Nude Espresso
Rating: Eggs Benedict
London brunch review - Nude Espresso. London, you have to understand one thing: Austrians do have a coffee culture. For us coffee culture doesn’t only mean that we enjoy the odd cup of coffee from time to time. No, it means drinking coffee and meeting people for coffee (not for a drink!) is an important part of our everyday-life. Therefore it should rather be cracking. :) We have different names for our coffee drinks than the Italians and therefore the world. We enjoy coffee in the morning, after breakfast, after lunch, in the afternoon with cake and in the evenings. And you know what the icing of the cake is? A very good and demanding weekend newspaper in hand.
So, can you understand then that pub filter coffee and “The Sun” don’t float my boat? However, thank God, the capital is rich of cultures and nationalities and therefore thanks to Aussies and Kiwis I get what I'm craving for. Another observation during my 5,5-year-stay in L town is people don’t go for a drink by themselves. Please don’t get me wrong here, I’m not encouraging people to start a life in loneliness, I just think you could have your breakfast on your own from time to time. Watch passers-by, soak up the conversations around you, read a newspaper or book or just zone out. It’s worth it!
One place which invites you exactly to do this is “Nude Espresso” on Hanbury Street. It’s small, it’s cosy, the coffee is to die for and they have newspapers on display. As soon as you enter the café it is as another small world takes control over your mind – all I see is this enormous coffee machine and the variety of croissants, muffins and cookies next to it. All I hear is the grinding of the coffee beans, a bit of background music and laughter. The big mirror in the back makes it seem bigger. Although the interior design is quite simple and dark it invites you to stay.
A jug of tap water can already be found on the table – awesome! It’s hard to find somewhere where the owners understand that a glass of water is essential with your coffee. So, either just serve it without being asked or put it on display. Easy.
The service is excellent, not one minute passes by where I feel being left alone. I even receive a recommendation for a dish which can’t be found on the menu and my cappuccino is served almost immediately. AND!!! I’m asked if I want salt and pepper with my brunch. Can you imagine? No running after the peppermill during your eggs have been served and are already cooling down – I can’t believe it!
During I’m waiting for the food (I choose the “Field Mushroom, potato roesti, scrambled eggs, spinach and truffle”) I bury my head in the weekend issue of the “The Times” Magazine and enjoy every sip of my delicious cappuccino. My dish is good, but not excellent. Since I don’t have an extremely hung over stomach this morning I could do with a less greasy version of what I have been served. This doesn’t destroy my overall experience though – 100% is something difficult to find in life - if possible at all - and where would the challenge otherwise be to do more chasing? So, the next visit is about trying either the muesli, the quinoa dish or the Nude Breakfast :)
So, go there, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the coffee and let yourself being soaked up by a little oasis right in the middle of the busy Brick Lane area. Go for brunch, London!
Cappuccino: .......................................................................................£2,80
Bloody Mary: ......................................................................................£ ---
Nude Breakfast: bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato, mushroom
and spinach: .......................................................................................£9,50
Nude Espresso, 26 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR
Open: Monday-Friday 7:00am-6:00pm, Saturday-Sunday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Phone: 07712 899 335
Email: manager@nudeespresso.com
