Sunday 13 July 2014

Smiths - Smithfield

Before the world cup started I thought I would leave my 'England' breakfast
until last and go for a full English on the morning of the final before watching England romp to victory in the evening. I am nothing if not an optimist. Alas that will not be the case but I still have the important task of finding a very 'English' full English breakfast. I had considered going upmarket and trying somewhere like the Wolseley, but I've heard one or two negative things about it and it didn't quite fit with the brief of a truly traditional breakfast. So I looked at various 'greasyspoons' to see if any stood out of the crowd. The Regency in Pimlico is always listed as somewhere worth a visit but unfortunately it’s closed on Sundays, so I thought instead of choosing from one of the hundreds of greasyspoon caffs I would go down a slightly different route and try the Fox and Anchor in Smithfield.  This place describes itself as a step back into ye olde England and they serve a breakfast menu 7 days a week. Or at least that is what I thought! I turned up at 11am this morning only to be told that the breakfast menu was off, disaster! Who would have thought that finding an English breakfast in London would prove to be this tricky?


A good boy scout always has a plan B and mine was a very suitable one, for just up the road across from Smithfield market is ‘Smiths’ of Smithfield. This Cafe come bar come restaurant is all about British produce and British meat and given its location I suppose you wouldn’t expect anything else.  

The menu had 3 fry-up options and I decided to go for the ‘Number 2’, which consisted of Bacon, egg, beans, mushrooms, black pudding, sausage, tomato, bubble and toast. Before that was a latte, served in a mug to give that ‘greasyspoon feel’, but this is no local caff.  The red and black decor with long benches as well as smaller tables make for a modern and relaxed feel.

The best bits of this fry up were predictable the meat products. The bacon (from Woodall’s farm in Cumbria) had a delicious smoky flavour and the both the black pudding and sausage were high quality and packed with flavour. 
Bubble on a breakfast is very English, but this could have comprised of a bit more cabbage and a bit less mash potato for my liking. The beans, mushroom and tomato rounded off a very good feed, you won’t leave here hungry!

The verdict 

A meaty feast with high quality ingredients and a nice modern café feel.

Rating:


No comments:

Post a Comment