London's Best Crumpets

By Londonist Last edited 53 months ago
London's Best Crumpets

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Looking to eat crumpets in London? We have just the list for you
Hot, buttery crumpets. Photo by Diane Duane on Flickr.

A quintessential British teatime treat is due a comeback: the humble crumpet. Top your hot, steaming mound of battered fluffiness with jam, marmite, cheese or just slowly melting butter — it's hard to go wrong. Whatever your choice, the soothing power of the crumpet cannot be underestimated.

The bad news is, they’re anything but simple to make yourself; we take our hat off to anyone who can get bubbles in theirs to rival Mr Warburton’s. Nothing beats homemade though, and we’ve managed to track down a few choice London hotspots to indulge in a nice bit of crumpet.

Sourdough Crumpets at Good and Proper Tea, Clerkenwell

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If you try just one crumpet on this list (although we urge you to stuff your face with as many as you can), then make it the scrumptious offerings at this Clerkenwell tea bar. Founder Emilie Holmes crowdfunded her way to this lovely flagship cafe, as well as a roaming van that regularly pops up around south London. Single origin teas, sourced from around the world and brewed with love, are the name of the game. But what's a great cuppa without a classic crumpet?

There are seven to choose from here. Homemade, square sourdough beauties topped with the likes of raspberry jam, marmite rarebit or classic butter and salt. There's even a monthly-changing crumpet collaboration with a local foodie, so you need never cram the same crumpet twice. They’re light yet filling — just the ticket on a dreary London morning.

Good and Proper Tea, 96A Leather Lane, EC1N 7TX

Classic Crumpets at Ask for Janice, Farringdon

Ask for Janice is home to some of the finest crumpets to eat in London
The crumpets at Ask for Janice

If you’re breakfasting in Farringdon, get yourself down to quirky little café, Ask For Janice. They say their famous crumpets took months to perfect, and now that they’ve got the recipe down, they make them fresh every day.

The big, fluffy pillows of crumpety fun are sliced in half and topped with butter, salt and slathered in your choice of house jams. But that’s all they're willing to give away recipe-wise. Once there was an actual auction for the last few left on the counter, so get a wriggle on if you want to a piece of the action. They sell out fast, but Ask for Janice has enough hash browns, buttermilk pancakes and sweetcorn fritters to keep you sated if you do rock up too late.

Ask for Janice, 50-52 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ

Crab Crumpets at Cornerstone, Hackney Wick

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Take an award-winning young chef, a much-heralded new restaurant and its signature dish — what do you get? A knockout crumpet, that's what. Chef Tom Brown dishes up superb fishy feasts from east London's Cornerstone and praise be, because the crumpet gets a deliciously crabby look-in.

They're not content with simply piling the enormous, homemade crumpet high with sweet, brown crabmeat. Oh no, because the final piece to the puzzle is a deeply savoury rarebit sauce, nutty with aged cheddar and tangy with Worcestershire sauce, slathered on top. It's as indulgent as comfort food gets.

Cornerstone, 3 Prince Edward Road, E9 5LX

Savoury 'n' Sweet Crumpets at Bluebird Cafe, White City

The Chelsea outpost of this airy, all-day eatery has long been the stomping ground of south-west London's hob-nobbing elite. But now Bluebird Cafe has a second venue in west London and it's worth writing home about. Why? You guessed it, crumpets.

Okay, it might be stylish decor and decadent mains that first lure you into their weekend brunch menu, but you'll stay for the baked goods. Devour your crumpet drizzled with peanut butter and honey or topped with crispy bacon and lashings of maple syrup. They're a sweet-versus-savoury masterclasses where there's only one winner. You.

Bluebird Cafe, 2 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7RF

Loaded Crumpets at Dirty Bones, various

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Traditionalists, look away now, because Dirty Bones is doing something unheard of to your conventional crumpets. During brunch, you can wrap your gums around a trio of toasted crumpets loaded with all manner of unexpected accompaniments.

For the veggies there's the avocado and garlic mash, topped with a quivering poached egg and spicy sriracha sauce. Or you can opt for the salmon, a rather delicious take on Eggs Royale where the usual muffin is superseded for a pair of crumpets instead. But, for the big daddy of crumpet craft, it has to be the 12-hour slow-cooked braised beef rib topping. Dirty, indeed.

Dirty Bones has restaurants in Soho, Carnaby, Kensington and Shoreditch

No-Frills Crumpets at The Muffin Man Tea Shop, Kensington

Located right around the corner from some of London's best-loved museums, this South Kensington tea shop does a roaring trade, mopping up visiting tourists looking for a quaint slice of British tea time. And although the delicate sarnies, homemade scones and breakfast pastries are hard to resist, we urge restraint, for there are crumpets on the menu.

And not just any crumpets — two hot, buttered, toasted crumpets for £1.65. Rejoice! Washed down with a steaming pot of tea there's no finer way to toast your smugness at having found this snack-tastic spot.

The Muffin Man Tea Shop, 12 Wrights Lane, W8 6TA.

Posh Crumpets at ROVI, Fitzrovia

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While the breakfast crumpet with swiss chard and poached egg is sure to put a smile on your face at this Ottolenghi restaurant, it's the lobster crumpet on the main menu that's really knock-your-socks-off good. That's right. Lobster. Crumpet. You'll find half the 90-seater restaurant is probably tucking into one of these bad boys.

It's a rockstar take on the classic prawn toast from your local takeaway. Light-as-a-feather crumpet, weighed down with tender lobster meat, crunchy with sesame seeds and served alongside a zingy kumquat and chilli dipping sauce. Genius.

ROVI, 59 Wells Street, W1A 3AE

Cosy Crumpets at Dean Street Townhouse, Soho

A fireside pew at this bustling Soho dining destination is the picture-perfect spot for crumpet consumption, so we’ll excuse the fact ours were suspiciously uniform… No word from the kitchen as to their origins, but nobody can deny that these are perfectly good crumpets and a valid addition to the consistently good breakfast and afternoon tea menus at Dean Street.

Accompany yours with a range of high quality fruit preserves, or have them straight up with a Bucks Fizz. It’s one of the only places you can score this boozy breakfast item that early in the area, and we’re speaking from experience.

Dean Street Townhouse, 69-71 Dean Street, W1D 3SE

Based on original content by Joanne Gould. Follow her on Twitter.

Last Updated 30 October 2019

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