Beagle
Rating: Eggs Benedict - Eggs Royal
London brunch review - Beagle. Beagle – spotted soon after its opening in March 2013: I have been there for drinks, for take-away coffee (the location next to Hoxton station is just too convenient), but never made it there for brunch. Till this very weekend at the beginning of February when I have some friends over from Spain and let them decide on a brunch spot out of a list of five. There you go, Beagle is their choice and I am happy to get a review done :)
Nestled under the arches of the London Overground the restaurant uses a lot of daylight from its big window front which helps to even out the quite dark brick-wall-interior and furniture. Behind one of the arches the kitchen is hidden but only to an extent where people can still watch the chefs preparing the food – a very clever design solution!
The service is a bit slow at the beginning especially because not all tables are occupied and it takes quite a while for the coffee to arrive. Since the hunger grows and a lot of very tempting looking food passes by you kind of want to cheer them on. This improves over the stay though; the cocktails are with us within the blink of an eye. And the Bloody Mary delivers. It’s tasty, it’s spicy and it goes down easily ;) And there are four different types on the menu... cheers, I will be back!
I wouldn’t consider the menu as typically brunchy, more as an upscale version of what you would normally expect. Why? There are two types of oysters on the menu. Two types!!! Enough said? Don’t worry though, you also get your granola, pancakes and scrambled eggs. From what I can spy on the “Portobello mushrooms, toasted sourdough, poached egg & hollandaise” also do look exceptionally mouth-watering. We decide to give the “Blood cake, potato rosti & fried eggs” and the “House smoked streaky bacon, hash & fried eggs” a try accompanied by Portobello mushrooms and bread and butter. The portions are big, but since we are all hungry and we like the taste and look of all the food we successfully finish our plates. I especially want to point out the really good bread on the side! ¡Qué rica, hombre!
After finishing our cocktails we head of so that I can show the tourist the sights and walk off the brunch deliciousness. Note to self: Come back in spring and/or summer to sit outside in the sun sipping one of the many cocktails on offer! Do you want to join me the next time? Then – go for brunch, London!
Cappuccino: ....................................................................................£2,50
Bloody Mary: ...................................................................................£8,50
House smoked streaky bacon, hash & fried eggs ........................£11,00
Beagle, 397-400 Geffrey Street, London E2 8HZ
Open: Sat: 11:00am - 3:00pm, Sun: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Phone: 0207 613 2967
Email: info@beaglelondon.co.uk
