Earlham House Shops
Earlham Road
Norwich
NR2 3PD
Breakfast served all day
Monday to Saturday - 9am till 7pm
Sunday - 10am till 4pm
We hadn't planned on stopping here to eat but with breakfast being served all day we couldn't resist.
The large menu that once hung where the mirror is had been replaced by proper menus that are brought over to the table when you arrive, much better.
Meat lovers, Vegetarians and Vegans are all catered for here and the choice of breads on offer is impressive.
Plenty of extras available should you want more.
Everything you need is already on the table except for ketchup which is offered when the food arrives.
The breakfast looked great when it arrived!
Nicely cooked good quality bacon.
Really nice chipolatas and seasoned tomatoes.
The mushrooms here were very tasty and beautifully cooked.
I choose the potato and rosemary bread, delicious with real butter and topped with those fried eggs.
The eggs were nicely cooked with runny yolks.
My wife had the vegan breakfast, they'd run out of bubble cake so she had some spinach instead. She thoroughly enjoyed it and particularly liked the mushrooms and tomatoes, her favourite two foods.
I first visited The Green Grocers for breakfast back in April 2013 and wasn't overly impressed with the ordering process or the food. Since then though I've always heard positive things about The Green Grocers so decided a return visit was definitely needed. I happened to be walking past with my wife in the afternoon when we noticed they served breakfast all day, we couldn't resist so headed inside once again...
Upon entering - The cafe looks great inside with a good number of tables, each one already has serviettes, cutlery, salt and pepper on it. More tables can be found outside, these are under a covered walkway so you could happily enjoy a coffee out there, even on a wet day. Beside the cafe is the shop that sell an excellent selection of organic food and drink. On my last visit I found the ordering process in the cafe confusing so was delighted to find it had changed for the better. Once seated a menu is brought over and somebody takes your order, on the way out you pay at the till by the door, simple and easy! The cafe seemed quite noisy when it was busy, it certainly had character but I struggled to hold a conversation with my wife. 7/10
Service - All the tables were taken when we arrived, we were happy to sit by the window on stalls though where there was excellent light to take photos. The menus were brought over almost straight away but we waited a fairly long time for somebody to return again. Just as we were considering leaving somebody finally came over and took our order. We both ordered a breakfast and I ordered a cappuccino, the cappuccino never arrived but the food arrived in reasonable time. We were offered sauces and some ketchup arrived in a small pot, it used to be in bottles here but it's an excellent ketchup so you won't be disappointed. By the time I'd finished my breakfast I wasn't bothered about the missing cappuccino as I usually enjoy it prior to the breakfast arriving. We mentioned the missing drink as we paid at the end and was offered an apology. The staff were certainly friendly here and clearly very busy with the cafe at full capacity, I can only imagine I hadn't been heard when ordering the drink and I wasn't too bothered as the breakfast was all I was really interested in. 6/10
Contents - 2 chipolatas, 2 bacon, 2 fried eggs, 2 large mushrooms, tomato, beans and a slice of toast served with real butter (chose from 7 different types of bread!) 7/10
Presentation - Everything was nicely placed on the plate and looked delicious. 8/10
The food - The chipolata sausages and bacon were both excellent quality and very tasty. The fried eggs were a good pair with slightly crispy edges and nice runny yolks, decent free range eggs are used here and you can really taste the difference. The mushrooms and tomatoes were both seasoned and cooked beautifully and the beans were rich in flavour and served in a nice thick sauce. I loved the organic potato and rosemary bread, nice thick slices and delicious covered in real butter. I popped the eggs on top of both slices, the perfect combination! An incredibly tasty breakfast, a real pleasure to eat and the quality of the ingredients really stood out. 9/10
Value for money - The Norfolk breakfast cost £7.96, a fair price for this great breakfast. 7/10
Veggie option - Veggie sausage, free range eggs, roasted field mushroom, tomatoes, beans and organic toast & butter. £6.95
Vegan option - Vegan sausages, bubble cake, roasted field mushrooms, tomatoes, beans and organic toast. £6.95
Overall - The frustrating ordering process I'd encountered on my first visit has since been improved with the introduction of individual menus for each customer, much better! Definitely a thoroughly enjoyable breakfast and one that's created using locally sourced and very good quality ingredients. I loved the fact you could choose from 7 different types of bread and that the breakfast menu caters for vegans as well as vegetarians. I'm glad I returned again to discover this great breakfast, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. 7.5/10
Nice breakfast, and yes the different breads are a boon. Would have liked to see the bubble. Unlike you I wouldn't like those eggs at all, can't take any crispness at all. I even like the vegan version to be honest.
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