We try a Cruffin at the beautiful Richoux on Piccadilly
If you live for the weekends, then start them off the right way with breakfast at the classically beautiful Richoux on Piccadilly.
This is a place that caters for your hangover with some seriously indulgent comfort food, then gets the party started again with a selection of excellent hair-of-the-dog breakfast cocktails.
Please do not visit here without trying the Breakfast Bun. It is a beauty. Two wedges of fluffy, soft potato bread filled with scrambled egg, melted cheese and sriracha mayo for a little bit of kick. We added slices of smoky salted bacon too and what arrived was so insanely tasty it was the ultimate carb and protein, morning-after dish of your dreams.
The cocktail list is concise, precise and inventive. I began with a Terre, believing the blend of tequila, chartreuse, pink grapefruit and Mediterranean tonic would be just the pep I needed at 10am. I was entirely correct.
For those more interested in the caffeine, Richoux’s Café cocktail is a take on the Espresso Martini, with an added dash of Cointreau and some chocolate bitters.
There are the breakfast classics of smashed avocado on sourdough, the full English and a generously decadent eggs benedict, shiny with bright hollandaise over a perfectly poached egg and butter-soft bun. The portions are ample but if you can, leave some space for the Cruffin, the up-and-coming cousin of the Cronut.
The cruffin, which you may have guessed, is the fluffy, flaky love child of a croissant and a muffin. Layers of croissant style pastry encasing a range of flavours from strawberry to chocolate to passion fruit. At this point we were in for a penny, in for a pound and voted for the salted caramel option. An absolute winner for the sweet toothed.
Sophisticated and elegant, if you have just crawled here from a night out in Soho to stuff yourself with carbs, Richoux is so delightful you are going to feel classy while you do it.
Wines of the week
Lalomba Finca Lilande Rosado 2021, £23.50, Great Wine Co.
A superb rosé of 90% Garnacha, my personal first choice for a juicy, fresh rosé wine. Made with incredible care, this wine is elegant, bone-dry and full of fresh, fruity flavour. Serve it chilled and make the most of the end of the Summer.
The Captain Reserve Pinot Noir 2018, £81.68, Armit Wines
Oh Captain, my Captain! This is a wine to steal your heart. From California’s Santa Maria Valley and one of the oldest cool-climate vineyards in the area, this wine just keeps giving. Delicious layers keep unfolding and developing as you sip.
Beaujolais Fleurie Henry Fessy Le Pavillon 2018, £11.99, Waitrose
Offering serious value for money, this Fleurie is a real beauty. Personally, I would lightly chill this to bring forward its bright, fresh flavours of tart cherry, rose petals and ripe raspberries. Smooth and refined, it is the perfect red for a hot summer’s day.
Journey’s End MCC Brut Reserve, £20.50, Noble Green Wines
The first sparkling to be created by this award-winning and prolific South African producer. Made in the same way as Champagne and with the same grapes (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) this is fresh and zesty with lively bubbles and hints of brioche.
Glenwood, Grand Duc Chardonnay 2020, £44, RAKQ
Phenomenal. This wine made me sit up and take notice with its full, rich palate of ripe stone fruit, vanilla blossom and butterscotch. A fine, pure acidity lifts the wine throughout and makes it ideal with roast chicken or buttery grilled prawns.