The hidden gem has an extensive breakfast menu.
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South West London’s reputation for hosting a great breakfast is growing.
Whether you’re in Wimbledon Village, Northcote Road or on the river, you’re guaranteed to find somewhere to enjoy a weekend morning.
One place slightly off the beaten track, tucked away off Battersea Rise, is Scoffers Kitchen, a quite magnificent and surprising café/restaurant that serves up a feast for the eyes as much as the stomach.
From the outside you’d think Scoffers was a small, quiet café with a deli counter, coffee machine and nothing more. Well, much to our surprise, this establishment couldn’t be more different. Greeted on arrival, we’re taken through the window-lit café area and into the restaurant conservatory that is dominated by a looming tree the spreads across the ceiling.
At first you don’t notice anything peculiar but once you’ve sat down and taken in the surroundings you begin to realise why Scoffers is a hidden gem of the SW London restaurant scene.
The converted dining hall boasts a menagerie of plants and pictures. The décor is subtle without the arrogant, homely without being kitsch. Scoffers has sat here for 17 years and over that time it has developed a real charm and identity.
I’m already taken, and then the food arrives. While my partner orders the full English breakfast, my eggs rancheros are exactly what I need to pick me up on this blustery Sunday mid-morning.
Eggs rancheros boasts tomato, beans (not the baked kind) and avocado sat atop a tortilla wrap and stuffed with bacon and chorizo. It is a masterful mix of body and flavour, the bacon and beans combining in this great remake of the English breakfast classic.
Yet the ingredient that stands alone and takes a second applause is the chorizo, for it is cooked specifically to alleviate the grease pool often associated with eggs rancheros. By cutting the chorizo fine and frying it individually, the chefs at Scoffers remove all unnecessary grease. That means the tortilla is robust and the meal maintains its form.
Across the table the full English was going down just as a full English should, with real sausages (you know, the ones with actual meat in them) and a pot of baked beans at hand.
If Scoffers don’t pride themselves on drinks then they should do, for their orange and peach energy-boost smoothie packs condensed flavour with a punchy aftertaste.
As far as surprises go, Scoffers is one of the most charming and eye-opening restaurants in London. It doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t and possesses an identity many places only dream of having.
Oh, and another thing, you don’t have to queue.
Scoffers Kitchen: 6 Battersea Rise, London SW11 1ED ScoffersKitchen.co.uk / 020 7978 5542
Photo courtsey of Joe Short, with thanks.
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