1. The Regency Café
The Regency Café opened way back in 1946 and continues to serve proper British grub to this day. The interior is very unpretentious, with basic art deco features and pictures of Tottenham Hotspur players on the walls (sorry Arsenal fans). What it lacks in fanciful design, it sure makes up with the food. The fry up is a total bargain at £6, with the option to add extras (bubble and squeak, hash browns, black pudding) for an extra 90p. You may also have spotted the café in various films and TV shows, including Layer Cake in 2004.
17-19 Regency St, SW1P 4BY
2. Dishoom
This fry up at Dishoom is a little bit different from the classic full English fry up… because it’s Indian. The Big Bombay Breakfast includes akuri (spicy scrambled eggs), char-striped smoked streaky bacon, peppery Shropshire pork bangers, masala baked beans, grilled tomato and mushroom, and buttered pau buns. Match it with a breakfast lassi or a breakfast cocktail and you’ll be more than set for the day.
Various locations throughout London
3. Terry’s Café
Terry’s Café is family-run, and the food is all top quality and locally sourced. The meats they use are directly from Smithfield Market, where Terry worked before opening the café, and their fresh produce comes from Borough Market. They stick to a traditional fry up of sausage, egg, bacon, bubble and squeak, black pudding, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms. And boy is it good.
158 Great Suffolk St, SE1 1PE
4. The Breakfast Club
This almost goes without saying, but The Breakfast Club does a bloody good breakfast and their fry ups are top drawer. Opt for The Full Monty for a proper British brekkie of bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs home-style fried potatoes, mushrooms, beans, grilled tomato and multigrain bloomer. Other options include the Posh Eggs on Toast and the Disco Hash – a mouthwatering concoction of fried potatoes, jalapenos, harissa cheese sauce, pickled red cabbage and a rich yolk fried egg. You may have to queue for a tiny bit before you can eat it (it’s a very popular spot) but it’ll be worth the wait!
Various locations throughout London
5. The Table Café
The Borough Full English breakfast at The Table Café is rather farm-cy, with fried eggs, streaky bacon, pork and leek sausages, homemade ham hock and chorizo baked beans, tomato, herby mushrooms and sourdough toast. They also do a veggie option and have a banging list of smoothies to kick-start the day and give you a good ol’ dose of nutrition.
83 Southwark St, SE1 0HX
6. Pedler
The Full Pedler brekkie consists of poached eggs, cumberland sausage, valley smokehouse bacon, house-made beans, black pudding, flat mushroom, slow roast tomato, toast and whipped maple salted butter (yes – you read that correctly)! There’s also a full veggie version with crispy tofu and succulent veggie sausages. See, the menu has your mouth watering before you’ve even arrived. Plus, it’ll set you up well for exploring the rest of Peckham.
169 Queen’s Rd, SE15 2ND
7. Frizzante
The Farmer’s Breakfast at Frizzante is the real deal — free range scrambled eggs, grilled back bacon, handmade sausages, grilled flat mushroom, house-made baked beans, roasted tomato with oregano and buttered granary toast. So technically it’s more of a grill-up than a fry up, but it’ll still drive you wild. It’s right opposite Hackney City Farm – what better way to spend a Sunday morning hey?!
1a Goldsmiths Row, E2 8QA
8. Maggie’s
This lovely little spot is just around the corner from Lewisham station and is somewhat of an institution south of the river. It’s unique in that you can choose up to twenty different ingredients to make your very own personal fry up. Ingredients include black pudding, liver, fried ham, grilled tomatoes and bubble and squeak. This legendary caf always tends to be busy, so you may have a bit of a wait at Maggie’s. But trust us – it’s worth it!
320-322 Lewisham Rd, London SE13 7PA
9. Mario’s Cafe
A family-run establishment in Kentish Town, Mario’s Cafe is the king of greasy spoon fry ups in this neck of the woods, and they serve up a combo of excellent fry ups and authentic Italian fare. The full English breakfast consists of sausages, eggs, bacon and tomatoes, plus extras like bubble and squeak, hash browns and black pudding. The real star of the show here though is Mario and his lovely staff – the whole place has got a family-style atmosphere, and there are a whole host of community events throughout the year. It’s also incredibly good value, so you get more bang for your buck – why not stay for lunch too?
6 Kelly St, London NW1 8PH
10. Mildred’s
Mildred’s offers a huge variety of veggie and vegan breakfast options as well as gluten free and organic produce. But on the weekends, they whip up a real humdinger. The Big Brunch fry up – consisting of sausage, house baked beans, scrambled, clean bean tofu, slow roast tomatoes, mushroom, spinach, toasted sourdough and home fries – is guaranteed to fill a hole, and they also have mezze and thali twists too. Wash it down with a Mimosa or a Bloody Mary and you’re well and truly set – just make sure to go there with an empty stomach.
Various locations throughout London