Eggs and cappuccino at the Electric Cinema cafe on Portobello Road.
One of the best things about being freelance is sometimes I get to play when other people work. (One of the worst things is that sometimes I have to work when the rest of the world is playing).
I’d had a very productive week so I rewarded myself by meeting a friend (Natalie – that’s her in the picture) for brunch on Thursday morning. The Electric Cinema – a fine picturehouse with comfy chairs and great brownies – has a café attached. It’s almost impossible to get a table there on a Saturday unless you’re prepared to get up early, which really defeats the point of brunch. On a Thursday morning, it’s a different story.
It was a sunny day and we had a table in a prime location outside on the pavement. I’m a big fan of dining al fresco – food just seems to taste better outdoors and drinking coffee on the street makes me feel cosmpolitan and connected to the world around me. One of the things I miss most about Sydney is the numerous cafés, with tables on the footpath so you can watch the world go buy, good coffee (a rarity in London though becoming more common), and excellent brunches. When I lived in Newtown, in inner city Sydney, I went out for brunch at least once every weekend.
England is renowned for inventing sports that other people play better. Similarly, the Brits invented the full English breakfast, but other people have improved on it. (Not everyone agrees with me on this, hence why I have invented the Global Breakfast Tournament, which is still ongoing). I’ve gone out for breakfast in numerous cafés in London and B&Bs all over the country and encountered both good and bad but nothing like the consistent quality we get in Australia. I’m definitely not into the greasy spoon style breakfast – I want fresh ingredients, lots of variety, modern cooking styles, and good coffee. Nor am I that into the breakfasts at the grand hotels like the Wolseley – it’s good food done well but just not that interesting.
I’ve found a few good places around – I like Brioche and the Wet Fish Cafe, almost next door to each other on West End Lane in West Hampstead. Boiled Egg and Soldiers in Clapham Junction was decent but not worth a trip across town.
I think it was Jessica at Ripe London who recommended the Electric Cinema for breakfast to me and I’d been meaning to try it for ages. The menu had everything you’d expect – though there was nothing I would describe as unusual or adventurous. I had Eggs Florentine and I asked for the hollandaise sauce on the side. Natalie had the full vegie breakfast.
The waiters won points for getting the orders exactly right – they even remembered the two glasses of tap water, which so often gets forgotten. However, they were a bit slow and left us to our own devices a little too much even though I think we were pretty much the only ones there. The food was great though; we lingered over our meals as we chatted about my recent trip to Syria and Natalie’s holiday in Iceland.
Inside the decor is achingly hip, with a bar with leather bar stools, and in the back room, wooden panelling and booths with more padded leather. The effect was a bit like what you’d get if you asked Philippe Starck to design an American diner. There’s actually a private members lounge upstairs; Natalie was the first to arrive and when she told the waiter she was looking for a friend, they suggested that might be where I was! Fat chance.
I enjoyed the brunch immensely though the damage came to £33 between the two of us, including the service charge. The same meal in Australia or the US would cost the same in dollars – in other words, half that when you convert the currency.
Electric Cinema
191 Portobello Rd, Notting Hill
London W11 2ED
www.electriccinema.co.uk
Brioche
238 West End Lane, Hampstead
London, NW6 1LG
020 7431 8175
Wet Fish Café
242 West End Lane, Hampstead
London, NW6 1LG
020 7443 9222
www.thewetfishcafe.co.uk
The Boiled Egg and Soldiers
63 Northcote Rd, Clapham Junction
London, SW11 1NP
020 7223 4894
The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly
London, W1J 9EB
020 7499 6996
www.thewolseley.com
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