The Barge House Haggerston

Nestled along the banks of the quaintest little canal in De Beauvoir Town (West Haggerston), the Barge House is a real gem. I went along for brunch to try their now famous weekend brunch menu and found a quiet little spot that blew away my expectations with a creative, homemade flare that’s so often missing from London’s brunch spots.

The Barge House is just a few minutes from Haggerston overground in the old borough of De Beauvoir. De Beauvoir is a bit odd, with old grey council blocks a road over from streets filled with Victorian villas, and a canal striking through the middle that leads in one section all the way back to Canary Wharf, to Stratford on another, and Camden in the other direction. It’s delightful if a bit hit and miss, and there a few nice streets filled with mostly unpretentious little bars and restaurants. The Barge House though is right on the canal, with great waterside views from the al fresco seating.

I wanted the Hot Stuff Breakfast in Bed but they were out so I took the original Breakfast in Bed, which is basically a traditional English breakfast stuffed into a freshly baked sourdough loaf, while the hot stuff uses chorizo and peppers. It comes served with smoked bacon, sausage, tomatoes, leeks, oyster mushrooms, spinach, egg and cheese and is exactly how you would expect. Everything is cooked well, sausages sufficiently charred, spinach steamed, the bacon a little bit crispy, and the bread crispy on the outside and soft, rendered moist even, in the middle. Delicious but incredibly filling especially when paired with one of the signature Bloody Marys. One minor issue is that the dish is served with a normal knife, and it really does nothing to cut through the bread in the crispier sections. Ideally it’d be served with a serrated knife or a steak knife so one doesn’t have to saw through the bread like an oak. Otherwise it’s pretty good for a quick brunchtime workout.

The Barge House serves multiple varieties of Bloody Mary: the standard, a Chilli Mary, Rosemary Mary, Cucumber Mary, and a Reyka Mary. Each comes with the Barge House’s signature “TBH” Mary Mix. Out of the cucumber, the original, the Rosemary, and the Chilli, I preferred the chilli Mary that was a little bit hotter and uses an in-house infusion of chillies and vodka, though the infused rosemary version is just as good and better if you prefer less spice in your Mary!

Find the Barge House by walking along the canal just a few steps from Haggerston Overground.

The Barge House, 46a De Beauvoir Cres, De Beauvoir Town, London N1 5RY