Put down the Ready Brek. If we've learned one thing from ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ it's that Goldilocks had the right idea: you've got to be picky about your porridge. From carrot-cake oats to bacon-and-egg okayu, we've sampled the porridge dishes in London that are juuuust right.
From £2.75.
This dinky bakery in the lobby of White City’s new co-working space is home to the Goldilocks Porridge Bar, a DIY oats-travaganza that lets you mix bases, sauces and sprinkles. There are hundreds of variations, but we recommend scooping some spiced carrot-cake oats into your bowl then topping them with honey-orange granola and hot fudge sauce. Paws off, Baby Bear.
£3.90.
Is there a sadder sound than the scraping of your spoon on the bottom of a porridge bowl? Delay hearing it indefinitely by breakfasting at Dishoom King’s Cross (or any of its other branches) – just order the warming, hearty medjool date and banana porridge – and enjoy unlimited free refills. Yep, unlimited. If anyone asks, just say you’re training for the London Marathon.
£6.50.
Savoury porridge (congee, grits and – deep breath – oat-sotto) can be a hard sell for those of us brought up on good old Ready Brek. Ease your way into it with this tasty bowl from Covent Garden’s 26 Grains. The porridge is slowly simmered before being mixed with spinach and topped with a perfectly fried egg, a smattering of chives and, of course, photogenic sriracha splodges.
Can’t choose between porridge and a fry-up? At Koya’s new home in the Bloomberg Arcade there’s no need to. The centrepiece of its breakfast menu is a soothing bowl of okayu (Japanese rice porridge) that comes with a side of fried egg, bacon and shiitake – occasionally arranged as a smily face – plus a restorative serving of miso soup. It’s so substantial you won’t even miss the baked beans.
◊ 10-12 Bloomberg Arcade. m Cannon St. £11.10.
From £4.50.
Doughnut wizard Bread Ahead’s new Soho café is full of baked goods, but it has worked its magic on the humble oat too. The build-your-own porridge option allows you to jazz up your breakfast with wholesome toppings. Think cashew butter, manuka honey and roasted coconut flakes plus chia seeds and quinoa. There’s nothing to stop you from demolishing a doughnut afterwards, of course.
£7.
If you like your oats with a side of panoramic skyscraper views, step right up. Or rather, step right into the lift that whooshes you to the fortieth floor of Heron Tower. Duck & Waffle’s maple-and-pecan porridge reads plain but arrives looking just as ritzy as all of chef Dan Doherty’s other creations. Pure class.
£5.
Danish winters make ours look like a Club Med jolly. No surprise, then, that the Danes are pros at porridge and famed for their boiler-stoking bowlfuls. Danish deli-cum-café Snaps + Rye’s offering is made with tangy buttermilk and generously topped with berry compote, toasted hazelnuts and seeds. Accessorise with your chunkiest jumper and a casebook of unsolved murders.
This famous inbetweeny meal – not quite breakfast, not quite lunch – has been greatly improved by the addition of free refills on daytime-appropriate bubbly and cocktails.
Discover Time Out original video
