Mess Cafe, 38 Amhurst Road, E8 1JN
Breakfast for two: £12 if you eat everything
Looking back, I have spent much of the second part of this year looking for a good place to have breakfast. I already knew about the brilliance of the Regency but had struggled to find anything to match up to it in East London, despite the area's long history of caff culture. It seems fitting, therefore, to end the year with a post about what may well be the best place for breakfast in Hackney: it is certainly the best place I have found so far.
Part of Mess's charm is that it is utterly normal and unpretentious. No hidden doorways or unwelcome musicians in sight. Its menu is simple and, best of all, exceptionally cheap. We have been twice now and on both occasions eaten well for not much more than £10.
Mess sits on the traditional cafe end of the London breakfast scene, so there are no hand-reared pork products or artisanal toastings in sight. Ingredients are fairly ordinary and, in the case of the sausages, unfortunately bland. That said, the eggs were golden and soft on both of our visits (something even the mighty Hawksmoor failed to deliver) and the home-made burger patty, whilst never going to be a contender in the best-burger-race, was nicely seasoned and textured.
Disappointing sausages mean that, whilst it is the best breakfast place I have found in my neighbourhood, it does not quite topple the Regency as my favourite place for breakfast in London. However, it is a close contest: Mess serve cheese burgers for breakfast which, as any hungover person will tell you, is a wonderful break from tradition.
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