Fancy a fry-up? We wonder how many times those three little words are uttered across Britain each day, especially on weekends when a hangover is at its strongest and a full English breakfast most coveted.
The author W. Somerset Maugham once opined that to dine well in Britain, you should eat breakfast thrice daily, and while we would never encourage you to tuck into a fry-up quite that often, there is no denying a Full English is a very good thing, indeed.
This humble meal is England’s answer to soul food, and our insatiable, indefatigable appetite for a serving of bacon, sausages, eggs and the rest only seems to be getting bigger.
London is of course famous for its greasy spoons and is home to hundreds of cafes, bars and restaurants serving Full English breakfasts, some traditional and some done with the kind of creative flair usually reserved for fine dining.
Whilst food trends come and go, there’s still huge comfort to be found in the classics, after all. To help you narrow down your search into something cohesive and close-to-hand, we’ve eaten our way through the city and clogged up our arteries doing so to bring you these; the best fry ups in London.
Regency Cafe, Westminster
Regency Cafe first opened its doors way back in 1946 and has become something of an institution in the 77 odd years since. Designed in an art deco style with pictures of Tottenham Hotspur players hanging on the wall, this cafe is as quintessentially London as they come (if you’re not a Gunner, of course), and has served as the backdrop to some seriously iconic English films, including Layer Cake, Brighton Rock, and Pride.
Whilst we’re usually more than happy to put our breakfast plate in the capable hands of the chef, perhaps our favourite thing at Regency Cafe is that you have the flexibility to build your own breakfasts, with classic items all present and correct alongside some more (relatively speaking) esoteric fried breakfast offerings… Omelette in lieu of a fried egg, anyone?
Be warned; this place gets busy, with tourists after traditional English grub often making a beeline for the cafe right at the time hungry workers are finishing up for the day. That said, anywhere with a queue is worth the wait, as they say, and this place most certainly is.
Also worth mentioning, The Regency Cafe does a great fish & chips, but on Fridays only. Speaking of which, here’s our favourite places for fish and chips in London, if you’re so inclined to seek them out.
Address: 17-19 Regency St, London SW1P 4BY
Website: regencycafe.has.restaurant
Maggie’s, Lewisham
Serving up an all day breakfast close to Lewisham station, Maggie’s is famous for their ‘create your own breakfast’ menu, with people coming from the ‘burbs, Brum and even abroad (reportedly) just to try it.
The restaurant is named after Lewisham legend Maggie, who sadly passed away in 2020. She opened up the restaurant with her husband in 1983 and it’s now run by her sons Oliver and Anthony. Fry-up finesse clearly runs on the family.
That fabled freestylin’ menu offers a choice of more than 15 items, including liver (ideal if yours is feeling like it needs a replacement after last night), bubble and squeak, tinned tomatoes and ham. Which begs the question… At what point does a fry-up become a different meal altogether? Is it still the same broom if you replace the handle and brush? Is liver, ham and tinned tomatoes a fry-up? Has anything even seen a frying pan? Anyway…
Just remember that the cornerstones of a fry-up are sausage, bacon and egg (don’t @us, fry up police), and from that foundation, you can play around as much as you like.
Address: 320-322 Lewisham Rd, London SE13 7PA
Website: maggiesrestaurant.co.uk
Andrew’s Cafe, Holborn
A family run business, Andrew’s Cafe has been serving good food to Londoners for more than 50 years.
This a proper, no frills cafe where, in their own words, “Local cabbies and electricians rub shoulders with familiar faces from the nearby ITN building”, which is just perfect if you need a socket fixed or a lift to the station following your fry-up.
That fry-up, it should be noted, is exceptional value. For just £7.80 (yes, you read that right) you can get the all-day full breakfast, which is so full that its rashers genuinely hang off the side of the plate, having been muscled off-centre by Andrew’s generosity.
It’s well known that the legendary news presenter Jon Snow loves the fried egg here (the thought of bumping into him here is reason enough to visit, even if the food was terrible, which of course it isn’t). Snow even once fronted a petition to stop developers closing down the cafe; thank the good lord – and Jon – that it worked!
Address: 59 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1X 8TL
Website: Andrew’s Cafe | London | Facebook
Piggy’s Cafe, Billingsgate Market
While this cafe is more famous for its fish, the fry-ups here are darn good too. With a boisterous atmosphere to boot, Piggy’s is one of our favourite cafes in London, full stop.
Housed in Billingsgate Market, it’s particularly famous for its scallop and bacon butty, which has been fuelling the market traders at Billingsgate every morning since forever (well, 1982). We just love it. This saline, succulent sandwich starts being slung at 3am, and is certainly worth getting up for, even if you leave the market fishless and fancy free.
If you do decide to visit in the early hours of the morning, you’ll see the fish traders devouring bacon butties, all with a luxurious shellfish twist; we urge you to do the same and order one alongside your fry up. Because you’ve made all this effort, it would be rude not to right?
Address: Billingsgate Market, Trafalgar Way, London E14 5ST
Facebook: @billingsgatecafe
Polo Bar, Liverpool Street
To be completely honest, we can’t quite remember the finer details of the fry up here, having dropped in after a long night on the tiles and Tequilas. What we do remember thinking, however, is that it was the best thing since sliced (or should that be fried?) bread.
Minutes away from Liverpool Street Station, Polo bar serves up all-day and all night fry-ups, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the staff surprisingly chipper in the wee hours of the morning.
The portions here are generous and if you’re craving eggs, bacon and something greasy to sop up that bevvy as the sun comes up, then this is one of the best places to stumble into in all of London.
Address: 176 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4NQ
Website: polobar.co.uk
Read: Where to eat near Liverpool Street Station
River Cafe, Putney
No, we don’t mean Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray’s tribute to seasonal Italian cooking just up the road (though we’d love to try their version of fry-up, we have to admit). Instead, we’re talking about an unassuming train station cafe in Putney that’s dishing out some of the best greasy grub south of the Thames.
This River Cafe, which Putney residents are proud to call their own, is busy, affable and as cheap as the chips; the latter, by the way, are lovely stumpy things that really hit the spot.
With its real-deal retro Formica tabletops and art nouveau wall tiles, River Cafe is a relic of a time gone by, and as you step out of the station into the caff, it’s like you’ve travelled back in time. The generously proportioned fry-up and a straightforward cup of milky tea will bring you right back to the here and now, though.
Address: 1A Station Approach, London SW6 3UH
E. Pellicci, Bethnal Green
While the fry up is a uniquely British thing, many of the best in London are actually served in Italian caffs. And perhaps the very best of all is found in Bethnal Green institution, E. Pellicci.
This vintage Art Deco workers’ cafe has been serving the local community for over a century and if you’re looking for a historic, independently run cafe in London to enjoy a cooked breakfast, you can’t do better than E. Pellicci.
The late Anthony Bourdain once said that if you are in London and fancy a Full English, then this is the place to come. It was here he pointed out the startling, heart attack inducing qualities of a full eight-piece breakfast, as if he was the first to experience such a realisation (Tony, we’ve been living this shit for decades).
“This, terrifyingly enough, is what most Brits expect from a proper fry up,” he said. Yes, yes we do.
There are four fry up options on the menu – essentially classic meat, classic vegan, and larger versions of both – but it’s the ‘Have The Lot (Meat)’ that we come for; a gigantic fry up which may just be the biggest Full English in London. Because where fry-ups are concerned, it really is a case of ‘go big or go home’, we think.
The golden, giving hash browns are particularly delicious, and we’d always recommend going for the fried bread instead or toast here. Or both; why not have both?
Address: 332 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E2 0AG
Website: epellicci.co.uk
The Wolseley, Mayfair
If you’re looking for a rather different, arguably more refined fry-up experience, then to the Wolseley you must head.
This iconic all-day cafe-restaurant in London’s most expensive part of town offers an upmarket take on the Full English that still manages to tick all the usual boxes and fill all the usual holes, but with a little flourish and flair thrown in for good measure.
Economically named ‘The English’, and clocking in at £23, you can enjoy all the delights that a traditional fry-up offers here, with carefully sourced sausages plump, the Lancashire black pudding pronounced in all the right places, and the scrambled eggs a level of indulgent not seen on the other entries on our list.
That’s not why the breakfast here commands a premium price, of course; it’s the experience you’re paying for, and that experience is one of classic food and seamless service, both served in a glorious setting, renowned for its jaw droppingly spectacular, grand interior – its monochrome geometric marble flooring and vaulted ceiling with chandeliers galore are things of beauty.
Having breakfast here is an experience you won’t forget and a wonderful way to start a day.
IDEAL Tip: If you’re feeling greedy, order the fried haggis topped with duck eggs and whiskey sauce. It’s unbelievably good.
Address: 160 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 9EB
Website: thewolseley.com
Smiths Of Smithfield
Next up on our list is another London institution, Smiths of Smithfied. One of Farringdon’s most iconic sites, this grade II listed, four-floor restaurant was once a market house in London’s meatpacking district.
Today, it’s arguably one of the best places to come for a proper fry-up in this part of town. The Full English comprises thick cut bacon, Cumberland sausage, flat mushroom, Stornoway black pudding, confit tomato, hash brown, eggs, beans and of course toast. Proud of their provenance, everything here is unapologetically British, and since you’re here for a fry-up, that’s no bad thing.
If you want to try something different from the traditional breakfast, their steak and eggs with duck fat hash browns is a beautiful plate. which sees rump steak, green tomatoes, duck fat hash browns, fried eggs.
Address: 67-77 Charterhouse St, London EC1M 6HJ
Website: smithsofsmithfield.co.uk
Mario’s, Kentish Town
This narrow (you’ll have to visit to see what we mean) Italian cafe situated in Kentish Town’s pretty pastel Kelly Street has been a firm favourite in the neighbourhood for over half a century.
Billing itself as ‘The real-deal, original friendly cafe’ and ‘not a hipster hangout, more of a “everybody welcome” kind of place’, (try saying that with a mouthful of Cumberlands), it was opened by Mario Snr. back in 1958.
Today, it remains a community hub, with local art exhibited on the walls and residents of Kelly Street and beyond congregating here to fuel themselves on the famous fry-up and have a good ol’ gossip. We’d move here just to be part of the gang!
Address: 6 Kelly St, London NW1 8PH
Website: marioscafe.com
Maria’s Market Cafe, Borough
Named after its now retired founder Maria Moruzzi, Maria’s Market is another London institution that’s been serving the good stuff to Borough and beyond for decades.
A must here order is ‘The Market Special’ which comes with the caffs famous bubble and squeak; it’s a delicious medley of potatoes and greens and has the mandatory burnt bits that every good bubble should.
If you need breakfast on-the-go, then go for the ‘Breakfast in a Bap’, which comprises egg, bacon, sausage, bubble, beans, cheese and black pudding, all inside a soft, very large white roll.
While you’re in the neighbourhood, do check out nearby Terry’s Cafe, which was founded in the early 1980’s by a former Smithfield meat trader, and delivers the greasy goods with the same aplomb as Maria.
Address: The Market Porter, 9 Stoney St, London SE1 9AA
Website: boroughmarket.org.uk
The Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park
A fry up, in the middle of a park? Trust us; it works.
Greasy spoon, this ain’t. The Pavilion Cafe is arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world to get stuck into a fry up, particularly one which uses organic produce to such nourishing effect. The sausages, supplied by acclaimed London butchers The Ginger Pig, are testament to the power of well-sourced produce, even in the most humble of meals. The homemade beans are a refreshing change from our old friend H. J. Heinz’s, too. They also do a mega egg muffin sandwich with the pleasing addition of bubble and squeak and goey grilled cheese.
Alongside the traditional fry-up fare, you’ll also find some poised, precisely spiced Sri Lankan brunch options, which after this many Full English breakfasts in such quick succession, is a blessed relief, quite frankly!
Website: pavilionbread.com
Address: Victoria Park, Old Ford Rd., London E9 7DE, UK
And on that note, before resentment builds towards this most beloved of English institutions, we’re off for a well earned lie down!
