BRITAIN’S first-ever Michelin breakfast tasting menu has just arrived – but how does it really compare to a cheap fry up?
The five-course meal is found at the Four Seasons Hotel’s Pavyllon restaurant on London’s swanky Park Lane, setting you back a whopping £70 for the ‘basic’ option.
On the menu are lobster dishes and decadent French toast – for an extra slice of luxury, you can even add a side of caviar at an extra fiver A GRAM.
Bizarrely there’s not even a whiff of a Full English listed on the extravagant menu, and a morning cuppa will add even more to the extortionate price.
And if you go for the £20 juice pairings and add 15 per cent service charge, the bill tops £100 a head.
But is it worth it? I decided to give the fine dining option a go and compare it to my favourite fry-up at the Regency Café just over a mile away in Pimlico – which is a tenth of the price.
Pavyllon’s £100 breakfast
The tasting menu, only available at weekends, kicks off with a sweet pastry.
From the tray of delightful-looking tarts our friendly waiter brought over I picked out the ‘special’ – a light, crisp and buttery pastry filled with gooey pistachio cream and glazed with clementine marmalade.
As I’d added in the drinks pairing I washed it down with a tiny cold moka, a chocolate-infused coffee topped with Chantilly cream.
Up next was a lobster croast – a Pavyllon invention where the topping sits on a toasted croissant.
As tasting menu diners are seated at a counter around the open-plan kitchen I could watch senior sous chef Nicholas Bussi prepare it, delicately dolloping spoonfuls of lobster mayo onto the croissant followed by rocket leaves and heaps of freshly grated parmesan.
It tasted out of this world, while the pineapple and cherry juice pairing added a sharp hit.
Then came a chia seed pudding soaked overnight in coconut milk and served with sticky mango and pineapple pieces.
A sprinkling of salt added a twist, although the celery and apple juice pairing failed to excite.
Next, eschewing the egg muffin which came with the optional caviar – the Benedict version had the menu’s only bacon – I chose instead the chef’s weekly special.
The beautiful wafer-thin omelette filled with prawns and cod roe in a lobster bisque was the stuff of dreams and came paired with a beetroot flavoured alcoholic-free kir royale.
Somehow I managed to squeeze in an indulgent French toast, made with brioche-style bread and caramelised hazelnut and tasting like your gran’s best-ever bread and butter pudding.
A couple of cappuccinos added a further £16 to the bill so with the 15 per cent service charge, my bill ended up coming out to a staggering £121.90.
The Regency Café’s £10 breakfast
This well-known greasy spoon is decidedly down-to-earth, with formica tables, traditional half-mast checked café curtains and black and white photographs.
The 80-year-old caff may seem familiar – it’s appeared in films and TV shows like Layer Cake and Judge John Deed.
If you go on a Saturday (it’s closed on Sundays) you’ll likely have to queue to get served at the counter.
But when I visited on a wet Wednesday I could order immediately and opted for the popular set breakfast – two bacon rashers, a sausage, a fried egg, tomatoes or beans plus bread or toast and a mug of tea or instant coffee.
Priced at a very reasonable £9.99 you can also add extras like bubble and squeak for £1.75 or chips for £3.50.
I managed to find myself a table, and tucked in. My bacon was done to perfection – thick cut and browned to a crisp yet chewy in the middle.
The chunky banger was beautifully seared while the tomatoes were lightly singed on top yet juicy inside.
My egg was slightly overdone – no oozing yolk – and if I was being picky I’d have liked more butter to smear on my white sliced toast.
The tea however was tasty and piping hot.(Just don’t ask for anything fancy like a cappuccino – I’d asked for decaf tea and was told sternly, “Eh? We have tea.”).
None of the meal was greasy and afterwards I was comfortably full without that sickly-stuffed feeling.
Verdict
When it comes to the Pavyllon breakfast taster menu, the variety and the surprise element kept adding exciting twists.
I’m still dreaming of that lobster croast which I would happily have by itself without the rest of the menu.
And with the experience lasting a leisurely two hours, I didn’t need to eat again for most of the day.
But I’ve got to agree with social media reviews – The Regency Cafe is surely London’s best fry-up.
While the eggs were the slightly let down, I was seriously impressed with how well cooked the bacon and sausages were.
And at £10 it’s fantastic value for money – so with the alternative being a £120 pricetag? I’ll stick with the greasy spoon, thanks.