english breakfast in London
 

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

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.

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.

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"...

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.

For Americans on the board...

Garfunkels is Denny's at its worst.

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!

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.

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?

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."

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.

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.

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.

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? :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :)

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

Suggestion: A bit of research or a vacation project. Query local sources as to English Breakfast ingredients. Report back. I now have 10 recipes for banana bread. I expect there may be 100 recipes for 'English Breakfast'.

I absolutely adore a good English breakfat for about the first 3 days and then it becomes a little hard to take.
However, since many hotels and B&Bs include it in their rates, its a good way to defray the high prices of London.
Susi36, you stayed at a place that charged 23 pounds for breakfast? That is about 46 dollars!
I am sorry, I cant bring myself to call the "quid" or pound "sterling" It sounds so pretentious!

I found a review of the 50 Best London Breakfasts. It was dated 5 Oct 2002.
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/l...=5&dir=499
Seriously.
M

I just went to www.enjoyment.independent.co.uk and typed in find "50 best london breakfasts" and the article appeared in a group of 13.
M

would it be weird to order english breakfast at a london resturant at, say noon? anyon here have any idea if is this menu item is served/eaten all day ?

My recollection is that the Stanhope Arms, a pub on Gloucester Road across from the Underground station, advertises a full English breakfast all day. I suspect other venues offer the same.

We never use Priceline - too expensive & not great choices... Re 23 pound breakfast - YE GADS!!!! Forgot, as one reply stated - many of the supermarkets have cafes - and they really are quite good - Sainsbury's, Tesco, Safeway - and "all-day breakfast" is an option - as well as make up your own combination depending on how hungry you are. Our "last meal" in England on every trip is a stop at a Tesco just before we get on the M25 toward Heathrow - to purchase biscuits, sweets, and have a final sausage or two!!!

Chevychasen: An all-day breakfast is really easy to find, though more frequently found at the lower end of the market. Certainly pubs and cafes are likely to offer it on their menus and it's not considered at all unusual.

Personally I've never really understood the way some people think that certain food should only be eaten at certain times of day. After all, what could be better for breakfast than cold curry or pizza!?

"English breakfasts are something I'd never do, a true one is greasy, and tastes cheap. "

Exactly! I was curious as to what the attraction for the OP was - especially if they are from the US (where even the worst full American breakfast is better than a traditional English breakfast). Give me fresh FL oj, two over easy, VA style ham, farmers sausage and rolled country biscuits any day!!!!

bardo1: What absolute rot! Both 'American' and 'English' breakfasts are versions of the same thing, and as such where you choose to eat it is going to directly affect the quality. Possibly the only difference lies in the fact that we often include baked beans but don't have pancakes or chuck a load of syrup over it.

Get over yourself.

Phew! Sorry, but I was a bit irate when I posted that message... Still am, in fact!

<i>&quot;VA style ham&quot;</i>

Auck!!! :O It's so incredibly salty! Tastes like eating 4 tablespoons of salt right out of the shaker!

We like to have one full English breakfast when we're in England - Just like we like to have one good ole American breakfast when we're on vacation in the US. Both are way too unhealthy to eat everyday, but they are a nice treat on vacation. :)

mmmmmmmmmm .... kippers.

The best meat market in my city, which has wonderful KY country ham, says if the ham is too salty, it is too old. It has been hanging so long that the salt has worked its way into the ham.

Suzi,
Do check with your hotel and be sure that breakfast is not included.
As we are retired and on a fixed income, price is important to us and I search dilligently for something within our budget.
We stayed at a lovely small hotel - the Darlington Hyde Park and one of the reasons we chose this (besides the 76 pound rate for a double) is that breakfast was included.
They did have an extensive buffet - with juices, fruits, cereals etc if you were in a hurry but we ordered a cooked English breakfast and it was perfect. We did order the bacon done well as we prefer it more cooked. We had 4 minute boiled eggs, sausage, bacon (crisp!), mushrooms, tomatoes, and wheat toast and our beverages. Do have an English breakfast - it will set you up for the day and it's a lovely experience.
Have a wonderful stay.

I asked the same question earlier this year for planned trip to London In March.One of the places recommended to me was &quot;Balans&quot; located on Old Compton street in Soho.We ended up having a Full English Breakfast here twice.The regular price was &pound;5.75 but they were having a 2 for 1 special at the time which we took advantage of.The quality was good enough that we would have eaten here even at full price.
Here is a link to them that has a copy of their menu.
http://www.balans.co.uk/soho.html#

For once, the health-conscious me and the thrifty me are in complete agreement: twenty-three pounds for a heart attack on a plate? No, thanks!

One of the best things about UK are the great full English Breakfasts...SOME people, including my husband, feel!!!. Outside of London it almost ALWAYS is included...and quite often IN London. We have traveled the world on our own, had lots of experiences, and lived overseas....but have, on occasion eaten at Garfunkels and did fine. We have no intention of being snobs about it, as so many people do with eating out in general. (this sometimes reflects less traveled people!)

Suzi36: You described the breakfast perfectly, and it seems very few of us have answered your question directly...sorry.!!!
Threads on Fodors have a way of getting off the subject (:&gt;) Am sure you are staying at a very nice hotel, and then breakfast usually is not included. Will you be out in the countryside , Cotswolds etc on this trip?...you'd easily get your nice breakfasts included at the places you stay.

Balans also has a location on Kensington High Street - close to High Street Kensington tube.