Way back in the day, I spent a period utterly obsessed with John Hughes movies, going so far as to work them into my General Paper essays where possible (One essay on stereotyping modern teenagers was concluded with a massive shout-out to Bender & Co). I'd heard of The Breakfast Club on and off in my first couple years in London, but between not really being a breakfast person (By the time I get up it's usually time for lunch) and needing to visit (For the first time at least) with someone else who could share in the awesomeness of the reference, it wasn't till C popped by London earlier in the year that I first went to their branch at 33 D'Arblay Street in Soho.
Since I hardly ever go out before noon, I can't say with any conviction if this is the best place for breakfast in London, or even in Soho, but it was enjoyable enough the first time around that when I had a morning to hang out with a visiting AH, this was the first place that came to mind because I'd been seriously considering pancakes for a couple of days now.
We got there a little before 9 am, beating the crowd that ends up queuing outside the building, but rising after the sun so we could still be functional. It always amazes me how chipper everyone in the place seems. Apart from one or two people nursing hangovers and coffees in dark corners, the general mood was buzzy and buoyant. Turnover's also fairly quick (Good for the people in the long queues outside), unless you're me and have to spend an hour valiantly doing battle with your pancakes/french toast/butty.
AH ordered a chai latte and the Huevos Al Benny, and while I skipped the poached eggs and spicy Hollandaise, I gladly divested her of the little squares of English Muffin she sliced for me, topped with chorizo, avocado and roasted peppers.
On my part, I had a warming ginger lemon tea and the pancakes with berries and vanilla cream. It was more cream than I'd remembered, but I wasn't going to complain about it. The first few bites of my pancake stack were so light and fluffy that I managed to convince myself I could finish the whole thing, and promptly ate two-thirds of the vanilla cream with my first pancake. That... was a bit of a mistake.
And did I also mention my extra side of bacon? I'd deliberated between pancakes with bacon and pancakes with berries, before I realized I could literally have it all. Between healthy bits of fruit, I slathered the bacon in the maple syrup pooled at the bottom of my dish and nicked all of AH's chilli slices to eat with the pancakes. It was delicious.
Still can't manage big breakfasts on a regular basis, but when the cravings hit it's a fun place to be. Fairly sure I should start branching out soon, but between clashing timetables and the growing desire to just hibernate, early morning meetings are a difficult thing to schedule.
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