UK: Regency Cafe

When my British cousin told us about black pudding and something called bubble and squeak, we knew we had to try some.  This led us to a tremendous research effort online for a British breakfast joint that served both.  It wasn't easy, but we finally found Regency Cafe: 

It was pretty empty when we arrived.  I immediately liked the old-school feel of the place.  We walked up to the counter, got in line, examined the menu, strategized among ourselves, placed our orders, and then found a table to wait for our food.

Regency Cafe offers a great set breakfast deal for £5.50.  You get one egg, one sausage, bacon, and then a choice between beans and tomatoes.  But it doesn't end there.  Oh, no.  You also get to choose either toast or bread and either coffee or tea.  For an extra £0.90 each, you can add on black pudding, hash browns, or bubble and the squeak.

Here's the coffee and the tea (with milk and sugar of course):

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the toast or the bread, so you're going to have to use your imagination.

My sister and I chose grilled tomatoes and added on black pudding:

Apparently you can also get tin tomatoes.  We didn't know that was an option until after we all placed our orders and we overheard the guy behind us ask for it.  Sigh.

Anyway, that's not important.  What's important is the black pudding.  What is black pudding you ask?  It's a blood sausage and this one tasted like...autumn.  Go figure.

AF got beans as her side and added bubble and squeak:

Bubble and squeak was what we were looking forward to the most.  The way my cousin described it made it sound just glorious (plus the name just sounded like a lot of fun).  Fried leftover mashed potatoes with veggies?  Sign me up.

When it was finally put before us, it was kind of well, underwhelming.  It tasted good, but nowhere as mind-blowing as we imagined it to be.

So that we could successfully try everything on the set breakfast menu, T added on hash browns:

Which were probably my favorite thing that morning.  Nothing beats freshly fried potatoes.

Regency Cafe was definitely the cheapest meal we had in London and one of the more satisfying.  If you're looking for a good deal and a chance to enjoy a traditional British breakfast, Regency Cafe is the place for you.

Now if only Regency Cafe had its own bathroom.  Paying money for a dirty public bathroom has never been my thing.


Regency Cafe
17-19 Regency St  
London, Greater London SW1P 4BY, United Kingdom
+44 20 7821 6596