Category: breakfast

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Hearty Farmer’s Breakfast

Recently, I pulled into Darts Farm Shop in Topsham, specifically to take advantage of their bank of Tesla chargers. I was heading off into Devon to visit some National Trust properties, but I knew if I got to Darts Farm before 8am I could get a cheaper rate on the Tesla chargers. Having plugged in with a minute or so to spare I headed into the farm shop to grab some coffee and breakfast. I had been up for a couple of hours and had only just had a coffee, before driving off from home towards Devon.

My original plan was for toast and coffee. However, thinking about the day ahead, I thought a good breakfast would be a good plan (and then I probably wouldn’t need to worry about lunch so much.

My first thought was to go for the classic farmer’s breakfast, however for £2 more I could go all hearty and get an extra rasher of bacon, another egg, and some black pudding.

So, I went with the hearty farmer’s breakfast, which was two rashers of bacon, two sausages, two fried eggs, tomato, mushrooms, black pudding & fried bread. I found it intriguing that baked beans was an extra £1.50. I actually prefer my breakfast without beans, so not a problem for me.

As I was one of the first people in the restaurant I didn’t have to wait too long for my breakfast to arrive.This was quite a substantial plate of food. 

Hearty Farmer’s Breakfast

The eggs were perfectly cooked and freshly cooked too. One of the rashers of bacon was a little overcooked for my, but what I would say about the bacon was that these were quite thick rashers. I was impressed with the black pudding which was full of flavour, but cooked really well, so was still soft. Sometimes I find black pudding can be a little dry, this wasn’t, it was still nice and soft. I really liked the sausages, maybe I was expecting full size versions, and not chipolatas, but even so they were meant and full of flavour. I liked the mushrooms as well. The fried bread was a little disappointing in that it was a little soft, not sure if that was the eggs, but it was proper bread.

This isn’t a cheap breakfast, but the quality was excellent. It was cooked nicely and the flavours were all there. I certainly would have this again the next time I visit Dart’s in the morning.

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Breakfast once more dear friends, once more

I did wonder as I ventured down the stairs at the Drayton Court Hotel what I would have for breakfast. As I had an early start in the centre of London, it was early as I gave my room number and sat down to look over the breakfast menu.

Should I have the poached eggs on smashed avocado I had on a previous visit? What about Eggs Benedict? However as it was early I wasn’t really in the mood for hollandaise sauce or avocado, so I went with the full English, poached eggs and no beans.

Virtually all the of the time at Drayton Court the breakfast is excellent, and this time was no exception, once more it was delicious. I have written about the excellent breakfast experience at the Fuller’s hotel, Drayton Court. I have had similar experiences at other Fuller’s hotels, such as the Queen’s Head in Kingston and the Fox and Goose on Hangar Lane. The one time I had a poor experience (from the same hotel chain) was at the Hand & Flower in Hammersmith. Though it certainly looked like the breakfast at the Drayton Court, it wasn’t the same.  Essentially it tasted like yesterday’s breakfast heated up. The bacon was certainly not freshly cooked and the sausage was still cold in the middle. 

Let now that experience colour the Drayton Court breakfast which was, as many times before, an outstanding eating experience.

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Poached Eggs on Smashed Avocado

Poached Eggs on Smashed Avocado

One of the nice features of staying at the Drayton Court Hotel is that the breakfast choice is really good. Yes, you can go down the traditional full English breakfast (and I would be misleading you if I didn’t say that was my usual order). However this time I decided to try something slightly different and went with the smashed avocado on toast, with poached eggs and a harissa dressing. I wasn’t entirely confident about the harissa dressing, as this was breakfast, however in an attempt to try something different I decided to go ahead and have the poached eggs.

I have to say the plate that arrived looked impressive. There was the crunchy toasted slide of sourdough topped with the mashed avocado. On top of that were two soft poached eggs, and slicing them open allowed the runny yolks to spill onto the avocado and the toast. The harissa dressing did in my opinion enhance the dish, adding something that I think would otherwise be missing and it would be a rather plain dish. Both the avocado and the poached eggs needed something to bring them alive on the plate.

All in all, I did enjoy my breakfast. It was a nice change from the full English I would normally have at the Drayton Court Hotel.

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Scrambled Eggs on Schiacciata Romana

Boarding an airplane

When I last flew from Bristol Airport I had enjoyed my breakfast at Alembic. I had the Spinach Rarebit& Baked Egg which was very tasty. So, when I had an early flight to the Netherlands I decided I would go again, but this time have something different. This time I went with the Scrambled Eggs on Schiacciata Romana. This was described as creamy, free-range scrambled eggs served on traditional Italian flatbread. Alongside I ordered a flat white.

The food arrived quite quickly and it did look like the scrambled eggs had been made from fresh eggs. 

Scrambled Eggs on Schiacciata Romana

One of the reasons I usually avoid scrambled eggs, even though I like scrambled eggs is that often the scrambled eggs are made from a mix, rather than fresh eggs.

They tasted rather good and was seasoned well. You could have ordered some bacon on the side, but I didn’t. For breakfast it was quite expensive, at £11, but this is at an Airport, so was actually one of the cheaper options available. The fact that I got table service as well, for me was a real bonus. Alembic has a lovely calm atmosphere and is a nice tranquil respite from the busyness and noise of the airport. I liked how I could sit there until my gate was called, and then it was no more calm, and into the chaos which is boarding.

Okay, so there was a downside, the flat white, was not a flat white. It was just a milky coffee, more a cafe au lait, than a flat white.

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Spinach Rarebit

Spinach Rarebit

Having some time to kill at Bristol airport, combined with missing breakfast, and a reasonably early flight, I decided that once I got through security I would find somewhere and get something to eat. I didn’t want to go down the takeaway coffee and pastry, I was more in the mood to have a seat at a table, and get served that way.

On a previous visit to Bristol Airport I had enjoyed my experience at Alembic, and as they weren’t too busy, I decided I would have something there. In addition they have a lovely intriguing menu with a range of choice of different kinds of breakfast. If you are looking for the traditional full English breakfast, then you won’t find it here.

Across the range of twelve choices, I narrowed my choice down to the Chorizo, Feta & Egg Croissant Roll, then there was the Mushrooms & Chargrilled Artichokes on Sourdough. I did like the sound of Scrambled Eggs on Schiacciata Romana (a traditional Italian bread). In the end I went with the Spinach Rarebit& Baked Egg.

I did think it was a bit early for mushrooms and artichokes which was my second choice and was an interesting choice for breakfast anyhow. 

In the end I went with the Spinach Rarebit & Baked Egg was wilted spinach, baked free-range egg, served over a rich mustard rarebit, finished with smoked sea salt.

Though you can order with a member of the waiting staff, I went with using the QR code on the table. Alongside my dish I also ordered a flat white. The coffee arrived promptly. The food arrived a little later.

I thought it might be too hot to eat initially, but I think it had been under the hot lamp for a while, as it was at an eatable temperature. I found the rarebit delicious and a great dish to start the day. I think it was slightly overcooked, but not by much. Certainly I would have it again.

The coffee was excellent as well.

What I really liked was that this was rather relaxing, I wasn’t rushed and was a perfect way to prepare for the flight.

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Big Lounge Breakfast

Ritorno Lounge on the Bristol Harbourside

I have had breakfast and lunch at various Lounges before, but had never been to the Ritorno Lounge on the Bristol Harbourside. Having had a lovely walk around the Harbourside, it was time for brunch. I chose the Big Lounge Breakfast, which was  smoked back bacon, Cumberland sausages, hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, black pudding, flat mushroom, two fried eggs and two slices of toast.

Though the place was really busy, it wasn’t that long before our food arrived.

big breakfast

It was a massive plate of food, but then I was hungry. Actually it looked a lot bigger than it was (well that’s my excuse I am sticking to that).

This was a lovely breakfast, tasty sausage and bacon, nice mushrooms and tomatoes. If I was to make one minor criticism, for me the sourdough toast was a little dry. I did like black pudding and the eggs were cooked well.

It was, for breakfast, I think quite pricey, but it was a good quality breakfast, served to your table in a nice environment. Would I go again, yes I would.

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It wasn’t the same

breakfast

I have written about the excellent breakfast experience at the Fuller’s hotel, Drayton Court. I have had similar experiences at other Fuller’s hotels, such as the Queen’s Head in Kingston and the Fox and Goose on Hangar Lane. I recently booked the Hand & Flower in Hammersmith.

Well, I had expectations that the breakfast would be of a similar quality. I was one of the first in for breakfast, as I had an early start that day. The breakfast arrived quite quickly, but then again I was the only person eating breakfast at that point.

It certainly looked like the other breakfasts I have had at Fuller’s hotels, however though it looked the same, it wasn’t the same. Sadly it was a similar experience the following day.

Essentially it tasted like yesterday’s breakfast heated up. The bacon was certainly not freshly cooked. On one day the sausage was still cold in the middle. The mushroom was good though.

It wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t good and nowhere near the standard of similar breakfasts at Drayton Court and The Fox and Goose. I know I could have complained, but I am not sure what I would be complaining about. Hey, your breakfast could be better…

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Breakfast Omelette

When I stay at the Drayton Court Hotel in London, most times, it not all times I have the full English breakfast for my breakfast. It is excellent and delicious. One of the features of staying at this hotel is that, not only is breakfast included in the stay, but the hot food is cooked to order and brought to your table. This is a little thing that I like compared to dealing with the hot buffet at other hotels I stay at. They have an extensive and interesting hot food menu for breakfast, though as I said, I usually go with the cooked breakfast plate.

Deciding to have a change I ordered the spinach and mushroom omelette.

This was a homemade cooked omelette generously filled with spinach and mushroom. There was a ham and cheese option as well.

It was hot and tasty but needed a little more seasoning.

I wasn’t too sure about the large lettuce garnish; I don’t usually have salad for breakfast. 

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Disappointing Breakfast

One of the best hotel breakfasts I remember from my trips away was in 2008 staying at the Ambassadors Hotel in Bloomsbury. Back then I said:

Beautifully served, it consisted of an excellent meaty sausage, some very nice grilled bacon, a small bowl of baked beans, grilled (and skinned) tomato, mushroom, bubble and squeak, black pudding and egg. You had a choice of eggs (chicken or duck) and cooked to your liking, I had a poached duck’s egg. It was also garnished with lettuce, not sure about the lettuce.

It was also table service, you ordered from the waiting staff and the food was bought to the table.

I hadn’t used the hotel in the last twenty years, but last month I booked a one night stay as I was at an event close by and then was catching the train from Kings Cross. I was intrigued if the breakfast was as good as it was before. So you can imagine I had quite high expectations about the breakfast offering.

However I can say I was quite disappointed with what was on offer and what I ate.

They had done away with the table service, and replaced it with a breakfast buffet. That wasn’t really what I had hoped for. Alas though the quality of the breakfast was poor. Some of the hot food was overcooked and some of it wasn’t hot.

I appreciate that my expectations were high, and I was initially disappointed that there wasn’t table service. However the whole experience was disappointing. 

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Better coffee

Drayton Court Hotel

I was back in London and staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in Ealing. I have been staying here for a fair few years now. It is significantly cheaper than central London, and with the Elizabeth Line, hitting central London is really fast. West Ealing Station is a few minutes walk from the hotel, from there you can catch a train to central London in less than twenty minutes. 

One of the things about the hotel is the excellent breakfast, but the coffee was always a little disappointing. Interestingly their sister hotel, the Fox and Goose on Hangar Lane did a similarly excellent breakfast, but also had a coffee machine, so I could get my morning espresso hit.

I was pleased to see on my most recent visit to the Drayton Court Hotel that they had installed a coffee machine. This meant I could have a double espresso with my breakfast.

Pleased with that.