Would you like a fry-up? We wonder how often people in Britain say those three simple words every day, especially on the weekends when hangovers are at their worst and full English breakfasts are most desired.
W. Somerset Maugham, the writer, famously stated that in order to eat well in Britain, one should have breakfast three times a day. Although we would never advise consuming a fry-up so frequently, there’s no disputing that a full English is a very nice thing.
This simple dish is England’s version of soul food, and our unquenchable want for more bacon, sausages, eggs, and the fixings just seems to be growing.
In addition to being known for its greasy spoons, London is home to hundreds of cafes, bars, and restaurants that serve Full English breakfasts, some of which follow conventional methods and others which employ inventive techniques more often associated with fine cuisine.
Even while culinary fads come and go, there’s always a lot of comfort in the classics. The greatest fry-ups in London are what we’ve eaten our way around the city and blocked our arteries to bring you, in order to help you focus your search into something cohesive and convenient.
Westminster’s Regency Cafe
In the 77 or so years since it originally opened its doors in 1946, Regency Cafe has grown to become something of an institution. This cafe, which has been the setting for several incredibly famous English films, such as Layer Cake, Brighton Rock, and Pride, is as stereotypically London as they come. It is designed in an Art Deco style and features pictures of Tottenham Hotspur players hanging on the wall. Of course, this is only true if you’re not a Gunner.
Although we are usually more than happy to leave our breakfast in the capable hands of the chef, our favourite feature of Regency Cafe may be the freedom to customise your own breakfast, with traditional items like eggs and bacon present and correct alongside some more (comparatively) unusual fried breakfast options. Is anyone up for an omelette instead of a fried egg?
Be advised that this is a bustling location, with tourists seeking classic English fare frequently making a beeline for the cafe just as famished employees are wrapping up their shifts. Nevertheless, as they say, any place there’s a queue is worth waiting for, and this place is definitely worth it.
Not to be overlooked is the excellent fish and chips served at The Regency Cafe, but only on Fridays. In relation to that, if you feel like going out for fish and chips, these are our top picks in London.
Maggie’s, Lewisham
Near Lewisham station, Maggie’s is well-known for its “create your own breakfast” menu, drawing customers from the suburbs, Brum, and even overseas (sources say) who come to sample it. They also provide an all-day meal.
Maggie, a legend in Lewisham who tragically died in 2020, is honoured with her own restaurant. Her sons Oliver and Anthony currently manage the restaurant that she and her husband founded in 1983. Finesse in fry-ups obviously runs in the family.
With over 15 options, the renowned “freestylin” menu features foods like ham, bubble & squeak, canned tomatoes, and liver (perfect if yours is feeling a bit worn out from last night). It raises the question of… How far along does a fry-up transform into something else entirely? If you swap out the handle and brush, is the broom still the same? Do tinned tomatoes, liver and gammon make a fry-up? Is there anything that has ever seen a pan? Either way,
You can fool around as much as you like, but never forget that the staples of a fry-up are sausage, bacon and egg (don’t @us, fry-up police).
Holborn’s Andrew’s Cafe
For over 50 years, Londoners have been enjoying delicious meals at Andrew’s Cafe, a family-run enterprise.
This is a classy, no-frills cafe that’s ideal if you need a socket mended or a lift to the train after your fry-up. In their own words, ‘Local cabbies and electricians rub elbows with familiar faces from the adjoining ITN building’.
It should be mentioned that that fry-up is really good value. The all-day full breakfast, which Andrew has generously muscled off-center, is so substantial that its rashers actually hang off the side of the dish for only £7.80 (yep, you read that right).
The renowned newsreader Jon Snow is known to adore the fried egg served here; in fact, the mere possibility of running into him makes a visit worthwhile even in the unlikely event that the meal turns out to be subpar, which it never is. Snow even spearheaded a petition once to prevent the cafe’s developers from closing; thank God it was successful, as was Jon!
Piggy’s Café, Market Billingsgate
Although the fish at this eatery is its main draw, the fries are also really delicious. Piggy’s is, hands down, one of our favourite cafés in London, with a lively atmosphere to match.
Located in Billingsgate Market, it is especially well-known for its bacon and scallop butty, which has been feeding the morning energy of the Billingsgate market vendors since, well, 1982. We adore it so much. Even if you leave the market fishless and fancy free, it’s still worth coming up for this salty, delicious sandwich, which is tossed at three in the morning.
We strongly recommend ordering a bacon buttie with your fry up if you want to visit the fish traders early in the morning. They will be chowing down on them with a delectable twist of shellfish. It would be impolite not to, given all that you’ve done, right?
Liverpool Street Polo Bar
Since we only stopped in after a long night on the tiles and Tequilas, we can’t really recall all the finer nuances of the cook up here. But we do recall thinking it was the greatest thing since sliced—or should we say fried—bread.
The Polo Bar, which is conveniently located near Liverpool Street Station, offers all-day and all-night fry-ups seven days a week. The staff is surprisingly upbeat in the early hours of the morning.
This is one of the best spots in all of London to happen across if you’re hungry for eggs, bacon, and something greasy to soak up that beverage as the sun rises up. The amounts are substantial.
Putney’s River Cafe
No, we’re not referring about Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray’s seasonal Italian cuisine tribute across the street—though, we must admit, we’d love to taste their fry-up. Rather, we’re talking about a little Putney train station cafe serving up some of the greatest greasy food this side of the Thames.
Putney locals are happy to call this River Cafe their own. It’s lively, friendly, and as affordable as the chips—which, incidentally, are delicious, crunchy, and perfectly balanced snacks.
As you walk out of the station into the caff, River Cafe feels like a step back in time with its authentically old Formica tabletops and art nouveau wall tiles. But the well-portioned fry-up and a simple cup of milk tea will instantly transport you back to the present moment.
Bethnal Green and E. Pellicci
Even while fry-ups are distinctively British, many of London’s tastiest are actually served in Italian cafés. And E. Pellicci, a Bethnal Green institution, may have the best of them all.
You can’t do better than E. Pellicci if you’re searching for a historically significant, privately owned café in London where you can enjoy a cooked breakfast. This classic Art Deco workers’ cafe has been feeding the local community for more than a century.
This is the spot to go if you’re in London and would like a full English, according to the late Anthony Bourdain. Here, he made the shocking and heart-attack-inducing claim that an eight-piece breakfast causes, as though he were the first to realise this (Tony, we’ve been living this shit for decades).
He remarked, “Terroristically enough, this is what most Brits expect from a proper fry up.” Indeed, we do.
The menu offers four options for fry ups: traditional meat, traditional vegan, and larger variants of each. However, the dish we really come for is the “Have The Lot (Meat)”—a massive fry up that might be the largest Full English in London. We believe that when it comes to fry-ups, the motto should be “go big or go home.”
The golden, crispy hash browns are quite good, but we usually advise ordering the fried bread or toast here. Alternatively, why not have both?
Mayfair’s Wolseley
Head to the Wolseley for a fry-up experience that’s decidedly different and possibly more sophisticated.
This renowned all-day cafe-restaurant in the priciest area of London provides a classy rendition of the Full English that yet manages to tick all the standard boxes and cover all the standard gaps, but with a dash of flair and flair added just for good measure.
With its affordable name, ‘The English’, and a price tag of £23, it offers all the comforts of a traditional fry-up, with plump sausages that are carefully sourced, Lancashire black pudding that is pronounced in all the right places and scrambled eggs that are a step above the indulgent levels found in other items on our list.
Naturally, this isn’t the reason the breakfast here costs so much; rather, it’s the experience you’re paying for, which includes delicious food and faultless service provided in a magnificent setting known for its incredibly magnificent, grand interior, which features a vaulted ceiling with numerous chandeliers and a monochrome geometric marble floor.
This is a memorable place to have breakfast and a great way to start the day.
IDEAL Tip: Get the fried haggis with duck eggs and whisky sauce if you’re in the mood for something hearty. It’s incredibly excellent.
Smithfield’s Smiths
The next establishment on our list is Smiths of Smithfied, another London landmark. Once a market house in London’s meatpacking sector, this four-story, grade II listed restaurant is one of Farringdon’s most recognisable locations.
These days, it’s probably among the greatest spots in this area to get a good fry-up. Thick-cut bacon, Cumberland sausage, flat mushrooms, confit tomatoes, Stornoway black pudding, hash browns, eggs, beans and toast are all included in the Full English. Everything here is unabashedly British and proud of their origin, which is OK given you’re here for a fry-up.
In Kentish Town, Mario’s
This charming, pastel-colored Italian cafe, which is somewhat narrow (you’ll have to come see what we mean), has been a neighbourhood favourite for more than 50 years. It is located on Kelly Street in Kentish Town.
It was founded by Mario Sr. in 1958 and prides itself on being “The real-deal, original friendly cafe” and “not a hipster hangout, more of a “everyone welcome” kind of place.” Try saying that while chewing on a Cumberlands.
Even now, local artists are displayed on the walls, and people from Kelly Street and other neighbourhoods gather here to catch up over a hearty fry-up and engage in some good ol’ fashioned gossip. It still serves as a community centre. We would relocate here merely to join the group!
Borough of Maria’s Market Cafe
Another London tradition, Maria’s Market is named for its creator, the now-retired Maria Moruzzi, and has been providing Borough and the surrounding areas with quality food for decades.
The Market Special, which includes the caff’s renowned bubble and squeak and is a delectable combination of potatoes and greens with the essential charred parts that every excellent bubble should have, is a must-order here.
Choose the ‘breakfast in a bap’, which consists of an egg, bacon, sausage, bubble, beans, cheese and black pudding all wrapped up in a soft, sizable white bun, if you need breakfast on-the-go.
When you’re in the area, be sure to visit Terry’s Cafe, which is close by and serves fatty food just as expertly as Maria. It was established in the early 1980s by a former Smithfield meat salesman.
Victoria Park’s Pavilion Cafe
In the middle of a park, a fry-up? We assure you that it is effective.
This isn’t a greasy spoon. Arguably one of the most picturesque spots on Earth for a fry-up—especially one that makes such good use of organic produce—is the Pavilion Cafe. The ginger pig, a renowned butcher shop in London, provides the sausages, which demonstrate the importance of carefully chosen ingredients in even the most basic dishes. Additionally, the handmade beans are a welcome diversion from our long-time companion H. J. Heinz’s.
You’ll discover some poised, perfectly flavoured Sri Lankan brunch alternatives among the conventional fry-up fare, which is honestly a blessing after so many Full English breakfasts in such short order!