I love me a good brunch, but it’s very rare I have the opportunity to go. Typically, during this summer (the last time I will have nothing to do for weeks at a time!), the place where I’m living has pretty much zilch brunch options. Certainly no-where offering the oh-so-instagrammable dishes I love so much…
Way back at the end of May, just after exams finished, I joined W and his friends for a post-university celebration. We made a strange sight, students wandering around the town pre-9am, but it was definitely worth it! Goodliffe’s in Loughborough is somewhere we’d previously only visited for dinner (their Fish Finger Sandwich is insane), but had heard great things about their brunch menu. We weren’t disappointed.
I couldn’t resist ordered my absolute favourite, Eggs Benedict. This is my idea of perfection, salty meat, freshly toasted carbs, sharp but creamy hollandaise and gorgeous runny egg yolk. However, it’s so easily done wrong. Too much vinegar in the sauce, overdone eggs (I once sent a dish back to the kitchens for this crime), burnt muffins. This was a good example of the dish, though not perfect. Whilst I appreciated the idea of bacon replacing the ham, in practice it didn’t work. The bacon needed to either be back bacon (trimmed of most of the fat), or streaky bacon grilled until crispy. Unfortunately what I was served was a bit flabby and fatty – but still delicious having trimmed it. An Eggs Royale next to me was declared to be spot on.
Other than a Vegetarian Breakfast (halloumi, pesto and eggs sound like a dream combo to me!), the rest of the table went for a full English. Despite one plate arriving with a lack of bacon, the consensus was this was a good breakfast. It certainly looked it, though again I personally think the bacon could and should be crispier. Highlights were the black pudding, local sausage and hash-brown (I ordered one on the side of my eggs – my waistline may have objected, but it was damn good!).
A photo posted by Will Fazackerley (@wfazackerley) on Jun 2, 2016 at 3:29am PDT
And the best thing? They do brunch cocktails! Mango Fizz sounds like a winner…
Are you a brunch fan? What’s your go-to dish?