Brunch, a truly British invention

Posted on September 6, 2016 by admin

‘Brunch’ has become synonymous with weekends, a leisurely meal, a carefree time with friends and family. But where does this very contemporary way of eating come from? What is surprising is that this weekend tradition is not quite as new as you might think, in fact this meal time is positively old fashioned!

The first time the term was used, was in 1896’s Punch magazine where the meal was described as something for “Saturday-night carousers”. The writer Guy Beringer further suggested that brunch “would promote human happiness” – we can’t argue with him on this point and have a feeling that Brunch is still a meal for late night ‘carousers’!

Mr Beringer continued to make an argument for this new trend in his article, which is wonderfully entitled “Brunch: A Plea”. Therefore, Brunch had already begun to find its way into the foodie crowd, back in 19^th century Britain.

Brunch became popular in the United States in the 1930s, and it seems to have been made popular at this time, on both sides of the Atlantic, by hotels. This was due to the fact that a lot of restaurants were closed on Sundays and so hotels championed the idea of this meal. With hotels encouraging the trend, a sense of glamour attached its self to Brunch. A Smithsonian article also references 1930s Hollywood stars stopping off in Chicago, whilst travelling across the continent, for a late morning breakfast – furthering a sense of style that has never really left this wonderful weekend meal.

Brunch has its origins in the well loved Sunday lunch, a meal time for family to gather, originally after church. As culture and habits changed, the formal Sunday family lunch gave way to the informal Sunday Brunch. Now the trend for Brunch has extended into Saturdays and it really is, #WhatWeekendsAreMadeFor!

Our Brunch menu is a three-course meal, available at £48 per person on weekends and Bank Holidays from 10.30am – 3pm.

A firm favourite on the menu is our Lobster Benedict, and we are currently serving Colchester Blue lobster, with a poached egg, toasted English muffin and hollandaise sauce. We have recently added a few new dishes to the menu, for example on our starters there is the Loomswood Farm  duck salad, with crispy leg, brambles and land cress. Our mains have a gorgeous Hereford steak salad, with Isle of Wight tomatoes, heritage radish and horseradish mayonnaise; and a free-range omelette with the unique Loch Etive smoked trout (we are the only restaurant in London with trout from Loch Etive).

Click here to read the menu.

Click here to book a table for brunch.