The Redchurch, Shoreditch

The Redchurch
107 Redchurch St
Shoreditch
E2
020 7729 8333
www.theredchurch.co.uk

by Bernie Toast

Saturday began, as always, with a bitter disagreement with my other half over the question of where to have breakfast. Like a thousand times before, I raged against the blandness of the savoury, while he sneered at my pathetic and somewhat downmarket sugar dependency. Thankfully we found neutral territory on American soil.

The Redchurch is a mere stone's throw from the prestigious London offices of that glamorous and unrivalled arbiter of taste, EasyJet Magazine. As such, it frequently receives glowing reviews in the 'Visit London' pages which, combined with an interesting new American Brunch menu, has had the devastating effect of encouraging a particularly virulent breed of American tourist to fill the café area, complete with full luggage suites, en route home.

In the spirit of the Americans, then, we decided to order most of the menu. Juices were fresh, fruit platters exotic, granola biscuity, cakes stale, omelettes pleasingly stodgy and pancakes (offered, pizza style, with an array of toppings) fluffy, sugary and light - although we had expected a tower of seventeen or eighteen and received a platter of just three. Service was at best delightful, at worst a little peculiar - at one point our somewhat erratic waitress arrived with coffee, whilst gnawing at a rind of pineapple which looked suspiciously like the one recently collected amongst our leftovers.

However, we were happy to accommodate this eccentricity as it accompanied a fine, and gob-smackingly cheap breakfast, proving that when deploying pancakes, eggs and coffee, the Americans can, in this area at least, be a powerful peacekeeping force.