The best brunch in Camden
Eggs Royale for £19 on Regent’s Park Road, a vegan breakfast four minutes from Camden Town station, a Kentish Town café that went fully plant-based in 2017 and a roastery inside the market. Where to brunch in NW1 and NW5.
By Only Camden Editorial
Brunch in Camden means walking ten minutes away from the market. The best of it is on Regent’s Park Road in Primrose Hill, NW1, where Greenberry serves from 09:00 every day, and up in Kentish Town, NW5, where the cafés open early and charge less. Here is where to go, what it costs and when to get there.
Greenberry Cafe, Regent’s Park Road
Daily from 09:00, brunch until 15:00. Mains £11 to £19. Greenberry at 101 Regent’s Park Road is the Primrose Hill brunch everyone else is measured against. The weekend menu on its site runs on Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 15:00:
- Scrambled eggs on sourdough, £11
- Eggs Benedict or Florentine, £17; eggs Royale, £19
- Shakshuka with harissa yoghurt, £17, plus £4 for feta
- The Greenberry Breakfast, with two eggs, Barrett’s sausage, streaky bacon, mushrooms, tomato and sourdough, £18.50
- Fluffy pancake with berries and maple syrup, £16
- Homemade granola with Greek yoghurt and Peter’s Kilburn honey, £9.50
Our order is the waffle with maple-glazed bacon, poached eggs and avocado at £19, and a walk up Primrose Hill afterwards to deal with it. Gluten-free bread is available, there is a kids’ menu, and you can book online. Weekday brunch runs 09:00 to 15:00 too.
Mildreds, Jamestown Road
Saturday and Sunday from 10:00. Mildreds has been doing vegan food in London since 1988, and its Camden branch at 9 Jamestown Road, NW1, is four minutes from Camden Town station. At weekends it opens at 10:00 and serves from breakfast all the way through to the main menu, with a separate dessert list that includes the famous vegan tiramisu. On weekdays it opens at 12:00, so this is a weekend brunch. It is dog-friendly, has outdoor seating and step-free access, and there is a kids’ menu. Hours and menus are on its Camden page.
The Fields Beneath, Kentish Town West
From 07:30 on weekdays, 08:00 on Saturday, 09:00 on Sunday. The Fields Beneath at 52a Prince of Wales Road, NW5, opened in 2012 and dropped all animal products from its menu in 2017. Its coffee is sourced directly from Costa Rica, through what the café calls a friend of a friend, and most of the food is made from scratch. It closes at 16:00 most days and 17:00 on Saturday, so this is a proper morning spot. See thefieldsbeneath.com. It is a short walk from Kentish Town West station on the Overground.
Ripe Kitchen, Primrose Hill
Ripe has been serving coffee, tea and brunch in Primrose Hill since 2014, and it does cocktails too, so brunch can turn into lunch. The bread takes 48 hours to rise, according to Ripe’s site, which tells you how seriously they take it. There is click and collect if you want to skip the queue and eat on the hill.
Camden Coffee Roastery, Hawley Wharf
Weekdays from 07:00, Sunday from 08:00. The one good early start inside Camden Market. Camden Coffee Roastery at 12 Castlehaven Road, NW1, is a coffee, brunch and bakery spot with its roaster on show. It opens at 07:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 on Sunday, closing at 18:00, or 19:00 on Friday and Saturday. Get here before the market fills up and you can have breakfast by the canal in peace.
Kossoffs, Kentish Town Road
If brunch for you means a pastry and a good sandwich rather than eggs Royale, Kossoffs at 259 Kentish Town Road, NW5, is an artisan bakery that makes its bread, pastries, salads and sandwiches fresh on site, with baristas behind the counter. It is the cheapest good brunch on this list, and the loaf you take home sorts tomorrow’s breakfast too.
Walk it off
From Greenberry or Ripe, the top of Primrose Hill is a few minutes’ climb. The Royal Parks puts the summit at almost 63 metres above sea level, and it is one of London’s six protected viewpoints, with the trees kept low so nothing blocks the skyline. In winter, the Royal Parks says, you can see Hampstead from the top.
Panadera, Kentish Town Road
For something different, Panadera at 83 Kentish Town Road, NW1, is a Filipino bakery. Hot Dinners rates its corned beef hash sando, its panko chicken sando and its Filipino milk buns. It is a brunch you eat with your hands.
Our tips
- Book Greenberry at weekends. Walk-ins on a Saturday at 10:30 is wishful thinking.
- Vegan group? Mildreds at 10:00 on a Saturday is the easiest table in town for mixed diets.
- Early risers: The Fields Beneath at 07:30 or the roastery at 07:00.
- Pair it with a walk: Primrose Hill from Regent’s Park Road, or the canal from Hawley Wharf.
