The evolution of brunch continues, with a musical brunch the next step up.
Brunch in London takes many forms. We’ve already had brunch on the beach, brunch with beers, and even brunch with a brass band. But this new one might just top the lot, purely for the production value. Over in Covent Garden, Joe Allen Restaurant have created the concept of a musical brunch. Yep, that entails eating brunch whilst the cast of a West End show perform a musical in front of you. As one does.
Joe Allen aren’t new to the spotlight, having been one of the more celeb-friendly Covent Garden restaurants since opening 40 years ago. Even so, this is an ambitious merger of brunch and Broadway. Their first musical brunch, on July 29th, features the cast of recent hit Bat Out of Hell, and I feel they’re missing a trick by leaving meatloaf off the menu. Instead, the likes of waffles, blueberry pancakes, and steak and eggs are on offer, but it remains to be seen if they’ll get a standing ovation.
They’ve only announced the one musical brunch so far, but you can bet your bottom dollar more are on the horizon – Joe Allen plans to hold one roughly every three months, so keep your eyes peeled. The next logical step is trying to pair songs to dishes, for the full musical brunch experience. Defying Gravity with your smashed avo on toast? I Dreamed A Dream with a stack of pancakes? I’m sure they’ve already got someone working on it.
Find Joe Allen’s at 2 Burleigh St, WC2E 7PX – nearest station is Covent Garden. Brunch is from 11am-4pm on July 29th, and the musical performances will take place between 12 and 2pm.