My favourite meal of the day is breakfast. Not the meal itself but the foods served at breakfast. I could throw a poached egg on anything at whatever time of day. I love waffles and pancakes and anything with bacon gets me excited. So when I realised that there is a Breakfast Club within a 20 minute walk from my house – I decided a playdate was in order, we absolutely had to check out their offering.
Sunny days are perfect for ambling along the canal. But today it’s not sunny. And we are running late. Running late because we had a mini meltdown over the shoes. Running late because the kitten ran out of the house and had to be chased for what seemed like a lifetime and running late because we forgot the mobile phone (our lifeline!) and we had to return to get it.
So in the words of the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. “No time to say hello good-bye, I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!”
But I am meeting two other mums with very little babies. And they too are delayed (transport, last minute poonamis, snot emergencies, feeding time etc) so I slow my power walk down a little as I amble on the canal path past the barges. Such calmness midweek. Silence in the middle of a bustling city to help create some headspace.
We have arrived. The Breakfast Club at Hackney Wick is a little out of the way but there is a free bus from Stratford main station and you can walk from Hackney Wick station or Homerton. It faces the canal and on a sunny day there are loungers for chilling outdoors and basking in the sun.
There is also – to the delight of my toddler – a playground next door with a large slide, swings and lots of space to explore and run around. We both enjoy climbing on the slide and working up a bit of an appetite and soon enough our companions arrive.
Three ladies and three babies seated at our pre-booked table (Breakfast Club gets very busy so booking in advance is advised). We are all excited and have made our food choices in advance of arriving (it’s also a little trick we have learnt to ensure the time spent sitting is not too unmanageable for the little ones)
First up is coffee and conversation. The place is buzzy although it is a weekday, but it is still chilled enough so we can hear each other speak – and think – and we all enjoy catching up face to face. The dairy free options are great too as some babies don’t tolerate dairy, so all mummies are happy.
The service is quick and the staff are very understanding. We’ve ordered Huevos al Benny, an eggs benedict dish made up of poached eggs, peppers, avocado, chillies and hollandaise and we’ve opted for chorizo (you can also have it with fried chicken) and this looks delicious. I personally got major food envy straight away and will be ordering this on my next visit.
One of our party is a veggie and she has opted for the argy-bhaji, a spiced onion waffle, chilli fried egg, spinach, mango chutney and minted yoghurt. She seemed impressed with this dish even though she had to serve most of it a little cold as baby wasn’t in the mood for sitting.
For me and toddler we’ve opted for the all american breakfast comprised of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, fried potatoes and maple syrup. My son enjoyed this very much and after finishing a pancake conked out for a little apres food nap (oh the joy of having naps whenever one wants them!).
Verdict: Great coffee and yummy food in a great location with an adjacent playground to keep little ones entertained either before or after your meal. We shall be back soon to sample more from the menu.
For more ideas of things to do with the kids in London visit our events and activities area which provides details of cheap and free events, fun cafes, classes, exhibitions, libraries, special offers and lots more.