Mustard
IF OXFORD STREET has a single redeeming feature, I’ve yet to identify it. Styx-like, it bifurcates London, dividing the good stuff on one side from the good stuff on the other. Yet in and of itself, it’s dire: a heaving hellscape of traffic, chain-stores and dawdling out-of-towners unlikely ever to pick up this book. Assuming you can escape the centripetal force of that most monstrous thoroughfare, make for Mustard on the corner of Margaret Street and Regent Street, just above Oxford Circus. It’s a cheerful little café in which you can obtain the essentials of a top-notch breakfast for ludicrously low prices. The Full English, toast included, comes in at around £7. So does the vegetarian version, which doubles the amount of egg, and substitutes hash browns for the sausage and bacon. All manner of omelettes are available, as are pastries and porridge. Local workmen love it here, but so do the Ruperts, Toms and Henrys from Savills’ head office a few doors down.
If time really is of the essence, a £5 breakfast bap (egg, bacon and sausage, or egg, bacon and mushrooms) will be your friend. Mustard’s coffee is particularly well regarded by those who struggle to function without a shot of jet-fuel first thing in the morning.
See also: Regency Café, Paul Rothe & Son
