Breakfast in London, from a fry-up to a bacon naan roll

The full English at E. Pellicci, with fried bread on the side, is served in a Bethnal Green cafe the same family has run since 1900, and it is shut by 3pm. That is one end of breakfast in London. The other is a bacon naan roll and refillable chai at a Bombay-style cafe in King’s Cross, which a TripAdvisor ranking this month called the most “viral” restaurant in the world. The rest fall somewhere between.

How we chose: Time Out’s brunch, cafe and restaurant lists (July to October 2026), The Infatuation’s brunch and best-value guides, and the cafes’ own sites for hours and booking.

E. Pellicci

The original tiles are still on the walls of what the family calls the oldest family-run cafe in London. Order the full English with fried bread; on a second visit, the escalope sandwich. Breakfast for one comes in under £20.

Bethnal Green Road · under £20 · Mon–Sat 8am–3pm · walk-in

Dishoom King’s Cross

From 8am on weekdays the King’s Cross cafe serves the bacon naan roll, and the chai is refillable. Most tables are kept for walk-ins, but daytime bookings are open to any size of group, which is the easiest way to skip the queue.

Stable Street, King’s Cross · small plates £7–11 · from 8am weekdays, 9am weekends · book by day

Café Cecilia

Max Rocha’s restaurant in Hackney cooks with an Irish accent, and breakfast is the cheap way in, £7.50–17 against mains at night of £21–34. Have the Guinness bread.

Andrews Road, Hackney · breakfast £7.50–17

Pavilion Cafe

Beside the lake in Victoria Park, the team behind Elliot’s in Borough Market cooks a Sri Lankan breakfast from 7am. Brunch plates cost £10–12, and it is the best one here for children who need to run about afterwards.

Victoria Park · brunch £10–12 · from 7am daily

Corrochio’s

Time Out’s number one brunch in London is a Dalston taqueria with a cocktail bar underneath. Order the torta ahogada, a pork sandwich drowned in sauce; the tortas are submarine-sized. Dishes run £13–19.

Stoke Newington Road, Dalston · dishes £13–19 · brunch Sat–Sun · book

Jikoni

Ravinder Bhogal’s Marylebone restaurant does brunch at weekends, and the prawn toast Scotch egg is what to order. It is also the most expensive brunch here, at £17.50–38 a dish.

Blandford Street, Marylebone · £17.50–38 · Sat–Sun 11am–3pm · book

Akub

Chef Fadi Kattan’s Palestinian restaurant fills a Notting Hill townhouse, and his fatteh with short rib makes the weekend brunch worth the trip west. Brunch plates are £10–30; it is closed on Mondays.

Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill · brunch £10–30 · closed Mon

Mr Bao

Peckham’s Taiwanese bao shop turns brunch bottomless at weekends, £24 for an hour of cocktails, but the food is the reason to go: order the Bec Bao, with char siu bacon, peanut chilli crisp, an onsen egg and burnt cheese.

Rye Lane, Peckham · baos from £5.50 · brunch Sat–Sun 11am–4pm

Milk

Balham has had this cafe for breakfast since 2012. The banana bread with halva butter is the order, and plates run £6–14.

Bedford Hill, Balham · plates £6–14 · daily from 8am, Sun from 9am

Checked October 2026.