When you think of boujee brunch food and restaurants, you think Australian. Pretty instagramable dishes, lively yet easy going decor, and almost a sunny feel to the whole atmosphere. And thankfully for Londoners, the city is full of such brunch spots. I mean if you love brunch, I don’t know if there is a better city in the world for you than London. Granger & Co is probably the OG Australian brunch spot. I don’t know which was the first Australian brunch place in London, but I do know that these guys have been around for a while. We’ll discuss a little bit more about them and their star dish in this blog post.
Granger & Co
Australian restauranteur, Bill Granger, opened up his first restaurant in Sydney 1993. Their breakfast and brunch became famous and popular. Visitors frequented the place from far and wide, locals and tourists alike. Fast forward to 2023 and he now also has branches in Seoul, Tokyo and London. They’ve got all the usual brunch dishes and if you’re looking to try a good brunch, then you really should try an Australian spot and there probably is none more popular than this one right here. In London, they’ve got branches in Chelsea, Clerkenwell, King’s Cross, Marleybone and Notting Hill.
Check out their menu here.
Ricotta hotcakes
Despite their vast menu and the array of options to choose from, without a doubt their star dish is the famous Ricotta Hotcakes with honeycomb butter and banana. It is available on both their breakfast and lunch menus. And despite its hefty price tag (£16), I was pleasantly pleased with it and part of me has been craving it ever since. But surely in this current climate, nothing can justify spending that much on pancakes? Well, clearly people are happy to do so as the restaurant was packed with a half an hour queue outside. People were literally almost sitting on top of each other! When getting in and out of our seats, other people had to get up to let us in/out. Yes, it was that busy and tight (much like London brunch places).
How did it taste? It’s a strange one to describe really. The taste was subtle, no overpowering flavours; everything just working together well. Not overly sweet, in fact if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you may seek more sweet satisfaction. Honeycomb butter always works amazingly well with pancakes and with the addition of banana – delicious! It wasn’t as filling as I’d expect with the batter including ricotta. It felt luxurious and fluffy in texture. Would I be wrong in saying it tasted like a mix of traditional American pancakes and the Japanese soufflé pancakes? There was a bit more texture and substance to these than the Japanese ones, which are very reliant on toppings due to their airiness.
Getting there:
Parking: Q-Park Queensway (just be wary of parking there, this doesn’t have the best of reputations – check Google Reviews) or Uxbridge Street near Notting Hill Gate station (free Saturday after 1:30 pm and all day Sunday)
Nearest Mosque: Queensway Market Mosque
Nearest station: Bayswater or Notting Hill Gate
