The Table - Southwark

Having decided to walk into town along the river, I had built up quite an appetite by the time we arrived at the Table in Southwark.  I was hoping for a big breakfast and I wasn't disappointed.  We turned up at prime brunchtime and the place was packed, we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table.  Well I say a table, I mean a spot on one of the long dining benches (seems like a bit of a strange name for a restaurant, if you only have about four of them in the whole place and long benches to sit on!).  There was a buzzy atmosphere in this small modern diner, with decent music playing in the background and the small open kitchen in one corner adding to the relaxed vibe.

 The Table serve an extensive brunch menu on weekends from 9-4, but the Borough full English breakfast seemed like the most popular.  And that is what I order.  As I mentioned I was hungry and was pleased to see a very generous portion delivered by the waitress.  Two fried eggs served on sourdough toast, two sausages, crispy bacon, ham hock & chorizo baked beans, grilled tomato and a Portobello mushroom.  The sausages were really big, flavoured with leek, which complemented the rest of the plate, rather than overpower it.

So you might think this is the perfect fry-up and will get the perfect score, but unfortunately I do have a couple of gripes. The item on the menu I was looking forward to the most was the ham hock & chorizo baked beans, but it proved to be a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting a real hit of paprika and tomato flavours in the bean sauce, but in reality it was just a bit bland. The other reason this fry-up doesn't get top marks is the price. At £12, the Borough full English is certainly at the top of the fry-up price range and whilst you do get a lot for your money, the menu in general is quite expensive, like my flat white coffee, which was £3.50.


The verdict
A big fry-up with good quality ingredients and the best mushroom I have ever tasted. Loses a point for baked beans that promised a lot but failed to deliver.

Rating: