Feed me: Johnnie’s Cafe, Camberwell
Brunch – the delicious breakfast and lunch hybrid that has come to include any and all types of food. It’s just a great excuse to eat eggs later in the morning or to have a little something different for your first meal of the day. Whatever your motivations, allow me to suggest Johnnie’s Café in Camberwell, London. The menu boasts the more classic style of brunch items: eggs, pancakes, beans, and toast. They also serve burgers and are great for other meals but, for the purposes of this blog I’d like to rave about their brunch. Seriously. It’s so good and the vibe is even better.
The most important things to know before going to Johnnie’s are that you should go hungry and that you should arrive with someone so you can get a table.
Pancakes with biscoff and berries. © L Royds
What to eat
Allergies aside, I recommend one of the English breakfasts. You can go with the traditional options (that include bacon and pork sausage) or the vegetarian options which you can customise as you like. I preferred the poached eggs over the fried and their halloumi was divine. The portions are huge (see photo below) so don’t add too much to your plate and don’t expect to have space for a second course of pancakes…even if you plan to share them between two people. Trust me. I went there super hungry and barely finished my English breakfast.
On one visit, we split pancakes which were tasty but I was far too full to really enjoy them. Their pancakes are American style pancakes (the thick kind). You can enjoy them with a range of sweet or savoury toppings from crushed biscoff to fresh berries… or both, as we did.
For the coffee-lovers, I’m told the cappuccino was nice and tasty. I enjoyed my hot chocolate. It was everything you expect a café hot chocolate to be: tasty and without crazy embellishments.
The full English breakfast vs the veggie breakfast at Johnnie’s Cafe, Camberwell © L Royds
The vibe
So Johnny’s is a local favourite and with good reason. It’s packed on a Saturday morning and since you can’t make reservations, it’s best to arrive with someone so they can grab a table when it becomes available while you queue to order food. It feels like the local café that we all frequent. You can hang with your family and also wave at your neighbour/friend/colleague who is having a bite at the next table. It’s loud (but in the bustling restaurant kind of way) but not so loud that you can roar with laughter and everyone will ignore you.
Brunch can sometimes feel a bit pretentious but the vibe at Johnnie’s is more natural and relaxed. It’s just a bunch of people enjoying a meal with loved ones before continuing their day.
This legendary local spot is absolutely worth a visit…or three.
