini menu – the lovely early-day options are cheap as chips.

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

The brunch menu here is short and sweet, but you’ll still struggle to decide between the blueberry pancakes with whipped mascarpone, a posh bacon and egg sarnie, and the ‘everything’ breakfast with, well, everything. Weekend brunch is served from 10am to 3.30pm (4pm on Sundays), which will allow you plenty of time to sleep off that hangover before getting togged up. Alternatively, opt for the all-day menu, which includes the excellent potato rösti topped with salt beef and poached eggs, all slathered in mustard hollandaise. Your arteries might not thank you, but your hangover definitely will.

Don’t miss: That salt beef rösti. So good, it’s worth mentioning twice.

Brunch for two with service: around £20, or £40 with cocktails.

From the outside this black-painted building looks rather severe. But step inside and suddenly you’re in a bright and airy space that feels more like colonial-era Delhi than modern-day Clerkenwell. This is a place for elegant yet laid back brunching. The food is very good: their huevos benedictos are a perfect balance of spicy chorizo and creamy béarnaise sauce, while the drop scones with clotted cream, berries and honey are an indulgent treat that veer close to pudding territory.

Don't miss: These guys were among the first to bring the New York trend of bottomless brunching to our fair shores. Grab a prosecco – or the stunning cocktail list.

Brunch for two with service: around £35 (without cocktails).

With its Clapham branch doing a roaring trade, Brickwood has upped the game for Balham, mixing a beautifully crafted shack-like interior and an extensive menu with cheerful Aussie service that’s even chummier than the norm. Brunch is served until 3pm, with imaginative dishes such as four-cheese sourdough toasties, sweet potato and feta with poached egg and kale pesto on toast or the Brickwood burrito – scrambled eggs, potato hash, pulled pork, red pepper salsa and sour cream. Best of all? You probably won’t have to queue – unlike the jam-packed Milk Café nearby.

Don’t miss: Wild mushrooms on brioche with a poached egg, grated pecorino and truffle oil – plus some morsels of ham hock (two quid extra, but worth it).

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

This buzzing Brooklyn-style café and cocktail bar in Balham comes courtesy of three school besties, who serve hip weekend brunches alongside gallons of silky smooth coffee. The brunch menu has something for everyone, from sticky pastries and fruit-topped cereals, to eggs most ways; signature serves include smoked salmon with asparagus and scrambled eggs, and cinnamon French toast with maple syrup and mascarpone.

Don’t miss: A slice of the house banana bread to end your feast on a sweet note.

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

As at the Clerkenwell original (and its newest outpost near Tate Modern on Southbank), the menu here takes influences from many parts of the world. One of the myriad attractions of the brunch menu is its happy accommodation of vegetarians: it's easy to avoid meat here if you are so inclined, and even carnivores might be tempted by jalapeño cornbread with fried eggs, black beans, avocado, chipotle and lime.

Don't miss: Post-brunch desserts that include vanilla ice cream doused in salted-caramel espresso.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

The all-day weekend-only brunch at this cute Soho spin-off of Andina is a laid-back Latin affair. Pisco sours are basically mandatory (ask for the strawberry and raspberry version, it’s a dream), and the brunch is a colourful, inventive mix of ceviche and superfoods. Take yours out to Casita's 'secret' outdoor terrace – all bright blue walls, pot plants and three tiny tables in the sunshine, it's a slice of Lima in London. Plus there's a retractable awning to keep you dry in winter.

Don't miss: Casita’s take on eggs benedict, made of bacon and egg on a sweetcorn soufflé with coriander hollandaise. Brunch has never felt this exotic.

Brunch for two with service: around £45.

If you fancy chicken and cocktails first thing, this is the place for you – but it offers so much more than poultry and a piss-up. Roll in from noon on weekends, choose either the brunch bun (a towering Korean-spiced burger with added bacon and egg, overflowing with gochujang mayo), or an entire dressed fried chook to share. Pair with some perfectly-poised sours and some Asian-inspired sides, then tuck into the most tender, crunchy and downright delicious chicken in Dalston. A visit to this colourful little coop will definitely make your weekend fly.

Don't miss: The dips. The tangy kewpie mayo in particular is sure to ruffle a few feathers.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

Colourful Ceru's good-value menu roams the Eastern Med, running through the greatest hits of the Levant. Think merguez chicken, Persian kofta, fragrant dips and spicy salads. At weekends the small hangover-busting brunch menu also features shakshuka (with baked eggs in a punchy tomato sauce seasoned with cayenne pepper and fennel seeds) and a spicy lamb shawarma hash topped with a fried egg.

Don't miss: Shakshuka with grilled halloumi.

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

The fashionable London restaurant is virtually impossible to get a dinner reservation at, unless you're an A-list celeb. However, it does brunch from 11am-3pm at weekends, when it’s slightly easier to get a table. Be warned: prices are very high. Lobster and crab omelette costs £26, eggs benedict £15, pancakes £12 – but the dishes are all excellent. No bookings are taken, so arrive early – and smile like you’re a regular on the red carpet.

Don't miss: Nuno Mendes' famous crab-stuffed donuts (with ‘coral dusting’!) feature on the brunch menu. It would be a shame not to try them.

Brunch for two with service: around £50 (without cocktails).

Where to go for Saturday brunch in Peckham? How about the old ticket office next door to the station? Now an ever-so-cool small-plates eatery, the Coal Rooms has the lot – counter seating, a robata grill, and a kitchen that likes ramping up the transatlantic flavours. That brunch offer (from 10am) runs from Old Spike coffee and Blood Caesar cocktails to pastrami salmon with smoked cream cheese or chickpea tacos with black beans and chimichurri – plus Peckham Fatboy fries on the side, and apple and cheddar pie to finish. 

Don’t miss: Sharing a mighty full English – a right royal plateful involving smoked goat sausages, smoked pig’s head blood pudding, fried duck eggs, smoked bone marrow and more.

Brunch for two with service: around £25 (£40 with cocktails).

If its vivid, green-and-gold interior doesn’t wake you up, Coppa Club’s front-row view of Tower Bridge and City Hall should do the trick. Along the same stretch of the north bank as the Tower of London, this glam-but-chilled riverside restaurant has a massive terrace and a varied brunch, peppered with healthy ingredients. From hangover-slaying baked eggs with chorizo and tangy tomato ragu, to a virtuous and hefty ‘super bowl’ of quinoa, almonds, and citrus wedges, Coppa covers all brunch bases.

Don't miss: The kale toast. It’s layered with avocado and two oozing fried eggs, then garlanded with trails of sriracha – a joyful tumble of crunch, cream and fire.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Even at an early hour, the dark-panelled dining rooms of this ever-popular all-day Soho restaurant buzz with the animated chatter of media types. The smooth service eases things along nicely, too. It’s largely classics on the brunch menu: eggs all ways, porridge, kedgeree, full English. There are fruit smoothies and Scots will be heartened to see tattie scones and lorne (flat) sausage.

Don't miss: Go trad with the kedgeree, but slosh it down with an Heirloom Mary of voddy, pineapple, tomato, Umeshu plum brandy, tabasco and wasabi.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Sipping a gloriously red blood-orange bellini just out of reach of Carnaby Street’s weekend crowds is enough to make you feel like Dehesa is your own little brunch-y secret. The calm and classy dining room serves a Spanish-ish brunch menu that’s a far cry from your trad beans-on-toast offerings. Sweet options include churros with chocolate, or waffles topped with caramelised apples and whipped yoghurt, while savoury pulls such as grilled Mahón cheese with roasted tomatoes, potato cake and chargrilled courgettes are the sorts of dishes that don’t pop up on brunch menus very often but really should.

Don’t miss: Whatever they’ve made with chorizo. Always choose the chorizo.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Dominique Ansel Bakery should really rename itself MTJC: More Than Just Cronuts. The London outpost of the NYC joint behind the cult croissant-doughnut-combo also does a mean line in proper puds, patisserie, and yes, even avocado on toast. Be sure to go on a warm day, so you can sit on the slim pergola-shaded back terrace (easily the nicest spot) and feast on the sensational, béchamel-slathered croque monsieur.

Don’t miss: That croque. Sooo good.

Brunch for two with service: around £35

If you think the à la carte menu at this City high-flier is rich, wait until you encounter its brunch. The menu covers English fry-ups, Belgian waffles, and the signature duck ’n’ waffle (crispy duck leg confit topped with a fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup) as well as the likes of ox-cheek benedict (served on a waffle with hollandaise AND sriracha), foie gras brûlée, and truffled baked duck eggs served with wild mushrooms, melted gruyère and soldiers. Prices are also sky-high – but here it’s a clear case of go big or go home.

Don't miss: Those views. Say good morning to the whole of the city.

Brunch for two with service: around £50.

This bustling Sicilian café ups the ante on Sundays, when well-heeled locals descend for its all-day Italian-inflected brunches: think baskets of oven-warm breads to slather in Sicilian jam, silky caponata with a side of poached eggs, and Continental-style charcuterie and cheeses, all washed down with hand-pressed juices and superior coffee. It’s a slice of la bella vita in London.

Don’t miss: Dolci that include fresh cannoli, served with nuts for dipping.

Brunch for for two with service: around £35.

Airy, elegant and laid-back, Farmacy has ‘meet me for brunch’ stamped all over its chic interior. The free-from menu suits vegans, vegetarians and anyone avoiding gluten or dairy. But, happily, ‘no additives’ doesn’t mean ‘no taste’. In fact, dishes such as sweet potato cakes and calzone are packed with flavour and interesting textures. Stylish salads and hearty ‘earth bowls’ sit beside brunch classics including the (meat-free) English breakfast.

Don't miss: The Farmacy burger – trust us, you won’t miss the meat.

Brunch for two with service: around £60.

Despite its off-the-beaten-track spot on a residential road in Highbury, Fink’s is almost always full – and it’s worth hanging around for a brunch table at weekends. The trendy and very tempting menu is great value and offers dishes that you won’t find elsewhere – crumpets topped with Marmite butter and cheddar, say, or bacon sarnies in challah bread spread with cinnamon butter and drizzled with maple syrup. Service can get a little flustered thanks to the place’s popularity but it’s friendly and food doesn’t suffer for it. Brunch traditionalists might baulk at the lack of egg staples, but we love the originality of this irresistible menu.

Don’t miss: Inventive brunch cocktails that are sure to wake you up.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

You wouldn’t guess it, but this all-day diner is actually the main restaurant for the Park Plaza Waterloo next door – and it’s a real treat. Take the brunch route by plundering their line-up of all-day egg dishes (omelettes, scrambled, florentine… ostrich!) or hit the flatbreads – anything from smoked burrata, aubergine and tomato to Tuscan sausages with Stilton and rocket. Otherwise, cherry-pick from the salads, pasta and burgers, with British bubbles and BrewDog beers on hand to wash it all down nicely.

Don’t miss: The full English with a huge fried ostrich egg – the whole plateful serves six and weighs in at a whopping £65. Ring ahead to check availability (those ostriches are temperamental birds).

Brunch for two with service: around £25. 

On the days when you wake up with only a headache and some freeze-dried coffee for company, what you need is a sanctuary. With its serene but welcoming atmosphere and short but tempting food menu – think ratte potatoes with smoked pancetta and charred artichoke, or bacon and sausage sarnies with mango chutney and a fried egg – Franks will fix your day before it’s even had a chance to go wrong. Good coffee, efficient staff, a playlist full of songs you remember fondly and generous portions gently transform you from duvet zombie to chipper day-seizer with minimum fuss.

Don't miss: How about turmeric poached eggs, root veg bhaji, fried curry leaves, chilli chutney, cucumber and mint raita, and parathas. You read that right.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Foxlow more than holds its own among Balham’s bevy of brunch spots – decor-wise, it’s big on the ’70s vibe, and its olive-green leather banquettes are the ideal place in which to ensconce yourself with the (provided) papers after a heavy night on the Clapham strip. This being an all-day restaurant from the Hawksmoor team, it’s unsurprising that brunch offers comforting meaty grub – the order du jour being the fried chicken, egg and croissant waffle (with sausage gravy). Veggies need not panic, though – similarly hearty meat-free offerings include the chilli- and herb-laden sweet potato and kale hash, topped with a fried egg.

Don’t miss: Notably good soft drinks, including Vietnamese iced coffee and fresh grapefruit soda (there are brunch cocktails, too).

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Soho is known for giving good brunch, and this West End offshoot of Stokey’s Good Egg is just the ticket for Kingly Street’s touristy hordes. Expect queues out the door for the weekend’s blowout at this breezy daytime hangout, which touts a short menu of colourful Middle-Eastern delights – think crispy halloumi, marinated aubergines, Hanukkah brisket hash and exotic grain bowls. There are breads and bagels from the clay oven, exotic nibbles to share and cardamom-infused coffee cocktails to drink.

Don’t miss: Finish on a sweet note with sweet babka loaf for the table.

Brunch for two with service: around £40 (without cocktails).

Stokey gives good brunch, but The Good Egg is where you’ll find queues out the door come the weekend. This stylish café with an open kitchen is a breezy daytime hangout and its brunch menu holds heaps of Middle-Eastern delights: think shakshuka topped with morsels of mutton merguez sausage, or bacon-and-egg pita with date jam, plus lots of exotic nibbles to share – plus cardamom-infused coffee cocktails.

Don’t miss: Finish on a sweet note with sweet babka loaf for the table.

Brunch for two with service: around £40 (without cocktails).

Bill Granger has built a TV cooking career out of selling the Aussie dream: lots of sunlight, casual vibes, easy-going photogenic dishes. As one of his London outlets, this Notting Hill eatery ticks all the boxes: it's spacious and bright with big windows and verdant views. Less obvious brunch choices include a ginger prawn egg-white omelette. Booking is essential – the place fills up quickly with affluent-looking folk.

Don't miss: The signature dish of ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter; cloud-like lightness.

Brunch for two with service: around £45.

This friendly all-day Dalston café bills itself as a modern greasy spoon – thanks to its devotion to hash browns and all things porky, it’s perfected the art of curing hangovers. Its quirky brunch dishes (available Tuesday to Sunday) strike the perfect balance between wholesomeness and the restorative powers of fried bacon – dishes sneak in a surprising amount of veg, from kale to homemade beans. The Posh Pig Muffin is particularly good, and the vegetarian options are genuinely decent, too, for a place so in thrall to the trotter. Expect to queue at weekends.

Don’t miss: Sides that include a ‘bucket of bacon’ with maple syrup.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Herman ze German may do the best wurst in London, but the weekend-only brunch here is so much more than a sausage fest. A tad posher than their grab-and-go breakfast offering, this menu features sourdough topped with chopped ginger and honey, butterbean stew and an excellent strammer max – two fried eggs served with sharp mature cheddar and black-forest ham. The bright, airy space in Fitzrovia is a lovely spot to while away a morning, so you can kick back and really dig in.

Don't miss: The bloody mary. Made according to a secret family recipe, this is a superlative hangover-basher.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

If your idea of brunch is a virtuous bowl of granola or some sort of chia seed concoction, you’re in the wrong place. Meat is the order of the day at Hotbox, with deliciously indulgent dishes including smoked hash, eight-hour smoked pork ribs and a truffled-chicken waffle with maple syrup. That said, the veggie options don’t feel like an afterthought – there are buttermilk pancakes with caramelised bananas and berries, smoky baked eggs, and crushed avocado on sourdough (obviously). Oh, and the portions are huge – which is definitely a good thing if you’re planning to make the most of their bottomless cocktails.

Don’t miss: The bloody marys – they’re served in huge tankards and there are five to choose from (including one made with smoked dripping).

Brunch for two with service: around £30, or £80 with unlimited cocktails.

Weekend brunch might look like a humble afterthought on The Ivy Soho Brasserie’s all-day menu, but despite the limited options, you’re guaranteed to get impeccable food for a lazy but classy afternoon up west. Keep it light with wild mushrooms on toasted brioche, a truffled chicken sandwich and chips or hot buttermilk pancakes; otherwise, play havoc with your calorie intake by ordering a chocolate bombe or cherry ice-cream sundae to finish. Go on. Treat yourself!

Don’t miss: The ‘French dip’ – a steak sandwich with a mouth-watering combo of caramelised onions, horseradish mayonnaise with burgundy sauce and chips that ought to put any hangover to rights.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

Brunch might look like a humble after-thought on The Ivy Kensington Brasserie’s all-day dining menu, but despite the limited options, you’re guaranteed to get impeccable food for a lazy but classy afternoon out west. The grilled buttermilk pancakes with bacon is a pretty number, but it’s the dishes with luscious poached eggs that really play to the crowd, whether it’s Benedict or a veggie version of eggs Royale, served with perfect, chunky chips on the side.

Don’t miss: The French dip – a steak sandwich with a mouth-watering combo of caramelised onions, horseradish mayonnaise with burgundy sauce and chips that ought to put any hangover to rights.

Brunch for two with service: around £40

‘Easy Rider’ meets east London hipster at Jim’s Café, a greasy spoon reborn with a little help from Hackney-based motorcycle collective Black Skulls. As a drop-in it’s very cool, a bit ‘Twin Peaks’ and custom-built for the neighbourhood. The short breakfast plates menu doubles for brunch (especially with a 3.30pm cut-off at weekends) – so rev up with a wild mushroom and chopped kale omelette or a sausage-patty muffin with fried egg and American cheese, plus a non-alcoholic brew on the side (with the option of dairy-free Oatly/Bonsoy milk). Hair of the dog? Shots, cocktails, indie beers and cider await. 

Don’t miss: A visit to the adjoining Black Skulls shop for some gear.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

This Herne Hill hotspot is the perfect place to get your weekend off to a good start – take a dip in the open-air pool (if you dare), then load up on calories via the all-day brunch menu. Expect the likes of eggs Benedict with sweet, juicy Gloucester Old Spot ham and tangy hollandaise sauce, or stacks of thick buttermilk and blueberry pancakes with maple syrup. If you don’t want to undo all the good work from your morning plunge, plump for one of the slimmer options such as organic porridge, granola with Greek yoghurt and honey, or avo on toast.

Don't miss: Prosecco brunches and bloody marys will make your poolside brunch feel even more like a spontaneous mini-break.

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

This small but perfectly formed café gets its name from the unhealthy smog that choked the capital back in the 1950s, but its vibe is, thankfully, more wholesome. Satisfying brunches focus on dishes that use seasonal produce, such as garlicky mushrooms piled onto toast with spinach and goats’ cheese, or a brunch bowl that takes the full English far away from greasy spoon fare. Even the bacon sandwich comes with salad.

Don’t miss: A seat outside, if it’s sunny and you’re early enough (there’s not much space inside anyway).

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

If you want to do more than a caffeine cut and run, sneak into a space at one of the tables and the staff will bring you own-made granola or pancakes, eggs on sourdough toast and other goodies, piled onto cutesy mismatched vintage crockery. A couple of simple hotplates behind the cake-laden counter do the job of a kitchen, making the beautifully poached eggs on avocado-spread bread with a mound of smoked salmon an even more impressive achievement.

Don't miss: The delicious riffs on reliable dishes – beans and eggs on toast among them.

Brunch for two with service: around £20.

If you’re feeling foggy-headed as you step through the door at this machismo-heavy Scottish restaurant, go for the Scooby Snack, a monstrous sandwich that’s apparently been precision engineered to wipe out hangovers, packing in three versions of pig (bacon, sausage and black pudding), plus a fried egg and a ‘tattie scone’ (like a hash brown). It’s a dense beast and if you had one every morning you wouldn’t live long, but there are lighter options here, too, including cured salmon with creamy scrambled eggs and the obligatory avo on toast.

Don’t miss: Three types of bloody mary – including one with whisky.

Brunch for two with service: around £30 with coffees, or £40 with cocktails.

If your idea of a gentle awakening in the morning is a nice cup of tea listening to Radio 2, you’d best go elsewhere – you can hear the sound of deep house coming through Milk's open French windows before you reach the Bedford Hill site. The coffee provides a good caffeine kick – Workshop always seems to feature among its suppliers – and the menu lists some interesting hot dishes, such as baked eggs with new-season asparagus.

Don't miss: How about buckwheat pancakes, burnt apricot, apricot kernel, lavender and bitter almond? Eh? EH?

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

The East-meets-West cooking here – while no longer such a surprise – remains a delight. Everyday brunch dishes (weekends only) are set off with the use of unusual ingredients: the salmon is tea-smoked, the sausages are chorizo, the onglet steak is marinated in miso – even the out-of-this-world cereal is laced with garam masala. Miso, spring onion and chilli waffles; marinated feta with chickpea spring rolls and pickled mushrooms; sides of yuzu hollandaise… this is the kind of brunch you’d never dream about making yourself, which ups the satisfaction factor no end.

Don't miss: The signature omelette of sugar-cured prawns, with its runny middle and tangy chilli sambal. (Ask for extra sambal upfront; there’s never enough.)

Brunch for two with service: around £35.

Bao buns for brunch? Now there’s an idea! Following the hip trend for pillowy Taiwanese morsels, this pocket-sized eatery from the people behind nearby Miss Tapas offers weekenders a section of witty brunch riffs turned on their head – try the bao benedict with slow-braised pork, wilted spinach, free-range egg and hollandaise in a bun, the mushrooms on toasted bao or the full Taiwanese – a plateful loaded with Taiwanese sausage, spring onion pancake, bacon, a bao bun, Asian beans and spiced eggs.

Don’t miss: The Taiwanese spring onion pancake on its own, with house kimchi, cheddar, an egg (sunny side up) and basil.

Brunch for two with service: around £20. Cocktails from £16 for a ‘bottomless hour’.

If you fancy your brekkie sunny side up, this café staffed by proper Aussies makes for a bright start in Tooting. Breakfast or brunch is served until 3pm, and dishes from the short menu tend to be variations on a few key ingredients, such as avocado, bacon, pancakes, and good sourdough bread from the Blackbird Bakery. Smashed avocado is served the Australian way with feta crumbled on top.

Don't miss: Decent coffee is roasted by Ozone, making for an Antipodean wake-up call louder than a didgeridoo.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Nutbourne gets its name from the bit of West Sussex where the Gladwin brothers – the tousled trio behind west London restaurants Rabbit and The Shed – farm and forage pretty well everything they serve here. By brunchtime the classics are all present and correct, but with a country twist – so smoked mackerel and poached eggs come with Beatrix Potter radishes for nibbling, and the baked eggs have a meadow's worth of spinach and lovage scattered prettily over them. Green and pleasant indeed.

Don't miss: The drop scone with bacon jam, honeycomb, English strawberries and labneh. Trust us on this one.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

At £20 per person it’s not cheap, but the leisurely sharing brunch at this buzzing Turkish-Cypriot restaurant in Shoreditch is worth the splurge. Oklava serves brunch in the style of a smorgasbord, a concept inspired by Sundays in Turkey, where people sit around for hours at tables laden with food. Dish after delicious dish starts with Turkish cheeses, fruit and dreamily light pastries, followed by menemen (spiced baked eggs), and pastirma sausage with fried eggs, whose runny yolks are perfect for dipping with the homemade bread. You’ll eat three meals’ worth of food in one sitting – enough to make brunch here suddenly seem a budget option.

Don’t miss: Spreading the delicious medjool-date butter onto the house bread.

Brunch for two with service: around £50.

Here’s the brunch drill at Parlour: show up and place your order, then hit the bread station while you wait. The USP is an unlimited supply of yesterday’s bread for just £1 per person: simply help yourself, have it toasted or plain and take your pick from the various jams and spread on offer. Don’t carb-load too crazily, or you’ll struggle to finish the ensuing brunch dishes, such as hash browns with eggs any style, the bacon bap with Oxford sauce, or the massive (No Subs) Full Parlour Breakfast. Lovely juices and drinks are another plus.

Don’t miss: The double bloody marys (£8 a shot).

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Lucky, lucky ducks. Not only do the web-footed locals of Victoria Park have a gorgeous lake (complete with nesting islands and a pagoda), they also get to snack on some of the best artisan bread of any park café in London. Yards of outdoor tables and smoothly pulled coffees (with a rota of guest beans) make this a lovely watering hole for humans, too. Calorie-loaded American and British classics are cooked in straightforward style using flavourful ingredients, many of them bought in from Borough Market. Brunch is served all day, every day, 8am-6pm.

Don't miss: Specials can include the likes of a Sri Lankan brekkie complete with dhal and hoppers.

Brunch for two with service: around £20.

The full English is taken to new heights at this quirky SE15 hangout: the homemade beans are tender and tangy, the sausage has gin in it and the addition of maple-salted butter to go on that toast is frankly outrageous. Some of the alternatives (such as the French toast, with peanut butter, streaky bacon and bananas) are similarly outlandish, but modern classics like shakshuka, eggs Benedict and avo on toast are also excellent.

Don’t miss: Hit the road with a homemade ‘dumpkin’ doughnut, or – if you can face alcohol again by this time – a bottle of local Little Bird gin.

Brunch for two with service: around £35 without cocktails.

Located on the first floor of the Great Northern Hotel at King’s Cross station, this sedate railway-themed dining room is not on a sanctuary from the bustle below but a civilised spot for weekend brunch – with a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Champagne thrown in. All the classics are here – from eggs benedict and things on toast to fry-ups (meat or veggie), kedgeree and brioche eggy bread with bananas and pecans, along with some restaurant-style dishes (cod with creamed celeriac and steamed mussels, say). 

Don’t miss: Turn brunch into lunch by ordering some prime Mey Selections beef with sauces and sides.

Brunch for two with service: Champagne brunch for two £70 (around £40 without fizz).

Bacon and eggs get a revamp at this palace to Peruvian food: at the centre of the brunch menu you’ll find quinoa or sweet-potato waffles topped with crispy rashers and fried eggs sunny-side up. Lighter snacks like the signature ceviche do exist, but brunch here, in all honesty, is about hardcore eating. Other South American twists include a pork belly chicharrón dish and Peruvian-style jerk chicken with a fiery aji amarillo dip, should you fancy a morning kick up the culo.

Don’t miss: Of all the Peruvian waffles, you’d be a fool to not order one topped with peanut butter, plantain and cocoa nibs. Heaven.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

The weekend-only brunch offering at Peter Gordon’s fusion destination saw the breakfast menu, raised it and won. You’ll get decision fatigue from its list of delectable dishes – signatures such as the Turkish eggs (runny-middled poached eggs on a cloud of light, tangy whipped yoghurt, submerged under a pool of chilli-spiked melted butter) are rightly popular, but here they’re competing with the likes of pulled-lamb burgers with beetroot relish and chimichurri sauce, or miso-baked aubergine with pine nuts, dates, feta, crisped buckwheat and tahini yoghurt. Groovy chilled beats set a laidback tone, matched by the service – order one of the Champagne cocktails to get yourself in a similarly mellow mood.

Don't miss: It all looks marvellous, but try the grilled chorizo, sweet potato miso hash, soft egg and garlic labne with – prepare yourself – star anise cashew nut praline.

Brunch for two with service: around £55 (without cocktails).

This attractive Noho brasserie does a slamming all day brunch menu on weekends. Eggs – Hussar (with tomato, bordelaise sausage, ham, spinach and hollandaise), Florentine, Royale and so on – abound, but so to do classics like chorizo hash, kedgeree and buttermilk pancakes. There are elaborate salads and a Reuben sarnie for the more worthy/adventurous, but truly ostentatious gluttons should cast a beady eye at the Lobster Benedict.

Don't miss: Both French toast and buttermilk pancakes would set any sweet-toothed person up for the day.

Brunch for two with service: around £25.

Just like everything else it does, Roka offers a slick and perfectly presented brunch offering, with a scarily tempting option to add unlimited wine. The ‘Han Setto’ menu kicks off with ten sharing dishes – think robata-grilled vegetables with sweet yuzu miso, or flawless sashimi – then glides into your chosen main course, and follows all that with a mighty dessert platter. Arrive hungry and prepare to be wowed – this is fine dining with the air of a party.

Don’t miss: The wine upgrade is a must for those wanting a long-haul brunch. The waiters don’t hold back.

Brunch for two with service: around £130 with wine.

Shackfuyu likes to do things differently, so brunch here is (for some reason) offered on Sundays and Mondays – think twice about requesting the unlimited booze option if it’s not Sunday when you rock up. Shackfuyu’s brunch – a belt-bustingly generous affair – offers a choice of four courses of Western-influenced Asian food, from buttermilk fried chicken with kimchee, to iberico pork in katsu sauce. Wash it down with pineapple saké or prosecco (or a strong coffee if it’s a Monday…).

Don’t miss: Save room for the signature dessert of buttery kinako ‘French toast’, served with green-tea-flavoured Mr Whippy-style ice cream.

Brunch for two with service: around £80 with unlimited booze.

Fancy a plate of fried chicken at ten in the morning? This fiery Thai barbecue restaurant is doing brunch till 3pm Thursday to Sunday, but not as you know it. Set in a big, bright former pub on Shoreditch High Street, Smoking Goat is thick with the scent of curry sauce, saffron eggs and wild mussel omelette. Sit up at the bar overlooking the central open kitchen and watch the signature rotis being cooked from scratch, then stuffed with aubergine and egg, smoked jowl, or beef sausage. Eat ’em with your hands, by the way, and don’t be afraid to get egg on your face.

Don’t miss: the smoked aubergine, egg and chilli roti. And the Bloody Marys (which come spiked with fish sauce!).

Brunch for two with service: around £25

This lovely Danish restaurant features a short brunch menu that ranges from familiar staples (granola, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, and, of course, Danish pastries) to some fairly unusual options (think rarebit on rye bread with Danish cheese, or veggie kedgeree with nori and cumin salt). Coffees from Nude sometimes include a liquorice latte – a nod in the direction of Denmark's favourite sweet. Brunch is served until 3pm Tuesday-Sunday.

Don't miss: Plump for one of the killer rarebits. Smoked bacon with liquorice syrup and pickled mushrooms, anyone?

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

This little birdie of a restaurant has a strong claim to being Lewisham’s best. And while the British/Asian small plates they knock out on weekdays are seriously killer, its all-day weekend brunch menu is more intriguing still.

Sure, there are some standards on offer (a few riffs on eggs benedict, for instance), but we’re otherwise in global explorer territory. Beef mince on dripping toast? A New Zealand classic. Coconut pancakes with peanut caramel and pineapple salsa? Please! Most exciting of all: Sri Lankan appams – crispy edged, squidgy-middled pancakes made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. Ooof.

Don’t miss: the appam pancake with egg and samba chilli paste. A taste of the tropics in SE13. 

Brunch for two with drinks and service: around £35.

Jammed onto the side of Allies and Morrison architectural practice in Southwark, The Table Café is a serene, sorta-Antipodean-style café-restaurant and something of a quiet classic in this part of town. On weekends, the standard breakfast menu (lotsa eggs and avocado, as you’d expect) expands into brunch territory with a host of sizeable salads and burgers (hit up the brunch burger itself, with beef and pork patties, beetroot relish, sour cream, bacon, cheddar, pineapple and a fried duck egg). A perfect respite from the hordes at Tate Modern, then.

Don’t miss: ‘The stack’, a gargantuan, near-infamous pile of poached eggs, ham hock, chorizo baked beans and hollandaise, teetering off a bagel base.

Brunch for two with service: around £40.

The canal-view setting at Towpath is appealing, though the constant stream of passing cyclists jingling their bells reminds you that you’re still in the capital. Everything on the brief menu is done well using excellent ingredients including free-range eggs, fine sourdough, porridge, yoghurt and fruit in season. Towpath is simple, but that doesn't mean it's anything less than great.

Don't miss: Segue from superfood bowls to unctuous grilled cheese sarnies while watching the world go by.

Brunch for two with service: around £20.

Minimalist and airy, this independent little pancake spot in Flat Iron Square does one thing: pancakes. But boy, does it do them well. Dutch owner Patricia Trijbits is passionate about quality, so in addition to gluten-free and dairy-free (vegan) options, there’s proper maple syrup – even for the kids – plus glitteringly fresh fruit, top-notch bacon and so on. You’ll find many a pancake pilgrim here, partaking in these fluffy stacks of joy.

Don’t miss: the ‘Dutch babies’ – baked pancakes, not unlike a giant Yorkshire pud (there are both savoury and sweet options), cooked in a cast-iron skillet.

Brunch for two with service: around £30.

Our team of experts have sought out the best breakfasts and brunches across London. Whether you're looking for coffee and pastries in a café, a posh Sunday brunch, or a mouthwateringly meaty fry-up, we've got plenty of options to make sure the most important meal of the day is also the tastiest.