Australian chef Bill Granger’s first London outpost consistently has queues lining the smart fashion boutiques of Westbourne Grove (if Notting Hill is out of the way, the Clerkenwell and Kings Cross restaurants are rated just as highly). Cloud-like scrambled eggs are served on hunks of sourdough and the coffee is as good as you’d expect from a Melbourne native. Toasted brioche is served with labneh, pistachio, and raspberry jam, but it’s the ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter that really draws the crowd.

An offshoot of the iconic West End celebrity haunt, the Ivy Chelsea Garden is the prettier and altogether more relaxed younger sibling. People come for the pots and pergolas, the tinkling water features, and the antiqued mirrors peeping out from behind climbing roses. They stay for the oak-smoked salmon Eggs Royale, Marmite-buttered crumpets, and silver pots of coffee which can easily segue into the — really rather large — bottles of rosé. There is also the chance you’ll spy a member of the royal family. Book well ahead.

'80s-inspired diner the Breakfast Club serves its breakfast menu, milkshakes included, until 5 p.m. every day. Even dinner features classic pancake stacks while a take on the full English is called the Full Monty. What sets the leafy Battersea branch ahead of the four other London spots is a speakeasy bar — the King of Ladies Man — located, Russian doll-style, through a hidden wall at the back of the restaurant’s fake launderette.

Named after its address on a road known for hosting the finest men’s tailors in the city, 45 Jermyn St backs on to the bastion of department store tradition, Fortnum & Mason. The restaurant serves a selection of Fortnum’s famous teas and coffees, and there’s a stiff morning cocktail list as well as smoothies made from kale, chia seed, and turmeric. A breakfast of crushed avocado on toast with bloody mary sauce or a potato and Spanish ham hock hash with a giant fried duck egg should be followed by a day in the shops.

Israeli-born British super chef and best-selling cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern-infused home cooking gets a sophisticated twist at his white-tiled Soho joint. Cold-pressed juices have a ginger kick and french toast is topped with star anise sugar. Try the shakshuka, a scorching skillet of eggs baked in a picante tomato sauce with smoked labneh, or go for coconut black rice pudding with mango.

Neal’s Yard in London’s Covent Garden hides a host of health food shops and the best cheese in town, at Neal’s Yard Dairy. But for British porridge reimagined, head to this Scandinavian-style courtyard café. Typical offerings include a hazelnut concoction made with almond milk, apple, and cinnamon coconut palm sugar or Nordic pear porridge cooked using coconut milk, just-picked pears, a sprinkle of seeds, and cacao crumble.

On weekends, the bar at Bourne & Hollingsworth brims with jugs of extra spicy bloody marys. Tucked behind the cool food hub Exmouth Market, this all-day brasserie has the feel of a private member’s club with plenty of nooks; book a table in the greenhouse and slouch back in the palm-print arm chairs below a sea of hanging plants. Posh scones are served with banana and caramelized nuts or clotted cream and fresh berries, or splash out on the Lobster Royale — a whole grilled lobster tail, spinach, and hollandaise sauce.

Kiwi coffee roasters Caravan have opened a third spot on the ground floor of the old Metal Box Factory near the Tate Modern. The list of artisan coffees is long, but there’s also a salt caramel hot chocolate for those avoiding caffeine. Caravan takes its food as seriously as its coffee dishing up eggplant puree with preserved lemon gremolata, merguez sausages, Greek yogurt, and flatbread and a jalapeño corn bread served with frijoles negros, chipotle avocado, and lime. If you’ve got room, don’t miss out on the date and tamarind muffin.

A photo posted by Jaclyn Chua (@lingggggchua) on Dec 4, 2016 at 8:11am PST

London’s loftiest breakfast can be found on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower with the views to prove it. Duck, of course, is the thing — decadently served confit and crispy with waffles and a mustard maple syrup. For something even sweeter, sip on a mimosa and opt for the "Full Elvis:" Belgian waffles, topped with brûléed bananas, peanut butter, and jelly. Traditionalists will be happy with just-baked pastries and bright orange boiled eggs with toasted soldiers.

Award-winning chef Martin Morales of Ceviche runs the show at this Peruvian restaurant, serving up a rainbow of superfood smoothies. There’s a quinoa and kiwicha granola served with lúcuma puree. And hot options include the chicharrón sandwich: meltingly-soft pieces of confit pork belly piled high in a sweet brioche bun served with camote (sweet potato) ketchup. Pancakes are also made with camote, and stacked with spiced chancaca honey and coconut cream.

Legendary British chef Fergus Henderson's essential Spitalfields café serves the best bacon sandwich in London. There’s also a simple perfection in sitting down to a breakfast menu that encourages you to share a spread of ham, eggs, and fried bread with your morning espresso before you venture into the Spitalfields market. On your way out, check whether you can get some of the famous custard-filled doughnuts to take away.