suzi36

Where in London (near Piccadilly, Leicester Square and Charing Cross areas) can we get english breakfast at a reasonable price? We will be in London for 6 days in November

ron

Garfunkel's do a traditional English breakfast for £4.75. There is one on the south side of Piccadilly just west of Piccadilly Circus. Also one on Leicester Square.

Dr_DoGood

Garfunkels may well do a "Traditional English Breakfast" but, as with all their offerings, not with any discernable culinary value.

Their raison d'etre, like that of the ubiquitous Aberdeen Steak Houses, is purely to fleece unsuspecting tourists of the contents of their wallets, that they promulgate the reputation London has for lousy food, service and value is merely grist to their corporate mill.

Far better to search for your breakfast in a "greasy-spoon" type cafe (pronounced caff) which can be found on most side streets. If the road is wide enough for a bus route give it a miss - the more narrow and seemingly crepuscular the street the more likely it is to hide a suitable cafe. Your best bet is actually to ask about in the vicinity - locals will know to pint you towards the true diamonds in the mire.

Dr D.

CKEnglish

Your hotel doesn't include it as part of the package? Isn't this unusual? I can't remember the last time I stayed in London without breakfast being included - although sometimes the rate gave you a choice of full english or "continental"...

John_T_Cuttino

We were just in London and our Hotel did NOT include breakfast. (for a fee of course they would).
We were impressed/surprised/dissapointed at the numerous Starbucks around the city. On almost every corner. There is even a Krispy Kreme in Harrods.

xyz123

For Americans on the board...

Garfunkels is Denny's at its worst.

Tallulah

If you want a really good, though IMO overpriced, breakfast, head to Le Meridien Piccadilly. Nice surroundings, good food etc.

I would have to agree wholeheartedly that if you want a really 'proper' breakfast, go to a greasy spoon, the further off the main roads the better. There you will get the 'works' which will set you up for the day for about £3.50.

Do NOT go near Garfunkels, Aberdeen Steak House or anywhere with pictures of the food on the menu! Ask at your hotel where might be good. Or failing that, ask any nearby workmen. Seriously, any builder working nearby will know exactly where to recommend!

djkbooks

Last month, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Garfunkel's by the Gloucester Road tube station. Beautiful dining room, friendly and efficient service.

We had no idea we shouldn't go there.

ron

I presume these workmen-recommended "Greasy Spoon" suggestions are some sort of cruel joke. But, if you like fake orange juice,instant coffee, cheap and nasty sausages, canned tomatoes and canned mushrooms, why not?

vcl

Not necessarily in your neighborhood, but friends rhapsodized about the English breakfast available at Baden Powell House, the Boy Scout facility across the street from the Natural History museumn on Cromwell Road. The nearest tube station is Gloucester Road. If you want to be really cheap, the Sainsbury supermarket does carry what the manufacturer calls a "complete English breakfast in a can." It would serve wonderfully for an episode on "Fear Factor."

WillTravel

I had the English breakfast at Garfunkel's a couple years ago. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. It was expensive compared to home, but then everything in London is, and way cheaper than a hotel breakfast. I'd be curious where one could get a superb English breakfast at a reasonable price, but I suspect such a place doesn't exist. Last trip I just went to Sainsbury every morning and got some yogurt and other enjoyable breakfast foods.

Dr_DoGood

Ron... I intimated that you do indeed have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.

Believe me, a good "greasy-spoon" will provide the very best Full English Breakfast of all (bar an English Country House) - one that will set you up impeccably for the rigours of a hard-days London sight-seeing/shopping/schlepping.

However there are also many that will masquerade behind the false pretenses of tinned toms, reconstituted OJ and other the horrors that you mention.

Dr D.

m_kingdom2

The Wolsey I believe does a pleasant breakfast - in Piccadilly. However, don't waste your time looking for breakfast, have an early lunch, it's easier and more versatile. Eating three courses a day is very outdated, I never ever eat three times on holiday or at home. If breakfast is in my rate then I'll have a little wine or coffee (depending on location and season) for lunch, but if it's room only then I'll have a local lunch somewhere.

If you really must have something in the morning, go to one of these awful coffee places (starbucks etc) and have a coffee and a pastry. English breakfasts are fatty, and there's not one item I enjoy, it's common too - builders eat them.

Kayb95

I haven't had breakfast there, but a friend of mine says Fortnum & Mason has a good breakfast (though I doubt it is cheap.)

Garfunkles is OK - certainly not gourmet cuisine, but OK. It's like grabbing a quick meal at Big Boy or Denny's here in the US.

CKEnglish, although most hotels and B&B's include breakfast, they often don't include it if you have gotten a bargain rate through services like Priceline.

MK, haven't you heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?

m_kingdom2

I never bother with breakfast at home, and as for it being important, a piece of fruit will always make do for an impromptu breakfast.

Lots of fruit stalls in London - one nearby the Ritz in PIccadilly.

epi

One more suggestion if you don't need a full breakfast. We have eaten at the "pret a manger" chain, having coffee and pastry. This is not gourmet, but not bad. Some of them have tables, some don't. The ones with tables also cook the pastry there, so we always looked for the ones with tables. Their sandwiches are also acceptable. It's far cheaper and far less heavy than the traditional English breakfast.

GSteed

Comment: Questions such as these are unanswerable. Describe English Breakfast. Note your reasonable price. The Grovenor Hotel at Victoria Station serves (or did) a real English breakfast. I saw an English family spend two hours working their way through the offerings. If nothing else, inquire at the door...get menu and prices. The ambience and decor may be half the cost of the meal. Londoners please comment.

m_kingdom2

English breakfasts are something I'd never do, a true one is greasy, and tastes cheap. English dishes such as Kedgeree, and eggs benedict (although more often seen in American now) are my idea of an English breakfast, not that I could cope with it more than a few times a year.

Just buy some fruit or have a coffee, it's cheaper and healthier for you.

Kayb95

Balans on High Street Kensington has very good Eggs Benedict. They also have a pretty good full English.

Since we usually stay at self-catering flats or cottages in London and the UK, we normally eat breakfast "at home." But we like to do a Full English once during our stay. We normally plan it for a day when we'll be having a light or late lunch.

My favorite part of the Full English is the bacon. Since we have a kitchen and a fridge, we buy bacon at the grocery store and have bacon and toast for breakfast. That's definitely a holiday thing - can't eat bacon everyday in real life.

suzi36

Thank you for all your replies. An English breakfast I was thinking of would be: eggs, bacon, tomato, sausage, toast, tea/coffee and fresh juice. Simple but filling and tasty if you use good ingredients. This size breakfast, plus some fruit or a sandwich for lunch, would keep you going till dinner, which we usually have late evening. Luckily our cholesterol levels can cope.
Our hotel has a breakfast option for 23 pound sterling per person per day which seems a tad expensive.
Next time we will stay at a B&B, like last time, but this time we will ask the 'locals'.
cheers and happy trails