Written by Martin Seymour | Editor, The Mayfair Foodie | About Me
It’s funny how tradition can dictate the weekly culinary calendar. Sunday roast, fish and chips on Friday, and more recently Saturday morning brunch have all cemented their place in the weekly culinary calendar. This particular week, I was ticking two of those boxes in one fell swoop. My ideal Saturday morning begins with a little lie-in and either James Martin or Matt Tebbutt for company — unusual, I know, but I genuinely can’t choose between them. After that, it’s either into the kitchen or out for brunch. This week it was the latter, at the ever-popular Riding House Cafe in Fitzrovia.
Another of life’s simple pleasures is walking, and on a glorious sunny April morning, the stroll from Waterloo gave me the chance to take in some of London’s finest sights — and, crucially, build up a proper appetite.
About Riding House Cafe
Riding House Cafe is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and in a city where restaurants come and go with alarming regularity, that longevity says something. The original opened in 2011 on Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia, the brainchild of restaurateur Adam White. The concept was simple but well-considered: a neighbourhood brasserie that felt as though it had always been there — established, warm, and without any of the pretension that so often accompanies a fashionable address. The formula clearly worked, because there are now two further outposts, in Bloomsbury’s Brunswick Centre and at Nova Victoria.
The philosophy, as Adam White describes it, is to create a place that feels like a club without the membership. International sharing plates, genuine hospitality, and a space that moves naturally with the rhythm of the day — from morning coffee to late-night cocktails.
The Interior
Walking in, it is immediately clear why Riding House has built such a loyal following. The space is split across several distinct areas — a bustling canteen feel near the open kitchen, a more relaxed lounge, and a long, handsome bar that draws the eye and anchors the room. The interior is a considered mix of reclaimed and bespoke pieces: mismatched antique furniture, salvaged oak panelling, and some rather eye-catching taxidermy that somehow manages to feel charming rather than eccentric. Large windows flood the space with natural light, and on a bright April morning, it felt exactly right for a leisurely brunch. For warmer days, there is also a heated terrace seating up to 50, though we were perfectly happy inside.
The atmosphere is lively without being loud, and the kind of place where you could easily linger for far longer than you intended.
The Menu
Brunch has always been at the heart of the Riding House story, and the Fitzrovia restaurant is particularly well known for it. The team still reserves space for walk-ins alongside reservations at weekends, which speaks well of them, though it does mean queues can form outside. Executive Chef Henry Omereye oversees the menus across all three sites, his cooking drawing on British ingredients and the bold flavours of his Caribbean heritage. The result is a brunch menu that balances classics done properly with some more playful additions.
The bedrock of any self-respecting brunch menu is a Full English, and Riding House does not disappoint on that front. The credentials are impressive: Old Spot sausage and St Ewe eggs — if a kitchen is sourcing that carefully, you can be confident the rest of the plate will follow suit. There is a veggie version too, for those so inclined.
Tempting as the Full English was, something else caught my eye — the CBA sandwich. The name gives nothing away, but the description more than made up for it: soft shell crab tempura served with Dingley Dell bacon, avocado, black garlic aioli and two slices of toasted brioche. It worked beautifully. I love all things crab, and the soft shell variety paired with salty bacon and creamy avocado was a genuinely excellent combination. The aioli, spread across the toasted brioche, provided exactly the sauce the dish needed. A very good choice for a Saturday morning.
My wife Leigh went for the Burgerdict — a dry-aged beef patty served with sliced tomato on a muffin, topped with hollandaise and a poached egg. No shrinking violet of a dish. I was, of course, obliged to sample it in the interests of the review — a technique that works every time — and the beef patty was excellent, working beautifully with the tomato and the richness of the poached egg. To share, we were recommended to try sticky ginger aubergine, which added another dimension to our brunch, it was a little fiery chap and had a nice kick to it.
We were very nearly done when the next table’s dessert arrived: the signature hot sticky toffee brioche doughnuts. Well, it was not really a dilemma — we ordered in a flash. Three mini doughnuts arrived with a sticky toffee dipping sauce and were dispatched almost as quickly. They are very good indeed.
Other highlights on the menu included deep-dish pancakes, several takes on eggs Benedict, truffle-chilli eggs with charred corn, and a lamb kofta dish thatcaught my eye. Lighter options are available for those trying to be sensible. As you can see, there is plenty of choice and more than enough to suit all tastes.
Drinks
We went classic brunch aperitifs: a very good Bloody Mary and a lychee and rose bellini. Both hit the mark. Riding House also offers a full wine, spirits and cocktails menu alongside beers, and it is good to see no- and low-alcohol options thoughtfully included for those who prefer them. Teas and coffees are well covered too, as you would hope at a place that opens at 7:30am on weekdays.
Conclusion
Fifteen years is a remarkable run for any London restaurant, and Riding House Cafe has earned every one of them. It has not survived by resting on its laurels — there is a genuine care here, from the thoughtfully designed spaces to the warmth of the service, and a kitchen that takes its food seriously without taking itself too seriously. For a Saturday morning brunch in Fitzrovia, it is very difficult to argue with.
Where to Find Riding House Cafe
Fitzrovia (Original): 43–51 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PQ
Bloomsbury: 1 Brunswick Centre, Bernard Street, London WC1N 1AF
Victoria: 8 Sir Simon Milton Square, London SW1E 5DJ
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 7:30 am – 11pm | Sunday 9 am – 8 pm
Website: riding.house
Instagram: @ridinghousecafes
