It’s Sunday morning, and I’m feeling a little bit delicate. The night before was spent at the Christmas
market (see last week’s post) sampling the various different flavours of Mulled
cider that were keeping me, as well as everyone else there who was doing some late
night shopping, nice and warm. I am fortunate enough though to have two pieces
of luck. The first; I know just the cure for such self inflicted agonies is a
hearty English breakfast. The second; I live within a zombies walk of the new
dinner Brody's Breakfast Bistro.
Opened in Queen Street, opposite the Royal Albert Memorial
Museum, in July this takes the ideas and ethos of an American style dinner but
gives it an authentic British twist with its focus on the good old Full English
Breakfast. This is the second of such
places, with the original opening in Torquay a few years ago, and since
throwing open its doors it has been a roaring success.
Simplicity is everything, which when you are hungover, is
very much appreciated. There are only two different prices depending on what
you are wanting to eat, starting at £4.99 for a New York style Bagel or
American style pancakes, or £6.49 for a the Full English. This may seem a bit
on the pricy side at first but when you realise that includes free drinks, free
cereal and toast, AND you can go back as many times as you like and just keep
on piling your plate up, then you realise this is an incredibly generous offer.
I feel like a kid in a candy store. What do I try first?
Ok... just relax, breath, it’s not all going to suddenly disappear
like Keira Knightley did in that dream the other night, take your time, and just
work your way through.
Starting with the basics, they have a wide range of branded cereals
to choose from as well as a good choice of sliced breads for your toast (which
we’ll get back to in a minuet). If you
go for the pancakes then there is a cool little machine where you just push a
button, and 2 minutes later a couple of freshly made, thick pancakes drop out
onto your plate. This two minuets though seems like a bloody eternity though,
and with only the one machine when it’s busy, you can be in for a bit of a
wait. However the pancakes are worth it in the end. With a choice of eight
different syrups to slather over the top of your stacks, such as Strawberry and
the traditional Maple, you get an authentic American Pancake experience.
The pièce de
résistance is of course the fried breakfast. With all that you would
come to expect, plus white pudding which you don’t often see, this is what it’s
all about. And don’t be thinking this is just what you’d get at a cheap greasy
spoon, they source locally and use naturally fed outdoor reared pork and free
range eggs. Everything you can have is fresh and the kitchen staff seem genuinely
nice and helpful, which is an unexpected delight. Finally, after helping yourself, you sit down
on one of the long, communal tables in the window where you find you’ve got
your own toaster to play with and make as much toast with as you want!
An exciting, and unique addition to the restaurant scene in
Exeter, Brody’s seems to be going from strength to strength. Although not the
biggest in terms of size, they have made the most of the space they have, but
still at peak times on Saturday and Sunday mornings you will have to queue to
get in. I was also surprised to see that they didn’t open in the evenings. I would have imagined Bre-nner (Breakfast Dinner) would have been something
that could have made an alluring alternative, especially to those on their way
into town for a ‘heavy’ night.
This is more than just somewhere to get a hangover cure
though. This is a charming and down to earth place that puts the emphasis on
the food and the happiness of the customers, rather than wasting it on needles
flim flam. You’re not going to get Michelin stared cuisine, but then Brody’s is
not pretending to deliver it. Some might turn their noses up at having to clear
their own plates, or the whole idea of buffet style service, however I believe Brody’s
supplies a healthy dose of back to basic reality in a market that seems far too
caught up in its own self-importance and pretentiousness. Much like a good
English Breakfasts cuts through the dull agony of a hangover; Brody’s cuts
through all the formalities and delivers an honest and good quality service.
|
Hours
|
Mon - Fri: 08:00
- 14:30
Sat - Sun: 08:00
- 15:30
|
No comments:
Post a Comment