Just Another Breakfast

I dropped by The Wolseley one morning to enjoy its popular breakfast, just because it has become a tourist attraction of sort or for those obsessed with "Full English Breakfast", whatever that means. The restaurant was just a block away Green Park underground station in Mayfair, midway between The Ritz and the Fortnum and Mason store, so essentially in the center just about everything as far as out-of-towners are concerned.

The formal decor of the restaurant looks like it's been around forever, but in fact it's only open in the early 2000's. I walked in at around 9am and took them around 20 minutes to find me a table at the saloon right next to the main dining room, with the same setup, same menu but just a little bit cozier. Though the place was most well-known for its breakfast menu, they actually open from morning til late night with a full all-day menu - I was joking to my friend that it felt like a "cha chaan teng", a Hong Kong-style diner amid having an English food menu and fancier decor.

I sat down and began to study the menu, with no less than 30 dishes available for breakfast service alone, some classic choices and some vegetarian options. Of course there's "The English" with eggs of choice, bacon, sausage, baked beans, black pudding and all which almost every tourist ordered for their taste of "Full English Experience", whilst most locals opted for something simpler, like a toast and coffee. I had every intention of having a full lunch in a few hours' time, so I just went for a single portion of "Egg Benedict", and a coffee.

Straight forward as it was, I have to say my Egg Benedict was perfectly cooked. The wobbly poached egg was stacked on top of a well-toasted piece of English muffin, ham with a nice Hollandaise sauce spooned on top and garnished with chives and paprika for the most classic presentation of this timeless dish. And all things considered - the posh setting, location, and the "wow" factor, plus the solid execution of my breakfast dish, it did justify me paying 15 quids for this and my cup of coffee every now and then.

But then I probably wouldn't go too out of the way for this and it's not the most comfortable place for breakfast (it's a bit too uptight, table too small and the place was noisy with people coming in and out constantly) - but if you stay around the area, up early or consider this as one in your bucket list, then sure why not. To me the place is only a glorified "cha chaan teng" after all, and it's just another breakfast.

When? November 28 2019
Where? The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB
Menu Highlights? Egg Benedict
Drink: Caffe Latte
Web: www.thewolseley.com