Our weekend in London wouldn't have been complete without brunch! Now, when I am on my own, I head out to brunch/breakfast a bit early as I know that places get quite busy. However, we didn't get going very early, so I was a bit worried about waiting times.
We struck out... TWICE!!!! By the time we reached the second place, it was noon, so I was ready for lunch. We walked down Wardour Street because it is one of my favourite streets for dessert :). We happened to be walking by Imli Street and noticed the sign that said they were now serving brunch. We took a look at their menu and they were reasonably busy, so we decided to try it.
Imli Street specializes in Indian Street Food. While there were some items on the brunch menu that may have been Indian influenced, most of the items seemed to be the traditional Western version of breakfast. The staff were very friendly and extremely efficient. I had a bit of trouble deciding because as brunch goes, I like a bit of savoury and a bit of sweet. I suggested to Mr. Snarky that we do something that we did in Chicago... each of us order a dish and then order another to share. Greedy, yes, but a weekend in London topped off with brunch... you should be a bit greedy.
I decided to go with the Bubble and Squeak with a Poached Egg and Crispy Rocket (which our waiter got excited about and said was his favourite) while Mr. Snarky went for the Imli Street Breakfast.... essentially an English Breakfast, but with spiced beans and a fritter. For our greedy dish, we ordered a side of the Cinnamon French Toast. While we waited, I had an Americano and Mr. Snarky tried their Banana, Mixed Berry, and Fig Smoothie. I tried the smoothie and have to say that I didn't really taste any fig, which for me, would have been disappointing had I ordered it, but I think that was ok for Mr. Snarky who would have just wanted a Strawberry Banana smoothie anyway.
When the food came out, we liked the look of the street breakfast and the Bubble and Squeak, but were a bit disappointed with the French Toast. Let's start off with the pros:
Seasoning in the Bubble and Squeak was a bit Indian inspired
Poached egg was done just right, allowing the yolk to moisten the bubble and squeak
Fritter from the street breakfast was crispy on the outside with a hint of corn and lovely spice (possibly from jalapenos?)
Spiced Beans actually tasted more Mexican than Indian, but they were wonderful as well
And now... to the cons:
Bubble and Squeak was quite dry and could have done with one more poached egg or a sauce
Cinnamon French Toast... all of it.
So here is what I found... humorous about the Cinnamon French Toast. It looked like they took two slices from the Warburton's Toastie Loaf and dipped it in egg and lightly heat it. There was no hint of cinnamon and the toast was a bit soggy. Now... Mr. Snarky had toasted Brioche under his eggs in his street breakfast. My question is... why wasn't this lovely Brioche used for the Cinnamon French Toast. More importantly, why wasn't Cinnamon used??? I guess two out of three ain't bad, but I think Mr. Snarky and I were really looking forward to the French Toast. Overall, it was pretty good and considering the low cost of all the dishes on the Brunch menu, I think it is a pretty good steal for London.
Also, we noticed something rather interesting... so if you want to order from their regular menu, but want to have it delivered, you can! However, they will add the cost of taxi fare to your bill. An unusual way of doing delivery, but not a bad option if you want to eat in the comfort of your own home! read more