granger & co.

the menu was in the classic billgrangerstyle sounding light and fresh with a heavy dose of asian fusion mixed in. there were some fun dishes, like the korean fried chicken, where you could make your own lettuce parcels of chicken, herbs, lime juice and chilli sauce. the fresh goats cheese & flatbread was a winning start and i was pleasantly surprised by the french toast tiramisu dessert i had. i liked the rosehip & mint punch. our waitress was knowledgable and friendly and there were awesome aesop toiletries in the bathrooms.

however, too many of the dishes missed for me. apart from the over abundance of chilli, the wrappers on the spinach and ricotta dumplings were too thick and doughy and the others didn't really come together as i hoped they would. i thought the pricing was a bit funny too, with all of the dishes nearly the same price, but the chicken a large portion and the charred baby corn just six pieces.

i came back togranger& co because the first time i ate here the food was exquisite, both in looks and taste. this time round we shared the corn fritters and the jasmine smoked salmon. the fritters were very plain and uninspiring, and the salmon tasted absolutely foul. it was acrid, dry and honestly one of the worst pieces of salmon i have ever eaten. presentation had gone completely out of the window too, which considering the amount of money you're being charged for basic food, should be a must. only saving grace was lovely waiting staff, who were clearly very busy but still very attentive. such a shame the meal was so awful.

went to meet my daughter for lunch yesterday atgranger& co clerkenwell and was shocked by what was served to  my wife.  she ordered the chicken schnitzel which she thought at first was a little pink and under cooked but when she cut through the middle of the breast it was actually raw. the practices in the kitchen are clearly a problem but what angered me was the way they dealt with the matter. the waitress was appalled and immediately took the chicken back to the kitchen.   the young supervisor/floor manager then arrived at our table and said it was actually a "vein" in the breast. no apology just excuses and an outright lie. i assured her the three of us on the table and her own waitress can verify it was raw. she continued with the excuses and no time accepted responsibility. dangerous practices in the kitchen and failure of management to deal with the matter in the correct manner.  i have never felt the need to review a restaurant before but our experience warrants this review.

australians are passionate about breakfast/brunch. so it’s no surprise that granger & co is one of the most popular weekend brunch spots in london. first opened in sydney by australian restaurateur and food writer, bill granger, the restaurant rose to popularity in no time and soon started expanding internationally.

londoners love brunch andgranger& co is quite the 'it' spot for just that. it's got one of those 'you can't go wrong' menus with a wide variety of breakfast and lunch dishes to choose from, many with an interesting fusion twist to make it extra enticing. i had the soft shell crab kimchi bowl, which i highly recommend. it bust with sweet and spicy flavours, and is the perfect size portion. the atmosphere is vibrant (though acoustics are perhaps a bit loud) and the service is friendly and efficient. i also found it to be very reasonably priced. highly recommend, though be prepared to q and wait for a table.

when it comes to breakfast, cornflakes don’t cut it anymore.

that is to say, trekking down london’s very best fry-ups and other breakfast treats was a tough job.

but thanks to my friends’ will [and digestion issues endeavor] of gorging on awesome meals, we stumbled upon “the world’s best breakfast” and we found it atgranger& co.

every billgrangerrestaurant reflects the spirit i like to think of as ‘australian’: sunny, easy-going and generous. bill opened his first restaurant in sydney’s darlinghurst in 1993. it soon became loved for its legendary breakfasts, served at the famous central communal table, where locals and travelers, families and friends, continue to be welcomed. twenty years later, bill’s relaxed, friendly and infectious joy in good, fresh food has become truly global, and is enjoyed at his restaurants in sydney, seoul, tokyo, honolulu and london.

with a large dining room that’s as spacious and bright as the whole of london, verdant views over a churchyard,granger& co. dishes up the ultimate best ricotta-filled hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter.

i leave you to the snapshots below.

looking atgranger& co from leafy st. james’s church garden over the road, this feels more like a village green than the middle of london. it's set in a relatively peaceful, green part of london. they serve interesting salads - for example, the bondi salad with goat's yoghurt, feta and rose harissa (for a nice spicy kick) is not your average salad...

granger and co has been one of my bucket list food destinations for quite some time. i finally got to try out their infamous ricotta hotcakes and so smooth you'd think it's mousse scrambled eggs!.grangerand co is in a nice quiet location. not on a busy high street. the venue is

on a brisk winter’s day in london, we wanted to channel a bit of that australian sunshine. we decided bill granger’sgranger& co. in clerkenwell might provide that cheerful boost we needed. granger& co has become of bit of brunch institution in london with three outposts of bill’s eponymous restaurant in notting hill, king’s cross, and clerkenwell.

just finishing up a meal here and can't wait to review.granger& co. is the epitome of cheerful and delicious! the decor is bright and happy, with warm wood paneling on the ceiling, white clean walls, granite flooring and bar, and loads of mirrors and huge windows. despite being overcast outside, it seems bright indoors. i also loved how diverse the clientele was...young couples, groups of laughing friends, and families with small kids. everyone mixed well together, and smiles where all around!

aside from the happy interior, the food and service make their customers all the merrier. we started with the korean fried chicken. the chicken was crispy yet perfectly tender, accompanied by a spicy sesame chili sauce. for our mains, we had their grass fed beef burger. absolutely amazing. the homemade tomato sauce and herb mayonnaise was really special, the beef was flavorfully seasoned and juicy, and the garnish, a thinly sliced cucumber, made an otherwise heavy burger very light and refreshing. this is a two hand, multi napkin kind of burger as you won't put it down.

the fries also are a treat. lightly seasoned, you wish you had more!

all and all, this is a great fun place for a sunday afternoon with your friends, family or special someone.

like most things recently, my monthly brunch club had fallen by the wayside due to my increasingly busy schedule. i hated not having time to catch up with my friends so i was hugely thankful when tom stepped in and suggested that we meet up at granger & co. always up for eating somewhere new, i happily booked a table at the clerkenwell branch of australian bill granger’s restaurant.

originally from australia,grangerand co are a chain of restaurants by bill granger, specialising in breakfast as well as australian cuisine such as bbq items and hotcakes. it was recommended by a fellow foodie and i went for the shrimp burger and it tasted much better than i expected. the strange but wonderful combination of jalapeño mayo and sesame gochujang really delivered a powerful and spicy sensation to my palate with the shaved radish salad added the much needed sourness to offset the richness. however, be aware this is not a cheap and cheerful place as you would need to pay at least £20 pp just for 1 course and a soft drink.

possibly my new favourite brunch place in london. it might seem an exaggeration to claim the whole of london but let's face it, at that hour i'm not trekking too far from base as chances are i'm not fully functional at brunch o'clock anyway. nonetheless it sounds better and i'm happy to givegrangerand go praise where praise is due. from the moment of booking the staff were super helpful.

 ... dammit i need to get off a bus so gonna come back to finish writing later......aaand the app crashed on me when i finished the review so this is attempt #3!  (angry face @zomato).  

on phoning to reserve i was informed the menu changes at 12pm.  so chose to book 11.30am to get the best of both menus.  worked out a treat.  we were a group of 5 (2 arrived late) so of us ordered breakfast for starter and then lunch for main!  for the more health conscious among our group was a wide selection of gluten free, dairy free, meat free, without any compromise on flavour.  i fall more into the category of stress free when dining which it definitely was as we didn't have to scour with a fine comb for everyone in our group.  the cocktail selection is pretty interesting too.  i've not been doing so well in my acid test of bloody mary's of late but granger's concoction made with clamato juice hit the spot.  couldn't resist staying for dessert too.  miso full!

granger & co clerkenwell is an all day dining space, open from breakfast 7 days a week...all in all,granger& co clerkenwell far surpassed my expectations. the menu is the most interesting breakfast menu i’ve seen in a long time and the dishes we had comfortably delivered on flavour.

west londoners will know the name "granger and co." well associating it with hearty and delicious meals and a great cup of coffee to boot. to say they have been a roaring success is a gross understatement and even with the plethora of choice in westbourne grove area of notting hill, it's positioned itself as one of the best( if not the best in my opinion). so with that in mind, expansion was inevitable and so it was thatgrangerand co. clerkenwell came to be - my destination for breakfast on this sunny sunday.

ascending the stairs into the restaurant, i was taken by the modern decor with creativity befitting of the area; purposefully minimalist with sunlight streaming in through walls of floor to ceiling windows creating a vibrant and open dining space. and it is this surrounding which allows the food to assume centre stage; and it most certainly does.

with my january "health" binge in full flow and fighting every temptation to order the sweetcorn fritters with bacon, i went vegetarian this morning with courgette fritters served with a deep fried egg, halloumi, tahini yogurt and parsley salad and in truth, i'm glad i did because it was delicious, fresh and though fling, quite light. the fritters, coated in the tahini yogurt, were utterly moreish and leaves you wishing you had more.

however, good behaviour should not go unrewarded which conveniently justified an order of the ricotta hot cakes with fresh banana, honeycomb butter and maple syrup which was as devilishly good as it sounds and so fluffy, it was like eating a cloud.

so another location and another winner from thegrangerand co. brain trust. the question now is, where next?

also follow me on twitter @annixontong and @wetrykai and on instagram @annixontong.