Last Updated on September 6, 2025
A seriously grand brunch
4.5 out of 5.0 starsBerners Tavern must be one of London’s most elegant dining rooms, making it a special place to spend Saturday over a good brunch with a glass of champagne or a Bloody Mary in hand. The restaurant is located at The London EDITION hotel on Berners Street in Fitzrovia. Its chef patron is Jason Atherton, whose other restaurants include the Michelin-starred City Social, as well as Sael (a restaurant of the month for us), The Blind Pig bar and Little Social.
Berners Tavern is sophisticated without being stuffy. Every available bit of wall space is covered in framed pictures – apparently, there are 228 of them. The service here is that winning blend of professional and personal.
As we settled into our comfortable leather upholstered booth, a champagne trolley was promptly wheeled in our direction. We knew we were going to enjoy Brunch at Berners Tavern. We opted for glasses of the Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label NV (£26), dry, icy cold and a good way to start our visit.
I was hoping to keep my wits about me as we had a gallery visit planned for the afternoon. However, egged on by the champagne waiter’s cry of “It’s Saturday!”, I was unable to say no to a second glass when the trolley rolled round again.
At Berners Tavern, you can brunch on superior breakfast offerings or choose from the long lunch menu, and we decided to stick to the breakfast-leaning side of the menu. I ordered the Hash Brown Benedict, which, as the name suggests, meant a potato base rather than a muffin one. It was the first time I’ve seen this combination and am now hoping it catches on. The hash browns bore no relation to the sadder versions found on the breakfast buffets of Britain’s chain hotels and burger joints. Instead, a crunchy outer hid masses of soft, thinly mandolined potatoes inside. These were topped with heaps of buttered spinach, Dingley Dell smoked back bacon, poached eggs, seaweed Hollandaise sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Meanwhile, across the table, my companion was jealously eyeing my heaving plate. She had picked the far more petite Black Truffle Scrambled Eggs served on toasted brioche and scattered with chives and aged Parmesan. Wafts of truffle filled the air as the dish arrived at the table, but it could not compete in terms of scale or interest with the Hash Brown Benedict.
There’s a good choice of desserts on offer from the sweet section of the brunch menu as well as the regular lunch list. We shared a delicious Raspberry Alaska served with drama and panache by our waiter. There were whisky-fuelled flames, then a jug of toasted almonds and finally another jug this time filled with a rich raspberry sauce, all adding even more deliciousness to this concoction of soft meringue, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, cocoa nibs and dried raspberries.
Our choice from the Brunch side of the menu was the Berners Tavern Pancakes. The American-style light and puffy pancakes came sweetened with agave syrup and topped with strawberries and Chantilly cream.
Berners Tavern Bloody Mary menu sparked a voyage of alcoholic discovery for my companion, a Bloody Mary virgin and now convert. She started with the traditional version, an instant spicy, peppery hit combining Ketel One vodka, tomato juice, lemon and spices.
Berners Bloody Mary was a different proposition, mixing Ketel One Vodka, Ancho Reyes, Laphroaig Quarter Cask, tomato water and smoked sea salt. Berners Tavern make their own tomato water from fresh tomatoes that are juiced and clarified creating a thin straw-coloured liquid rather than the expected thick red of a classic tomato juice. This evoked a “that’s delicious” after the first sip.
Do not go here expecting 90 minutes of unlimited Prosecco and the resultant raucous goings on. Instead, this is a refined but still enjoyable spot for a very good brunch in splendid surroundings and with excellent service. Brunch is served at Berners Tavern every Saturday from 12:00pm to 3:00pm. It also serves contemporary British fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including Sunday lunch (when a Bloody Mary trolley wheels into action).
Berners Tavern
10 Berners Street,
London,
England W1T 3NP
Telephone: 020 7908 7979
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