American-British all-day breakfast£8-18sohoMon-Fri 07:30-23:00, Sat-Sun 08:00-23:00Walk-in only
Jonathan Arana-Morton and Allan Howe's American-style brunch counter on D'Arblay Street in Soho London, opened 2005, runs pancakes, eggs and a famous Mavericks burrito.
Order: Pancake stack with bacon and maple
Tip: Walk-in only. Weekday at 09:00 walks in; weekends queue 45-60 minutes. The Spitalfields and Hoxton siblings have shorter queues.
French brasserie brunch£15-30covent-gardenMon-Sat 07:30-23:00, Sun 08:00-23:00Tables book a week ahead
Keith McNally's London Balthazar in Covent Garden, opened 2013 as a sibling to the SoHo NY brasserie, runs a New York-leaning French brunch menu in a sprawling dining room.
Order: Steak frites and a glass of Sancerre
Tip: Booking essential for Sundays. The 10:30 weekday brunch is the easy slot. The pastry counter at the front takes walk-ups.
Antipodean all-day brunch£12-22kings-crossMon-Fri 07:30-22:30, Sat-Sun 08:30-22:30Tables book via Resy
Caravan's flagship dining room at Granary Square in King's Cross London, opened 2012, runs an Antipodean all-day brunch and in-house coffee roastery, the city's pioneer of the format.
Order: Smashed avocado on rye, plus a flat white from the in-house roastery
Tip: Outdoor terrace seats fill the canalside in summer. Closed half an hour 16:00-16:30 between brunch and dinner sittings.
Australian all-day brunch£12-25notting-hill-bayswaterDaily 07:00-22:00Walk-in only
Bill Granger's Australian brunch room on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill London, opened 2011, runs ricotta hotcakes and brown rice porridge from breakfast through dinner.
Order: Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter
Tip: Walk-in only. Sunday queue runs 60 minutes; weekday breakfast walks in. Closed half an hour 16:00-16:30 for staff service change.
European brasserie breakfast and brunch£18-35mayfairMon-Fri 07:00-12:00, Sat-Sun 08:00-11:30 (brunch)Tables book 4 weeks ahead
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's grand European brasserie on Piccadilly in London, opened 2003, runs the city's most-traditional power-breakfast crowd from 07:00 to 12:00 weekdays.
Order: Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, plus a flat white
Tip: Weekday breakfast at 07:30 is the easy slot. The weekend full English at £24 is the marquee brunch order.
Indian breakfast and Parsi cafe brunch£5-15shoreditchDaily 08:00-11:45 (breakfast menu)Walk-in only for breakfast
Dishoom's Boundary Street Shoreditch dining room in London, opened 2012, serves the brand-defining bacon naan roll, sausage naan and Bombay omelette at the morning breakfast menu.
Order: Bacon naan roll and a chai
Tip: Walk-in until 11:45 Mon-Fri. Weekend breakfast queues run 30 minutes; weekday at 09:00 walks in. Chai is unlimited refill.