Steven B.
Yelp
It was my last day in London and I had not yet experienced the full traditional English breakfast.
In the early morning hours, I was able to find Polo Bar, which was conveniently located near the hotel I was staying.
The bottom level is an Italian bakery and while I was tempted to get a cannoli, I was here for breakfast.
Now if by some chance you, my reader, are unaware of the concept of the full English breakfast, let me explain.
The full English breakfast is a breakfast plate consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, fried tomato, bread, and mushrooms. Sounds like a typical breakfast right? Well, the stuff gets deeper. The last few items baked beans and black pudding, make this breakfast unique to the UK.
Once that plate was set down on the table I went straight for those baked beans. They are sweet and pretty much what I get from a can. Not necessarily a bad thing, but nothing unique here. Very simple molasses flavor. The beans are soft and break apart easily.
Now, bite into that bacon. This isn't typical bacon, but more like Canadian bacon or a slice of ham in terms of thickness. Lacks the crisp, slight char and gratuitous saltiness of the beloved American bacon. Rather, this bacon is mild, soft and chewy. I enjoyed pairing it with the beans as they compliment one another. Salty, sweet, chewy, fatty. It's a crowd-pleasing combination.
The sausage is a breakfast sausage so don't expect a juicy interior or satisfying snap. But it has a simple flavor profile, slightly grilled, greasy, savory and a little spicy. Also is a decent length, girth, and density, unlike other breakfast sausages that are mostly grease and filler.
Bread is very crisp and slightly blackened. Thorugh and deep buttering. Butter has a nice creamy and cultured taste. The mushrooms are sauteed and have a chewy texture. Tomato is partially cooked and has a nice balance between that raw acidic tang and roasted sweetness. Semi-melted texture with some juices pooling underneath.
Sunnyside up egg has a slightly rubbery white, but the yolk is is the perfect texture. Slightly thick and runny. I enjoyed coating the sausage in that runny egg yolk. But the egg does seem to be a cheaper egg as the white has a slightly rubbery quality. Either that or it was cooked too quickly...or maybe it was a lower end egg not given the love it needed to reach full sunnyside up potential.
I saved the best for last. Black pudding was the gem of the meal. Has a nice bready texture with a sage undertone. No, it doesn't taste like blood, but there is a distinctly savory quality here. Soft and moist with some solid bits of grain. I really enjoyed the complexity here. Furthermore, it doesn't need to be paired with anything to enhance flavor.
The full English breakfast does a good job of covering the food groups. The focus seems to be on savory and salty. Only sweetness comes from the beans, which is still kinda savory.
Each item by itself is simple, but together as a whole it is a satisfactory experience.