2014 Awards – Best Breakfast

The Bristolian Cafe on Picton Street, offering a warm welcome on a rainy December afternoonWe enter the final day of the 2014 Coffee Spot Awards shortlists with the “Best Breakfast” Award, which in 2013 went to The Bristolian. Along with cake, breakfast has a special place in my heart. The only slight snag is that I rarely get up and out of the house early enough to get to places before they stop serving breakfast, so they don’t feature on the Coffee Spot as often as I would like!

That said, I still managed to get up early enough to generate a healthy shortlist this year, helped by those wonderful places that serve all-day breakfasts!

You can see the shortlist after the gallery.

  • A 3-in-1 nomination for the Boston Tea Party and my favourite breakfast, Eggs Florentine.
  • My all-day vegetarian breakfast at Lymington's Lemana Cafe.
  • Another all-day vegetarian breakfast, this time from Cafe at 36 in Exeter.
  • I finally got to visit the Breakfast Club... at the London Coffee Festival!
  • The amusingly-named & fabulous 'Breakfast of Champignons' from Dublin's Brother Hubbard.
  • Breakfasts galore with Greg of Coffee GuruApp at Jany's, Philadelphia.
  • Beautifully presented field mushroom soufflé muffin (with toast) at Birmingham's Saint Kitchen
  • Mrs Atha's (surprisingly good) vegetarian sausage sandwich in Leeds.
  • More brunch than lunch at Philadelphia's One Shot.
A 3-in-1 nomination for the Boston Tea Party and my favourite breakfast, Eggs Florentine.1 My all-day vegetarian breakfast at Lymington's Lemana Cafe.2 Another all-day vegetarian breakfast, this time from Cafe at 36 in Exeter.3 I finally got to visit the Breakfast Club... at the London Coffee Festival!4 The amusingly-named & fabulous 'Breakfast of Champignons' from Dublin's Brother Hubbard.5 Breakfasts galore with Greg of Coffee GuruApp at Jany's, Philadelphia.6 Beautifully presented field mushroom soufflé muffin (with toast) at Birmingham's Saint Kitchen7 Mrs Atha's (surprisingly good) vegetarian sausage sandwich in Leeds.8 More brunch than lunch at Philadelphia's One Shot.9
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There are nine Coffee Spots on the shortlist this year, all listed in order of publication.

My first ever Boston Tea Party piccolo at the branch in Bath

Boston Tea Party, Bath

This is really a 3-in-1 nomination for all thee branches of the Boston Tea Party, where I always have the Eggs Florentine for breakfast or brunch. Yes, I know there are other things on the menu! The Whiteladies Road branch was shortlisted for Best Basement and the Birmingham branch for Best Physical Space.

The counter at Lemana Cafe, groaning under the weight of the home-made cakes.

Lemana Café

This lovely, family-run café down in Lymington in the New Forest serves up an excellent all-day vegetarian breakfast (I had mine at three o’clock) as well as some great cake. Lemana Café was also shortlised for the Best Outdoor Seating Award.

Cafe at 36 on Cowick Road

Café at 36

Best described as a neighbourhood greasy spoon with excellent coffee, Exeter’s friendly, neighbourhood Café at 36 is definitely worth a visit for the food, the cake or for the coffee (or any combination of the three). This was another place where I had an all-day vegetarian breakfast at three o’clock!  Quite where I’d be with the all-day breakfast, I really don’t know.

The London Coffee Festival Logo

London Coffee Festival 2014: The Food

London chain, The Breakfast Club, is a legend, but since it always has queues around the block at all its branches, I never manage to get in. So, when I saw it had a stand at the London Coffee Festival, I wasn’t going to miss out. I am relieved to say that I wasn’t disappointed either!

The Brother Hubbard logo: 'brother hubbard' in a large, white circle.

Brother Hubbard

Dublin’s Brother Hubbard is as much about the food as it is about the coffee, if not more so (although Brother Hubbard may disagree).The food is inventive, with a Middle-eastern twist, and the menu changes on a seasonal basis.I had the amusingly-named “Breakfast of Champignons”, two poached eggs and baked mushrooms in a creamy, blue cheese sauce on sourdough toast, with spinach, tomatoes and caramelised onions.

Jany's Diner, on the corner of 12th and Wood

Jany’s

Jany’s, in Philadelphia, is an old-fashioned American diner of the type that I adore. Serving typical diner fare (ie good quality comfort food), the food is both excellent and extremely good value for money. I had two eggs (poached), home fries and toast, plus a side of two hot cakes and a mug of coffee.

A beautiful piccolo from Saint Kitchen, using Extract Coffee, made in an espresso cup with an over-sized saucer.

Saint Kitchen

Birmingham‘s Saint Kitchen has excellent coffee and even better food. I had the field mushroom soufflé muffin, plus some farmhouse buttery toast, which was beautifully presented on a pair of wooden platters that looked like slices of a log. The good news is that it tasted even better than it looked!

The Mrs Atha's Logo: the words "Mrs Atha's" in gold capitals, with the words "Coffee & Tea" written beneath, all above the word "Leeds" written in script.

Mrs Atha’s

Another where the coffee is excellent and the food even better, I had the interestingly-named “surprisingly fine vegetarian sausage sandwich” from the all-day breakfast menu from Mrs Atha’s in Leeds. It was indeed very fine. Mrs Atha’s was also shortlisted for the Best Basement Award.

The One Shot logo, an eight-engined, propeller-driven flying boat, painted on the side of the wall of One Shot.

One Shot

Philadelphia‘s One Shot is a lovely spot, best known for its food and, as a result, a very popular brunch spot. I went there with Greg of Coffee Guru App fame for Sunday brunch. I settled on grilled goat’s cheese, tomatoes and greens on bread, which I paired with a flat white and a (American) biscuit on the side (for the uninitiated, this is similar to a British scone, a point proved somewhat by the healthy serving of jam that came with it).


A special mention has to go to the following fine purveyors of breakfast. Vauxhall’s Tea House Theatre, where I had a very fine breakfast on my first visit, Laynes Espresso, New Station Street in Leeds, which kick-started my day with excellent toast and a flat white two days running, Manchester‘s Pot Kettle Black, serving up some awesome porridge, and Leith‘s Printworks Coffee, home of some amazing breakfast baps.

And the winner is Saint Kitchen
Runners-up: Brother Hubbard and Mrs Atha’s

Don’t forget to check out the other 19 Coffee Spot Awards for 2014.


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4 thoughts on “2014 Awards – Best Breakfast

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