Friday 23 April 2010

Caravan

There's a band wagon, I'm on it. Everyone hearts Caravan, I've not read 1 bad review so I pretty much knew I would love it.

Last weekend, accompanied by the girls, I brunched and it was honestly one of the best brunches I can ever remember having. No queue, we breezed in and were seated following a mere 10 minute wait at the bar.

I like everything about it here, the space, the low key decor, the friendly servers and obviously the food.

As important a brunch fixture as the food itself, for me, is a bloody mary. Caravan's version surprised me at first with the inclusion of coriander. It took me 3 sips to decide that I liked it, so fresh with just the right amount of spice.


I settled on the baked eggs with chorizo which was quite marvellous. I adored it and ate every last drop. One slight niggle, it doesn't come with bread, in my opinion this is a vital component of any dish that includes perfectly runny egg yolks and a peppery tomato sauce. I ordered a side of toasted sourdough which did the job. The sauce was rich and sweet whilst the chorizo provided a lovely smoky meaty contrast, all tempered by a dollop of creamy yoghurt. I've found myself thinking about this dish at least once a day since my visit, I need to have it again.


Noy went for the grilled ham, bubble and squeak with 2 poached eggs and hollandaise. We unanimously agreed that the bubble seemed to be lacking some squeak, it was more of a potato cake but everything else about the dish was great. Nibs had the full Caravan fry up, mainly because she wanted mushrooms and this too got the thumbs up.


We all loved it, it's such a rarity to be quite so stumped when it comes to ordering, I found it really tough deciding what to eat, I'll be back often to try everything else but I'll be hard pushed to find anything better than those baked eggs. I didn't have one but I hear they do amazing coffee, and they also serve freshly squeezed fruit juices. I will say I noticed the absence of sausage on the menu, I do love a sausage with my brunch but the chorizo is an adequate stand in.

Cost around £17.50 each with a drink and service, a bargain to boot.

Caravan
Exmouth Market
EC1R 4QD
9/10

Caravan on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks great - not only are all the critics and blogs raving about it but also my friends who live in the area - the question is whether it will be impossible to get a table now

Dan said...

I've been meaning to try Caravan for brunch, and reading your post Boo - I have to get in there now. Though, as Gourmet Chick says - bet its almost impossible to get a table on the weekend now.

Boo said...

Yeah - it seems pretty busy everytime I walk by now. I've not actually been back since but am contemplating this weekend. I think the trick is to arrive late. Thet serve brunch until 4

Tim 31.75 said...

We had exactly the same dishes - and liked it equally as much. Totally agree on the bread thing though - it should be part of the dish. Where else is good for brunch in London?