The Best Brunch in Central London

Finding a good brunch in central London is an onerous task.

One which – if done incorrectly – can and will result in literal egg on your face.

Protect yourself. Use this guide:
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The Barbary Next Door | Covent Garden

The Barbary‘s perky new neighbour gets up a little earlier in the mornings. And they’re ready to ply you with ras el hanout pumpkin bread with clotted cream; Jerusalem buns with avo & fried quail eggs; and gloriously fragrant ‘bus station’ eggs, all served up in the hazy morning sunshine pouring into Neal’s Yard.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Thurs-Sat from 9am, Sun from 10am
Address: 16a Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9DP | Visit their website
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Lantana | Fitzrovia, Old Street, London Bridge

Modelled after the Australian cafes that the owners used to frequent in Sydney, Lantana does delicious cocktails (everything from espresso martinis to a Chai Old Fashioned), solid brunch dishes (rhubarb & custard French toast, corn fritters, bubble & squeak with black pudding, etc.), and stellar coffee.

Details: Bottomless booze? Yes | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekdays 8am-12pm, weekends 9am-4pm
Address: 13 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SN | Visit their website
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Honey & Co | Bloomsbury

Honey & Co serves everything that’s delicious and breakfasty from across the Middle East, from merguez sausage rolls, to shakshouka; puff pastry treats; and ‘dinosaur eggs’ on pitta. Fitting for a London institution that’s just been brought back from the edge of extinction itself.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? Yes | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Tuesday – Saturday, 9-11.30am
Address: 54 Lamb’s Conduit St, WC1N 3LW | Visit their website
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Hide | Mayfair 

Ironically, there is absolutely no hiding Hide’s excellence, particularly where brunch is concerned. Sure, the photo above just looks like a plain pain au chocolat. And sure, at these prices it’s more of an investment than a meal out… but banana bread baked that morning, followed by oysters and a Michelin-starred full English inside what essentially feels like the middle of an intricately carved oak tree, means it’s definitely one worth making.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekdays 7.30-10.15am, weekends, 9-11am
Address: 85 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 7NB | Visit their website
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Christopher’s | Covent Garden

Their melted chocolate and ice cream-smothered crunchy French toast will ruin all other forms of bread for you, forever. But it’s the most delicious sacrifice you’ll ever make.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Saturdays 11am-3pm, Sundays 11am-3.30pm
Address: 18 Wellington Street, WC2E 7DD | Visit their website
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Catalyst Café | Holborn

Accompanying Catalyst’s acclaimed selection of fair-trade, London-roasted coffee beans is a stellar line-up of brunch dishes including streaky bacon sarnies with Catalyst’s house coffee sriracha mayo; roasted aubergine on toast; and Greek country-style scrambled eggs with feta. Easily one of the best weekday brunch options in town.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? No
Timings: Weekdays from 8am
Address: 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT | Visit their website
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Richoux | Mayfair

Richoux were here? The reinvigorated century-old institution on Piccadilly has recently launched its breakfast offering: it includes kimchi & scrambled egg brioche buns and dulce de leche pancakes, but the key thing to know is that their cruffin counter opens at 9am.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends from 9-11.30am
Address: 172 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9EJ | Visit their website
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Riding House Café | Fitzrovia, Victoria & Bloomsbury

Break up with your current Sunday brunch ritual. The Riding House Café’s elaborate, modern European menu and industrial-chic design is a winner.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekdays 8.30-11.45am, weekends 9am-4pm
Address: 43-51 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 7PQ | Visit their website
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Granger and Co. | Marylebone, Chelsea, Notting Hill, Kings Cross, Clerkenwell

Bill Granger made his name as a chef thanks to his scrambled eggs. Head to the sleekly designed Granger and Co. for brunch, and you’ll find out why.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? No
Timings: Weekdays from 7am, weekends from 8am
Address: 105 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 4RS | Visit their website
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Maison Francois | St James’s

The restaurant that’s suddenly given St James’s a whisper of cool factor is now serving breakfast: that means eggs any which way; fried egg with boudin noir and coal-roasted peppers; and mushrooms on toast with a slick of pistou.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekdays from 7.30am, Saturdays from 9am
Address: 34 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6DF | Visit their website
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The Good Egg | Soho & Stoke Newington

Wisely, The Good Egg’s brunch menu contains sections titled ‘Breads’ and ‘Dipping.’ And if you need anything beyond that, you’ll find it in the form of smoked haddock hash with crispy capers, amba mayo & fried egg; Challah French toast; or a pitch-perfect pastrami lox bagel.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Daily, 9am-3.30pm
Address: Ground Floor, Kingly Court, Soho, Central London, W1B 5PW | Visit their website
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Dishoom | Carnaby, Covent Garden, King’s Cross, Kensington, Shoreditch

A selection of traditional Parsi appetisers and modern South Bombay street-grills in tantalising sharing plates. And that bacon naan. Wow.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: 8-11.45am weekdays, 9-11.45am weekends
Address: 22 Kingly Street, W1B 5QB | 12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9FB | Visit their website
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Jikoni | Marylebone

Considering its impeccable dining cred, Blandford Street is a real misnomer. Especially if you’re familiar with Ravinder Bhogal’s brunch at Jikoni, which involves piña colada pancakes; yuzu 8-minute eggs; and tamarind-glazed bacon on fenugreek waffles…

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? Available | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends 11am-4pm
Address: 19-21 Blandford Street, W1U 3DH | Visit their website
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Berners Tavern | Fitzrovia

Sample über-chef Jason Atherton’s exemplary takes on quintessential brunch classics, from smashed avo & poached eggs to crispy Dingly Dell bacon sandwiches in a gilded, baroque dining room with chandeliers.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Daily, 7-10am
Address: 10 Berners Street, London W1T 3NP | Visit their website
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Fischer’s | Marylebone

An elegant, Viennese-style grand café tucked away in Marylebone, where you can while away a morning with the papers, a strong cup of coffee, and a plate of gröstl (a kind of Alpine bubble and squeak).

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Breakfast from 7.30am Mon-Fri, weekend brunch 11.30am-5pm
Address: 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN | Visit their website
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Pizzeria Mozza | Fitzrovia

Nancy Silverton is the reason you eat sourdough. Her pioneering work with the stuff at the La Brea Bakery has been massively influential, and she’s won almost every award she can. So it sort of stands to reason that her pizza place would do a pretty decent brunch. And it does. You’ll get a glass of Prosecco (or a cocktail fight, if you’re feeling frisky) and three courses of antipasti, sourdough pizza, and dessert. Make sure to get the Torta Della Nonna.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? Yes | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Sundays 12pm-6pm
Address: 14-15 Langham Place, W1B 2QS | Visit their website
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The Delaunay | Covent Garden

An all-day, Viennese-styled café-restaurant inspired by the grandiose tearooms of Europe and their unrelenting aspiration to bring forth the best in all things brunch.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekdays 7-11.30am, weekends 8-11.30am (limited menu on Sundays)
Address: 55 Aldwych, WC2B 4BB | Visit their website
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The Breakfast Club | Soho & All Across Town

Hungover? Cure: the quintessential London brunch, courtesy of The Breakfast Club. One large BC coffee, one BC hangover smoothie, one BC club sandwich with extra guacamole. And one Bloody Mary, for good measure.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Only a few bookable tables on weekends – but you can queue virtually with WalkUp
Timings: Daily, 8am-12pm (5pm weekends)
Address: 33 D’Arblay Street, W1F 8EU | Visit their website
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Balthazar | Covent Garden

Parisian-via-NYC brasserie Balthazar serves le brunch menu – scrambled eggs with Cornish crab; New York pancakes, and classic steak and eggs – with a side of live jazz.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends 10am-4pm (jazz 12-3.30pm)
Address: 4-6 Russell Street, WC2B 5HZ | Visit their website
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The Wolseley | Mayfair

26 Grains | Covent Garden

26 Grains almost exclusively do porridge. And although that might not sound like a screaming endorsement, believe us when we say that it’s because they make the best porridge you’ve ever had, savoury or sweet.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? No
Timings: Daily, 9am-4pm
Address: 1 Neal’s Yard, WC2H 9ER | Visit their website
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Anya Cafe | Marylebone

You might think opening a café might be a stretch for a handbag designer, but Anya Hindmarch seems to have a handle on it. Charmingly retro, it serves Scottish croissants, Welsh rarebit and googly-eyed cakes on formica-topped tables.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? No
Timings: Weekdays & Saturdays from 8am, Sundays from 10am
Address: 9 Pont Street, SW1X 9EH | Visit their website
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Popina | Mayfair

On the one hand, Mayfair’s Popina serves all kinds of sophisticated brunch dishes, like Turkish eggs with lemon & dill yoghurt; shakshuka with raclette cheese melt; and eggs Benny on homemade Balkan pogocha bread. But you’re probably going to order this glorious, sugar-laden monstrosity.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? No
Timings: Daily from 8am-3pm
Address: 83 Duke Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 5PF | Visit their website
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Dean Street Townhouse | Soho

A thoroughly classy spot for brunch in Soho, brought to you by the Soho House folk. Dine like kings on buttered Manx kippers and twice-smoked bacon sarnies on ruby leather banquettes, or out on the street-side terrace.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Breakfast daily from 7am, weekends from 8am
Address: 69 – 71 Dean Street, W1D 3SE | Visit their website
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Wun’s Tearoom | Soho

Savoury fiends should head straight to Wun’s, an atmospheric tea house that’s been plucked out of 60s Hong Kong, and now serves lip-smackery like soy mackerel devilled egg; char siu scramble with egg fried rice; and scallop prawn toast.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends from 12pm
Address: 23 Greek Street, W1D 4DZ | Visit their website
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temper Covent Garden | Covent Garden & Soho

When you’ve been hitting the eggs and pancakes too hard and need a change, book in for temper’s bottomless BBQ brunch, where you can feast on platters of aji panca beef skewers and coal-scorched amarillo potatoes alongside unlimited beer, wine and margaritas.

Details: Bottomless booze? Yes | All you can eat? No | Set menu? Yes | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends 12-3.30pm (Soho Saturdays only)
Address: 5 Mercer Walk, Mercers Yard, WC2H 9FA | 25 Broadwick Street, London W1F 0DF | Visit their website
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Balans Soho | Soho

The best thing about having caramelised banana French toast with maple butter, lobster eggs benedict, and an absinthe fountain at 4am is that you can come back at noon, and have it all over again.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Daily from 10am-5am (12.30am Sundays)
Address: 60 – 62 Old Compton Street, W1D 4UG | Visit their website
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Ave Mario | Covent Garden

For the restaurant that goes maxi with everything else, Ave Mario’s brunch menu may seem a little short. But then again, when you’re serving scrambled eggs with caviar, you don’t need to offer much else.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends, 10-11am
Address: 15 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8QG | Visit their website
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Opso | Marylebone

Next time you’re craving Thessaloniki pastries filled with sweet semolina custard; poached eggs on koulouri milk bread; barrel-matured feta on toasted sourdough; or lotus cookie crumble pancakes with bananas and salted caramel, go to Greece. Or Opso. Whichever’s closer.

Details: Bottomless booze? No | All you can eat? No | Set menu? No | Bookable? Yes
Timings: Weekends 10am-3.30pm
Address: 10 Paddington Street, W1U 5QL | Visit their website

Need further assistance? Consult our comprehensive guide to the best brunches in London