Great and British!

Now then we are talking Mayfair, which is unlikely to conjure the thought of a cafe or rather a British "caff" to be precise. However here the delights of a proper British greasy spoon meet with tradition and sophistication to produce the most fabulous of fry ups and more besides. The great British restaurant on North Audley street is a stone’s throw from Selfridges and  sits minding its own business next to a grand old chapel opposite green street. Walking through the doors you go slightly back in time and venturing into this sophisticated caff you realise you can go right to the back of the restaurant like a rabbit burrow. 

I went on a Thursday morning at 9.30am for breakfast and it was empty however within an hour it was half full. A Mother and child came in for crumpets, while an elderly gentleman had his usual of kippers and toast. I myself wasn't messing around and ordered the full English and was delighted to receive such a well presented fried breakfast. Now for those of you who go to great lengths to cook a full English for your loved ones may well know, presentation of up to at least seven or eight items upon a plate is not the easiest (not least when you have a hang over the size of the Albert hall!). So when the dish pictured was served up to me I was very happy, separated beans are a must in my book and if not in yours at least you can tip them out.

As you can see both HP and Tommy sauce were provided on the table before any food was served. Now you could say how can you get a full English wrong? And you would have a point thousands of fried breakfasts are sold every day from greasy spoons. However this particular breakfast has certain qualities you’d be hard pressed to find in your local caff.  All ingredients have been sourced well and as you may expect mostly from these British Isles. The sausages were great, the bacon sound, however the black pudding was the star of the show.  Made in house this black pudding may well be the best I’ve had  and I’ve had more than my fair share!

After breakfast the feast goes on with classics such as shepherd’s pie and fish & chips. However the duo behind the restaurant want people to have “great” British food. As well as the classics there are more intriguing dishes such as Aylesbury snails and Mrs. Kirkham’s cheese and onion Pudding. You could almost imagine yourself sitting down with Sherlock Holmes and Watson to a dinner of Goosnargh duck hash and Roast Suffolk lamb faggots, with capers.

In conclusion proper British grub done well at reasonable prices, a posh full English at £9.95 isn't to steep. But I would come again and pay double just for the black pudding!