Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I hit up one of the most well known West-London brunch spots: Granger & Co. You might be able to tell from the name but this is one of Bill Granger’s restaurants so the food has an obvious Aussie vibe about it.
Situated in the always-gorgeous Notting Hill area, it’s really not surprising that people flock here to grab a mid-morning bite to eat all week long. Yeah, we went on a Wednesday (understandably not a particularly popular day for brunch) thinking it would be pretty empty.
I think you can tell where this is going: we ended up waiting at the bar for a free table. On. A. Wednesday.
Definitely nothing wrong with that! In fact I kind of like it when there’s a short wait (about 20 minutes for us) because you get a bit of extra time to peruse the menu, drink a coffee and watch as plates of food are careened past you. You can spy on other people’s food and make a much more informed decision about what on EARTH you’re going to order!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Okay so now I’ve instilled in you just how popular this place is, cue the high expectations.
Luckily we managed to be seated about 30 minutes before the breakfast menu ended at midday, so promptly ordered the food to accompany the Bloody Mary (£8.80), Latte and Cappuccino (£2.80 each). Boy was that coffee bloody good! I definitely recommend ordering one if /when you go! I’m not a Bloody Mary fan but I tasted the one that The Boy ordered and we both agreed it could’ve done with a bit more tabasco.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
He: went straight for the ‘Full Aussie’ (£13.80). Basically a fry up with a few differences – scrambled eggs instead of fried, miso mushrooms instead of plain, chipolatas instead of black pudding and he added an avocado too. There was also obviously toast, bacon and tomatoes.
The sourdough toast was brill as it was crusty without having loads of huge holes – a bonus when you’re trying to put food on top of it! The avocado was perfectly ripe and you definitely get enough (half of an effing massive avocado, people), the chipolatas, crispy and browned on the outside, were full of flavour plus the tomatoes had a subtle hint of cumin. The bacon wasn’t my jam (I like thin, crispy bacon) but he seemed to enjoy it a lot!!
It wasn’t flawless though – the ‘scramble’ was more what I’d think of as an omelette and would’ve been a bit overdone for some people’s liking. I’m one who prefers very well cooked scramble/omelettes (no goo!) so it was perfect for me but for him, it was a bit dry (especially because there was no kind of sauce on the plate or on the side). The mushrooms, having been cooked in miso, seemed to have basically absorbed all of the salt. They were far too over seasoned for either of us to eat more than one by itself. Seeing as the bacon and chipolatas were also salty (a good amount of seasoning in those, though) it meant that the only way to tone down all of it was via the avocado. Good thing they give you so much of it!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
She: Spotted Ricotta Hotcakes (£11.50) on the menu and didn’t need to look again. I’ve never had or cooked hotcakes before but from what I’d seen they’re basically pancakes. As I’m on a London-pancake hunt I was like heck yeah I’m ordering that. It was the right choice.
I was wary of the fact that there was no mention of maple syrup on the menu but to my utter joy, the hotcakes came with a little personal jug of the stuff for you to pour on, as needed. Thank goodness! It meant I could splash some of it on top and then make a little syrup puddle for dipping into.
The hotcakes themselves were incredible – thick but still ethereally light with spots of ricotta still strewn throughout so they weren’t dry. Served with a nicely ripe banana and a magical thing called honeycomb butter. From what I gather it’s literally just honeycomb (not natural honeycomb, but the stuff made of toffee mixed with baking soda a.k.a. Crunchie Bars here in the UK) mixed into butter. The honeycomb absorbs moisture from the butter thus becoming soft and gooey so that it melts straight into the hotcakes and leaves smears of caramel all around the plate.
This, to me, was a flawless dish.
I also ordered some of the coconut bread to share because, having made Bill Granger’s recipe (found on Smitten Kitchen’s blog) before, I knew I loved it. Just as expected the bread had bags of coconut flavour and was lightly toasted so was warm with a slightly crisp exterior and crumbly, cinnamon-speckled middle. At £4.50 for two slices though, I’ll stick to baking it at home!
Overall:
I was over the moon with my pancakes and very happy with the coffee. We weren’t so impressed by the super-salty mushrooms and the size of the cheque.
Order: the hotcakes!! the hotcakes!!
Avoid: the miso mushrooms Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Tips: if you go on the weekend, book ahead. If you go in the week be prepared for a short wait.
Granger & Co. Notting Hill
Price for 2 mains w/ drinks & service: around £40 (ours was more like £50 due to the cocktail and coconut bread)
Breakfast until 12pm
175 Westbourne Grove
London
W11 2SB
The post Brunch at Granger & Co Notting Hill {Review} appeared first on Izy Hossack - Top With Cinnamon.