If you live in London and you like to brunch there is no doubt you will have seen the beautiful looking pictures of brunch at Bourne & Hollingsworth. They offer a bottomless brunch at the weekend, which is always a winner and sometimes it can take weeks and weeks to get a table at a sociable time on a Saturday. So, you’d think all these ingredients would make brunch at Bourne & Hollingsworth very good. Unfortunately, we were left a little disappointed.
Located in the heart of Clerkenwell, the Bourne & Hollingsworth buildings are just a stones throw from the foodie hub that is Exmouth Market and perfectly located for a stroll along the Regents Canal. I was meeting up with two friends for brunch and we’d seen so many gorgeous looking photos of the building and the brunch we decided to book it up. Like I mentioned, you need to book in advance as it’s very popular. I think we booked a month in advance! And we still could only get 11am! You have your table for 1.5 hours only.
This is where I think many of the issues with our meal stemmed from. With only 1.5 hours everyone is rushing around from the minute you walk in. We were sat at our table and within about 2 minutes asked if we wanted to order. We did however order our drinks straight away knowing we were going for bottomless bellinis (£18) and bloody marys (£17).
We quickly made our orders after this. We all opted for the huevos benedictos with chorizo, avocado, béarnaise sauce, pico de gallo. At £9 we thought this was pretty good value. However, two plates came without the pico de gallo and the chorizo was super chewy. But there was some very good yolk porn!
The beautiful location soon makes you forget though. Seriously, I want to style my whole flat on this place! I am now on a mission to get more plants for my living room. We decided to share a little sweet treat and ordered a portion of french toast with bananas. And then our time was up.
Is brunch at Bourne & Hollingsworth worth it?
I’m not sure it is worth it. The food we were served was nothing special and didn’t even come with everything listed on the menu.
It’s hard to get the attention of staff when you want a top-up of your chosen drink. Not that I think you have to neck the drinks to get your moneys worth, but it should be easy to get a refill if you’d like one. I’m not a huge bloody mary fan so I didn’t order it, but my friend mentioned the jugs were very inconsistent even though she always asked for the same level of spice.
You can’t deny that the interior is beautiful. I mean #greenupyourgaff goals right there. But I think because it’s such a beautiful location to photograph a brunch, the food may have been forgotten a little.
I have heard it’s much better in the week though. Probably because it’s less busy. So I’d like to go back to see. Has anyone else found the brunch at Bourne & Hollingsworth a little disappointing?
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I agree, while it’s pretty inside most people I know have said the same thing about the food! I went for brunch and thought it was ok but not worth going out of your way for.
Yes, it’s so pretty inside, such a shame the food does not live up to the hype! I have heard the food it better midweek though.x
Oh gosh, everything looks so beautiful. I’m too intrigued not to give it a try!
It is so lovely inside! I would recommend trying it mid-week if you can or just be prepared for busy weekend service! I want all the plants!x
Yikes… does not sound like the best experience at all! I absolutely hate it when you just sit down and they ask you want you want straight away… um hello, I haven’t even had time to take off my coat, let alone read the menu!
Yeh, it was such a shame. I really wanted to love it. Just a bit meh. Though am tempted to go back for dinner maybe. It’s just so pretty inside!
Oh no, that’s such a shame. But so good to have an honest opinion, sounds like there are better places for bottomless brunch out there. Looking forward to reading more of your adventures.
I really wanted to love our brunch, but it just wasn’t that great. Yes, definitely there so many more bottomless brunches to try! Ah, thank you!
Oh how disappointing! I did see a good review from another blogger but this doesn’t sound good at all. It’s good to have an honest opinion 🙂
I recommend Percy and Founders! Not too busy at all, lovely food and good service.
I’ve seen such a mix a reviews from bloggers – I think I may have gone on a bad day. Want to go back and try dinner! Oh, I’ve not been to Percy and Founders – will definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! x
We had *such* high hopes for B&H too, but were just left a little meh…
It’s such a shame when that happens, isn’t it? Especially because it is such a beautiful location too! I’d like to go back and try the menu mid-week and see if it’s just a busy brunch thing. x
This is so disappointing but refreshing to read an honest review of the place! I’ve read so many people say how nice it is, it’s been on my list for ages, but seeing all the comments I think I’ll give it a miss!
Yeh, it seems I’m not the only one who has been disappointed with the brunch – I wanted to love it so much! Still love the interior though!