Drayton Road Cafe - Norwich

85-87 Drayton Road

Norwich

NR3 2DN

Breakfast served all day

Monday to Sunday

7am till 3pm

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I was last here in November 2011, there were new owners now though so I decided to revisit once again for breakfast.

 

This seemed like a pretty good deal.

The only menu here is above the counter on a blackboard, it offers a good selection of reasonably priced breakfasts which include a hot drink. Extras are available too as well as a selection of breakfast baps, no vegetarian breakfast though.

 

Reasonably priced Yorkies and there's free wifi.

 

Although the cafe looks quite small from the outside there's plenty of space inside.

 

A London theme features throughout the cafe.

 

Decent sauces and salt & pepper can be found on a table beside the counter, just help yourself.

 

The coffee came with the breakfast, I loved the mugs!

 

A thick slice of toast also came with the breakfast.

 

The full monty cost £7 and arrived nicely presented on a large oval plate.

 

A quality sausage is a must for me, sadly economy sausages are served here.

 

They did have a reasonably firm texture though and tasted ok.

 

3 slices of fairly nice bacon.

 

Tinned tomatoes were a welcome sight, the fried bread was excellent and something was hiding underneath it.

 

A quarter pound burger! Not often found on a breakfast but I rather enjoyed it.

 

A nice pair of fried eggs.

 

 The runny yolks were perfect to dip the toast into.

Many may gasp in disbelief, I think eggs and beans compliment each other beautifully though.

 

I wasn't too keen on the mushrooms but the bubble and squeak was a nice touch.

 

I prefer them much stodgier but the beans were nice and hot.

Over five years have passed since I first visited Drayton Road Cafe in Norwich, you can read my 2011 review here. The comments on the 2011 review divided opinions of the cafe and hearing it had been taken over by new owners made it clear I needed to revisit and write a fresh review. This was something I didn't get around to doing as soon as I'd planned, thankfully though Adam Pinnock's regular reminders to do so on my facebook page finally paid off. The Easter Bank Holiday was over but I still had one more day of work, I decided to make good use of it and made my way towards Drayton Road... 

Upon entering - The cafe may look quite small from the outside but looks can be deceiving as once inside you realise just how big this place is. There are lots of tables to choice from and a quite traditional feel to this cafe with a distinct London theme going on. In the corner is the counter with a large breakfast menu overhead, beyond this is the kitchen. Choose what you'd like from the menu, place your order and pay at the counter. There's a small table beside the counter where you collect cutlery and sauces, the food is brought over when it's ready. There's free wifi here which kept me entertained whilst drinking my coffee, the code is by the counter. The radio was on in the background at just the right volume, I found this place quite relaxing. 8/10

Service - The staff seemed friendly and made me feel welcome as soon as I walked in. I was given the choice of hash browns or bubble & squeak and tea or coffee when placing my order. I sat down and realised the wifi had a password, the chap in the kitchen was able to help though pointing out the code beside the counter. I didn't have to wait for very long at all until the food arrived at the table. 7/10

Contents - 2 sausages, 3 bacon, 1 burger, 2 fried eggs, fried bread, mushrooms, beans, tinned tomatoes, bubble & squeak, 1 slice of toast and a coffee. 9/10

Presentation - The full monty was served very neatly on a large oval plate with the toast served on a side plate. I'm quite happy if my eggs and beans touch but it's a well known fact that a huge majority of people can't bear it. Drayton Road Cafe are clearly aware of this issue and separate the two very effectively using the sausages. The burger hiding underneath the fried bread was a nice surprise and the eggs were looking really good. 9/10

The food - Last time I was here I was served butchers sausages, sadly the new owners are now serving economy sausages. They were nicely cooked, didn't taste too bad and had a firmer texture than I was expecting but for me an economy sausage is always a disappointment. The bacon seemed quite nice though, I popped it between the toast with a squirt of ketchup. I would have preferred to see a slice of black pudding instead of a burger, that said though I did quite enjoy it. The bubble and squeak was crispy with a very smooth texture inside, a nice flavour though and an excellent alternative to hash browns. I wasn't too keen on the mushrooms, they were really dark in colour and didn't look fried. I loved the fried bread, an entire slice served golden and crispy but not holding too much oil. The beans were served in quite a lot of juice, nice and hot though. I was delighted that they served tinned tomatoes here, intact without excess juice which was spot on as they contain just the right amount of juice inside. 7/10

Value for money - The Full Monty cost £7 and included toast and a hot drink, I enjoyed it and felt it was good value for money. I didn't feel hungry again until the evening so it kept me going all day. 7/10

Veggie option - No.

Overall - Five years on from my first visit and Drayton Road Cafe is still going strong, a steady flow of customers came in whilst I was there so it's clearly a popular choice. The food was nice but I felt the breakfast was slightly let down by the mushrooms and use of economy sausages. I also think black pudding would have been a far better choice than the burger. It was nice to be served fried bread, tinned tomatoes and bubble & squeak though. If you haven't eaten here yet it's definitely worth a visit. 8/10