Sunday 14 May 2017

67 London Street - Norwich

(Now closed)

67 London Street
Norwich
NR2 1HL

Opening hours
Monday to Friday - 8.00am till 3.00pm
Saturday - 9.00am till 4.00pm

All day breakfasts available




Since Pandora's Kitchen closed back in March a new cafe has reopened, 67 London Street.



There's still an outside eating area which is always popular over the warmer months.



On the ground floor I hardly recognised the place, I loved these tables and chairs.



Up on the first floor it felt much more familiar.



Mismatched chairs and chunky pine tables to enjoy breakfast at.



The breakfast menu will delight both meat eaters and vegetarians and with breakfast available all day, late risers should be equally impressed. 



The drinks menu offers a varied choice at reasonable prices.



The cappuccino was excellent.



Everything you need is already on the table except for sauces which are offered once the food arrives. 




Toast is served with the all day breakfasts and comes with butter and jam. I'm quite partial to a slice of jam on toast but decided on this occasion to top the toast with beans and an egg.



The Whole Shebang costs £10 and it's quite a size!



An aerial shot was required to capture the stunning presentation.



The sausages and bacon are both from Cleveleys in Suffolk.



A superb sausage with great flavour, a good choice on this breakfast.



Award winning Bury black pudding is served here.



Just look at that deep red centre, superb!



The fried eggs were looking in great shape.



The yolks were runny and the white was in places too, not enough to stop me eating them though.



The portabello mushrooms were sublime and the vine ripened tomato was quite possibly the nicest I've ever tasted on a breakfast.



The beans are served in a ramekin and the fried potatoes were to die for.



A fried slice is welcome on my plate anytime, here it's lightly fried so it's not swimming in oil.



When a breakfast is this good I couldn't possibly leave anything on the plate.



Back in early March it came as quite a shock when Pandora's kitchen suddenly closed. It had a huge following and regulars headed there frequently for their fix of breakfasts, milkshakes, roast in a bun and afternoon tea. As the weeks passed by though it didn't go unnoticed that something new was being created behind the white-washed windows at 67 London Street. I peeped through the windows desperately trying to see what was happening inside as I'm sure many others did, wondering what was going to open here next. It was only a matter of weeks until it all became clear, a new cafe was born and 67 London Street opened it's doors for the first time. I'd seen quite a few photos online of the breakfasts being served here so on a Saturday morning decided to go along to see for myself if they tasted as good as they looked... 

Upon entering - The counter is located on the ground floor, there's also a seating area here too so ideal if you can't get upstairs. The ground floor has quite an industrial feel to it which works incredibly well with the exposed brickwork, I loved the new tables and chairs. If you head upstairs to the first floor everything feels more traditional and incredibly familiar, anyone pining for Pandoras may want to sit here! Chunky pine tables, mis-matched chairs, a nice selection of plants and great views of London Street can be found up here. If you prefer to eat outside there's a seating area on London Street, popular I'm sure during the warmer months. There are menus already on the tables as well as cutlery, sugar, salt and pepper. Somebody will take your order at the table and with full table service you can just sit back and relax. Sauces are offered when the food arrives and you settle your bill at the end, either at the table or downstairs at the counter. I got here just after they'd opened as it's much easier to get photos when it's less busy. It was a great spot to enjoy breakfast, light music was played in the background and plenty of natural light filled the room which is a must when photographing food! 9/10

Service - I was greeted with a smile and offered to sit anywhere I wanted, I chose a table by the window on the first floor. My order was taken and within 5 minutes a really nice cappuccino arrived. The lady serving me noticed that the music on the radio was getting a bit depressing so changed it to something more upbeat. I hadn't really noticed myself but it showed how the staff were mindful of the environment their customers were dining in. The food arrived in a very reasonable amount of time and I was offered sauces. During the meal I was asked if everything was ok and once I'd finished eating I headed downstairs to settle my bill. A very efficient and friendly front of house team, I was made to feel really welcome and couldn't have asked for more. 10/10

Contents - The Whole Shebang consisted of: 2 sausages,  2 bacon, 1 slice of black pudding, 2 fried eggs, fried potato slices, portabello mushrooms, vine ripened tomato, beans, fried slice and 2 slices of toast served with butter and jam. 9/10

Presentation - The Whole Shebang was a beautiful sight when it arrived, everything pointed to the centre of the plate very neatly with the black pudding taking centre stage. The beans were contained nicely in a ramekin and the chunky slice of toast was served on a side plate with a pot of butter and a jar of jam. One of the eggs was placed over a slice of the fried bread, exactly where I would have put it! 9/10

The food - The meats used on this breakfast by Clevleys of Suffolk were an excellent choice, firm pork sausages and delicious bacon rashers, both nicely cooked and incredibly enjoyable to eat. The Bury black pudding tasted excellent, a generous slice which boasted a nice rich red centre. The fried eggs looked superb and had beautiful runny yolks, the white was a bit loose in places though but not enough to stop me enjoying them still. Fried potato slices are quite a rarity on breakfasts these days, I'm so glad they featured on this breakfast though. The potato was fluffy inside and the outside was golden crisp, perfect with a dollop of ketchup. When it comes to fresh tomatoes I find more often than not they disappoint, not the case here though! I don't ever recall being served a fresh tomato on a breakfast that was so packed full of flavour as this one was, I enjoyed it so much I didn't even need to add ketchup to it as I often do with most tomatoes I eat these days. The fried slice was thick and crunchy and having been lightly fried it wasn't swimming in oil. My wife's favourite breakfast item is the humble mushroom, if she'd have been with me today (she was in Italy) she'd have been in mushroom heaven. These Portabellos had such a nice texture and flavour to them, I was expecting them served sliced but was delighted to find them served whole. There were plenty of piping hot beans in the ramekin and the toast was evenly browned and cut from a quality loaf. A hugely enjoyable breakfast which despite me being on a diet I just had to finish, my diet went out of the window for the day but my tastebuds thanked me! 9/10

Value for money - The Whole Shebang costs £10 which to some may seem quite expensive. I thought it was an acceptable price for such a complete and delicious breakfast though and you certainly won't be needing lunch after eating this one! 8/10

Veggie option - Yes, 2 different sizes available. The veggie equivalent to the Whole Shebang is The Full Veggie costing £9, it consists of: 3 vegetarian sausages, spinach and halloumi, tomato, mushrooms, beans, fried potatoes, double egg and a fried slice.

Overall - 67 London Street makes a great addition to the already excellent choice of independent cafes Norwich has to offer. The service couldn't have been better and inside is looking great with its two completely different styled dining areas. The Whole Shebang is a seriously impressive breakfast made using quality ingredients and presented beautifully, it's most definitely one of my top five breakfasts available in Norwich. The vegetarian options sound equally delicious and with breakfast being served all day you can enjoy one in the afternoon if you prefer. Definitely worth checking out so be sure to do that and enjoy! 9/10     


1 comment:

  1. Wow top drawer, all other establishments take note, this is how to prepare and serve a fry up. So glad to see properly cooked black pudding instead of the hockey puck normally served up!

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