Brunch at the Black Penny

Black Penny

Saturday night at my brothers 50th birthday bash left me feeling hungry and shattered the next day. Being the lazy fella I was on Sunday morning, E picked up on my slackness by looking for a brunch spot somewhere near Holborn and Covent garden. The place in question was a coffee house cafe serving all day breakfast and brunch called the Black Penny. When we got to the restaurant we had to come back 35 mins later due to the fact the place was full. We both agreed that was a very good sign indeed and waited for a phone call at a Cafe Nero down the street. Seeing as it was going to take a minute, I googled a few holiday destinations while E swiped the cream off my hot chocolate. I really wanted that cream..but alas it’s often followed by slight discomfort. Anyways the call came in and we had to run off for brunch at the Black Penny

The Black Penny

On entering the restaurant we sat on two stools on the counter and ordered some carrot juices while checking out the various dishes on their menu. You had your inventive breakfast classics such as sourdough toasts and various combinations of salmon, scrambled eggs, sausages and halloumi, brioche french toasts, all day buns with grilled pork, bacon, sage sausage selections , oats ….you get the picture.They really had a good selection and two dishes caught our eye. A crispy duck dish and a quintessential English breakfast with all the trimmings called the Hunter. They took our orders pretty quickly and the next few minutes was spent admiring some of the lovely messages left by various guests on the wall :

The Black Penny wall messages

 

” Love you long time indeed Black Penny “

 

Very sweet gesture

Something else that stood out at the Black Penny has to be the music. The R and B classics definitely gave this place a buzzing vibe : ” I’ rock the party that rocks the party. You rock the party that rocks the party” . For those that don’t know..that’s Missy Elliot. Yep, I was pretty much nodding my head away while waiting for food. First on the counter was :

Crispy duck hash with sweet potato , baby spinach , spring onions, chilli , coriander and soft egg.

The crispy shredded duck and sweet potato dipped into the runny yolk was very moreish and flavorful.

The Blackpenny Crispy duck hash

The Hunter : Eggs how you like em, sourdough toast, grilled sausage, smoky bacon , roasted tomatoes , mushroom and black Penny beans

This was your normal English breakfast done to perfection. The scrambled eggs and smoky bacon were quite tasty.There is a slight twist with the beans. I cant quite put my fingers on it. When you do try it out, let me know.

Hunter brunch : scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, Black Penny beans and mushrooms. Delicious

Look at that beauty : scrambled eggs on toast

There goes my quick brunch at the Black Penny restaurant. The staff were friendly, the music was great and the food was on point with each main just setting us back £12.90 each. I give this place a Makele 4.3 out of 5 stars.  Speaking of which my next two blog posts will be a feature on Bob Bob Ricard and a 2 Michelin star restaurant in Soho called the Ledbury. Keep and eye out and see you soon.