Breakfast at The Wolseley - 23rd November 2013 Sat 9.45am

 Breakfast at The Wolseley

 

23rd November 2013 Sat 9.45am
 

http://www.thewolseley.com/

 

Food:
 

Eggs Benedict (small £7.50);

  “Viennoiserie” Mixed Basket (shared £8.50) - selection of mini croissant, pain au chocolat, danish, amandine pain sucré au beurre normand, cannelé bordelaise;

 

Drink:
 

Mozart (£6.75) - hazelnut liqueur, long espresso, hot chocolate with crème chantilly and almond flakes

 

Total price: £18.50

 
 

Having read many positive reviews of The Wolseley, my expectations were pretty high especially given that we waited 2 1/2 months for breakfast here!

 

The Wolseley is a café-restaurant situated in the posh area of Picadilly between The Ritz and Fortnum and Masons. Upon arrival at The Wolseley at 9.45am, we were guided to our seats in a secluded balcony area overlooking the entire restaurant, away from the hustle and bustle of the ground floor. There was a lovely sense of warmth and cosiness to our area despite the large open space of the restaurant.

 

The restaurant had great character and beautiful décor with the high ceiling, chandeliers and grand pillars. Being a relatively newbie to the breakfast scene in London, it was surprising to see the restaurant fully packed at this time in the morning!

 

The breakfast menu comprised of a wide range of hot and cold food from the standard porridge & yoghurt to the rather extravagant Caviar Omelette 30g (£67!).

After browsing through the menu, I decided to go for the classic Eggs benedict with the Mozart drink. The Eggs benedict (consisting of the typical English muffin, ham and hollandaise sauce) was enjoyable - the poached egg was runny and gooey and was cooked perfectly.

The Eggs Benedict

 

 

 The Mozart drink (hazelnut liqueur, long espresso, hot chocolate with crème chantilly and almond flakes) was not served hot and was somewhat disappointing. Although it looked extravagant, it tasted rather diluted and I could barely taste the coffee - £6.75 seemed overpriced.

 

The Mozart

 

 

The mixed basket of pastries (selection of mini croissant, pain au chocolat, danish, amandine pain sucré au beurre normand, cannelé bordelaise), was shared between the 5 of us. It was again enjoyable and tasted freshly baked, but does not stand out compared to other pastries that I've tried in London.

“Viennoiserie” Mixed Basket

The service was fairly slow but perhaps being in a secluded area did not help. The waiter seemed quite posh and gave no hint of a smile – maybe the flight of stairs up to our table tired him out. We asked for a group photo at which he was very reluctant.

 

Overall the ambience of the restaurant was great and it was nice catching up with the VVV ladies, but the food did not live up to my expectations. Definitely give it a go if you have not been here, even if it’s just to experience the charming, old-style atmosphere. I may come back to The Wolseley to try their lunch or dinner menu but I doubt I'll come back for breakfast anytime soon.

Rating:

Food: 3 / 5

Value: 2 ½ / 5

Ambience: 4 / 5

Service: 2 ½  / 5

Overall: 3 / 5