Brunch is a particular love of mine. Between the poached eggs at Brasenose brunch, the coconut pancakes at The Handle Bar Cafe, and huevos rancheros at the Oxford Brunch Bar, there is no shortage of weekend brunch options in Oxford. So when my boyfriend and I decided to have a quick brunch date at the Westgate, we decided to try The Breakfast Club. The place is a UK-wide chain, based on American breakfast and brunch food. Though we came for breakfast, there was a lunch menu that seemed to be decent as well.
The place was packed, and we were sat at a table with another couple; it wasn’t a bad environment. The peppy music was bright and breakfast-y, though the HP sauce and full English breakfast served as a reminder of what country we were in. I debated getting the avocado toast, but we eventually decided on eggs royale, blueberry and bacon pancakes, with some French toast sticks to share. Their raspberry maple syrup lemonade was intriguing, and I enjoyed the tanginess of the raspberry and lemon, though you couldn’t really taste the maple as much besides just sweetening the drink. The food took a while – about twenty-five to thirty minutes for it to arrive. I admit that they were busy, so it was just a little bit annoying. The food arrived all together, and it certainly looked good. The taste and texture was something different.
It is so easy to make pancakes too dry, and this place was no exception. The portions were fine, but there was not enough syrup to cover how dry and floury they were. The bacon was perfectly crunchy, and the blueberries helped add some flavor and add some moisture, but the bits without blueberries just tasted like I was eating flour even with butter and syrup added. The French toast (eggy bread for the Brits) was fine, but could do with a bit more even distribution of the egg and maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg to add some flavor besides sweetness. I found that £5.75 for a thick piece of toast cut into strips was definitely not worth it. The eggs royale, though a whopping £16.95, was not bad. The sourdough was high quality and perfectly toasted, and the egg was runny and seasoned well. The ratios of each ingredient were great, and they didn’t skimp out on the salmon. The hollandaise still was a bit lacking in something acidic.
Our biggest issue, though, was the price. Including the surprise 12.5% service charge, our breakfast was £50. I’m not kidding. My bank account will not recover. I wouldn’t spend that amount of money on a dinner, let alone a brunch, when BNC brunch is £5. Besides the eggs royale, which could theoretically be justified, the quality of the dish did not match the prices. Most independent brunch places are cheaper if not better tasting – the eggs royale at the Art Cafe are £3 less than here, and the bacon pancakes at the Oxford Brunch Bar a whopping £5 less. Skip this place and try them instead.
