A bacon breakthrough at The Breakfast Club

The perfect slice of bacon. Find it here at The Breakfast Club!

I woke up last Sunday with a distinct and familiar craving. I needed a smoky, greasy, crispy treat, and I needed it right then and there. Bacon. Crispy bacon. And not the kind that Brits fry up and say is bacon, which is actually more like disappointing, fatty ham.

There’s nothing I love more than a weekend brunch complete with calorific, and necessary eats. Pancakes, hash browns, eggs, bacon, sausage and other unhealthy goodies are all part of my Sunday morning routine. I live for cheesy omelets and pancakes sprinkled with blueberries. Eggy French toast is one of my one true loves, and I believe there’s nothing more divine than bacon dripping with maple syrup, and greasy potatoes covered in sour cream and ketchup.

It has been a difficult road trying to find my ideal bacon in London. I search for the kind that is just the right amount of crisp and chew—leaving my tongue exploding with that familiar tang of savory goodness. I thought that my quest to find crispy bacon in London was going to be fruitless. I thought there was no hope of realizing my grease-infused dreams. Then I found my The Breakfast Club.

Hidden in Angel’s Camden Passage, The Breakfast Club has welcomed me into their home like a grandma would a shivering cocker-spaniel in the rain. And I don’t just enjoy it for its eighties-themed décor and clever play on words for its namesake. The food speaks for itself and I believe a teenage Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall would be impressed.

I’ve eaten various entrees at this place and waited in long queues to consume them. I think its popularity, and the fact that I will wait in a queue (my number one pet peeve) is a testament to how good this place really is. Some of my favorites include a twist on green eggs and ham with potato wedges and The All American—a fittingly monikered meal complete with a huge portion of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon (as crispy as you like) and sausage. I’ve also returned multiple times for their Jerusalem artichoke salad with goat cheese. Their hot cocoa concoction with marshmallows or their fresh-fruit smoothies make for the perfect wake-up-call after a long night.

The Breakfast club is like sitting and eating in the living room of a favorite English aunt who happens to collect 80’s memorabilia and has a penchant for kitsch, gingham tablecloths and eggs cooked a variety of ways. I have spent hours in this place nursing a fresh mint tea and eating cupcakes while surfing the (free) internet and pretending to do work, when in actuality, I’m Facebooking. I may have overstayed my welcome multiple times, but the wait staff has yet to act annoyed.

Even when that day comes, which it probably will, I’m still going to go back for the crispy bacon. It’s too rare a treat in this un-crispy city.