My favourite four breakfast and brunch spots in Norwich

It's been a while since I've posted about breakfasts so I thought I'd share my 2019 list of my four personal favourite places to go for breakfast or brunch in Norwich. These places are in alphabetical order as I can never decide on a favourite. All incredible places you really should visit in Norwich!

Artel
67 London Street
Norwich
NR2 1HL

Website
Instagram
Click here for the menu

Brunch served:

Mon-Fri 8am till 2pm

Sat 9am till 3pm

Sun 10am till 2pm 
 

Artel is a great space to relax in and is dog friendly too, the menus offer good vegetarian and vegan options along side the meat dishes. Every time I've been to Artel for brunch I've chosen the fried chicken as it's exceptionally good here. The current menu features Deep fried harissa-spiced chicken, lime avocado, red pepper sauce and maple syrup on a malt waffle, superb! I also highly recommend the Fried chicken sandwich (pictured above), between the toasted brioche bun you'll find Harissa fried chicken, smashed avocado, house slaw and a fried egg. As I'm writing this though I hear Artel are about to launch a new Autumn/Winter menu. It will feature a Weekday/Saturday brunch menu and a different Sunday menu which will include an Artel fry up. I'll report back on this once the new menu has been launched.

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The Ber Street Kitchen 
141-143 Ber Street
Norwich
NR1 3EY

Website
Instagram
Click here for the menu

Breakfast served:

Mon-Sat 8am till 2.30pm

Sun 9.30am till 11.30am

The Ber Street Kitchen has grown from strength to strength in it's first year to become an incredibly popular breakfast spot in NR1. On a recent visit I noticed how the Full English had been tweaked slightly and is now better than ever. The beans are now served on the plate due to popular demand and the breakfast also includes black pudding bon bons, these are so good! The meats served here are by Swannington Farm to Fork and if you're lucky you may even get served a double yolk egg. The menu also features a selection of hash dishes and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. There's a garden out the back and it's dog friendly too so be sure to give them a visit if you haven't already been. I also hear they serve the best Sunday roast in Norwich!

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Olives
40 Elm Hill
Norwich
NR3 1HG 

Website
Instagram
Click here for the menu

Breakfast served:

Tues-Fri 9am till 2.15pm
Sat 8am till 2.15pm

 

I've been talking about breakfast at Olives for many years now and it's often described as the best Full English breakfast in the country! The vegetarian and vegan breakfasts here are as creative as the meat version and there's a Gluten Free breakfast on the menu too. What makes this breakfast stand out from the others is the use of streaky bacon, a homemade bubble & squeak patty and it's distinctive presentation. The cafe is dog friendly and gets very busy so my advice is to arrive early if possible. I'd also advice ordering the exceptional black and white pudding by Fruit Pig Co, the best puddings out there in my opinion!

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Street Cafe
147 Magdalen Street
Norwich
NR3 1NF 

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Breakfast served:

Mon-Sat 8am till 3.30pm

Sun 9am till 1.30pm

The Street Cafe is my local and I've been coming here for many years now because the service is exceptional and their Full English breakfasts are out of this world! The menu features meat, vegan and vegetarian breakfasts in different sizes and there's even the option to build your own. The presentation is perfect every time and Andy cooks the best ever fried eggs which are locally sourced free range eggs from P J Southgate. Archers of Norwich supply the meats used on this breakfast (best sausages on the planet!) and the black and white pudding comes from Fruit Pig Co. The bread is from Ketts Hill Bakery and the beans by Heinz which makes up this magnificent breakfast. If you haven't been to the Street Cafe yet then I suggest you check it out as soon as possible, love this place!

Punk Rock Holiday Adventure - Chapter 2, Day 12

Further exploring Kastel Stari

It was our last full day in Kastel Stari, tomorrow we'd be flying out of Split back home again. We decided to take it easy again today and just further explore the local area. 

First of all breakfast though, a ham and cheese omelette. We requested butter for the bread but there wasn't any, instead we drizzled balsamic vinegar over it, delicious!

After breakfast we went for a long walk, exploring some of the back streets and alleys.

 

Along the back streets we passed a few tiny shops including this one selling fresh fruit. They also sold pastries so I bought one for later.

Very tempted to have a go but something else was on my mind.

I just had to eat that pastry I'd just bought, a delicious apple and blackberry strudel.

Back in the town square a small market had opened.

My wife bought this cake which looked really tasty. It was actually really dry and boring though, don't you just hate a cake disappointment!

There are a number of these towers to be found along the Kastel coastline.

Further along the coast in the opposite direction we noticed this funfair, it didn't look particularly appealing!

There was no sign of life here but I wasn't really feeling it anyway! 

It was definitely time for a much needed beer before heading back to the hotel to start packing our cases.

On the way back we passed this derelict house which had no front door, just had to take a look inside.

A lovely see view from this room!

This place had definitely been abandoned a long ago and as it was so light inside it didn't feel at all spooky.

Here's Ella!!

We decided to have lunch before packing our cases and took in a few more sights on the way to Konoba Intrada, where we'd eaten on the first night.

Ella ordered  two of her favourite things, mushrooms and a tomato salad. I went for a mixed grill consisting of beef steak, pork, sausage, cevapi, chips, ajvar and salad.

Using some bread I wasted no time in recreating the cevapi I'd eaten in zagreb, delicious!

With cases packed and the dread of the holiday being almost over I cracked open a grapefruit Radler. Ella in the meantime had gone to the sketch by the waters edge.

When I went to join Ella she had made a new friend.

Such a friendly cat who followed decided to follow us along the harbour. There seemed to be quite a lot of cats in Kastel Stari, all really friendly too.

The sun was starting to set so we climbed onto the harbour wall to watch it.

Such a huge anchor!

We both loved Kastel Stari, a lovely place to relax for a few days and somewhere I'd highly recommend visiting if you get the chance. I wasn't so keen on Split though, perhaps I was just too tired to appreciate it.

A final wander around the streets before heading back to get a good nights sleep. Luckily Split Airport is only 4km away and there's a regular bus service from here so getting there in the morning didn't take much effort at all.

Punk Rock Holiday Adventure in 2020 will feature Venice, Slovenia, Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes and Dubrovnik

Punk Rock Holiday Adventure - Chapter 2, Day 11

Taking it easy in Kastel Stari

Another glorious day in paradise as we walked a few meters from our room to the restaurant outside facing the sea for a spot of breakfast.

A simple but delicious breakfast today consisting of fresh bread, cheese and tomato.

And shortly after breakfast a strawberry and blue raspberry ice cream.

Our plan this morning was to spend some time in the water, the beach here gets busy quite quickly so getting here early had definitely paid off.

We considered hiring a pedalo with slide but decided not to in the end. Last time we'd hired one of these in Spain the novelty wore off really quickly.

This looked much more fun so we paid for an hour and swimmed over excitedly. I fucking hated it though, just trying to climb onto it was a complete nightmare and I cut my leg doing so. Ella definitely enjoyed it more than me, once I was on it there was no way I was getting off until it was time to swim back. I wandered around it for a bit resenting every inch of this inflatable beast. The kids seemed to love it though and didn't seem to have any real issues climbing back onto it!

I was much happier on dry land with an ice cold Ozujsko just watching the world go by.

As it turned out we spent hours here moving eventually onto cocktails and then back to beers. We bought so many the waiter ended up giving us a round on the house. Unlike the service we'd encountered in Split, here the locals were far more friendlier.

Feeling pretty drunk we went in search of food and Konoba Fara looked as good a place as any.

Ella ordered a mixed vegetarian meal, I forget what the centre piece was but a selection of grilled vegetables surrounded it.

I chose swordfish skewers, potato wedges and ajvar. Ajvar is made using red bell peppers and it tastes incredible, it can be used as a dip, a sauce or a spread. Although since getting back from Slovenia a friend gave me a jar and I ate it in one sitting straight out of the jar, it's that good I couldn't resist.

The night ended with a slightly drunken stagger back to our room stopping for mini doughnuts on the way.

Coming soon... Day 12 
Further exploring Kastel Stari

Punk Rock Holiday Adventure - Chapter 2, Day 10

Arriving in Split and Kastel Stari

Sleeping on the night train wasn't something I thought I'd manage to do but the sound of the train clunking along the tracks was incredibly relaxing and sleep did happen! I do recall waking up to the train stopping for sometime and hearing dogs barking as guards examined underneath the train, not sure what that was all about though! The cool air blew onto my face from the open window and eventually I woke once again and pulled the curtain back to be greeted by the sun appearing over the mountains. I woke Ella up and we watched the most beautiful sunrise as we passed through mountainous terrain on the outskirts of Split.

The train slowly crawled up the mountainside for a good hour until eventually it reached flatter terrain.

As the Split coastline came into sight the train gathered speed again on the final descent. I would highly recommend the night train to Split, hands down the highlight of the entire trip!

With our cases stored in luggage lockers we left the station and stopped at the first cafe we saw for some breakfast. I hadn't come to Croatia to eat full English breakfasts but this morning I was really craving one. What arrived was more like a full English salad but it tasted great and certainly set us up for the day. The best part was probably the freshly squeezed orange juice, so refreshing!

The train station in Split is right outside the port and a very touristy area lined with currency exchanges and restaurants. There's a toilet along here which you can pay to use, just be aware though that the attendant will rush to check down the toilet pan as soon as you leave the cubical!

Diocletian's Palace covers about half of the old town, it was built in the 4th century, took about 10 years to construct and in 1979 was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It's a stunning palace that's well worth checking out, it's also incredibly touristy though with souvenir stalls everywhere. 

I was feeling hot and despite getting some sleep on the night train I was feeling incredibly tired. My wife went to explore a park whilst I tried to stay cool in the shade. I wasn't finding the locals to be particularly friendly, one waitress tutted and rolled her eyes as we ordered some coffees. 

We probably spent no more than 5 hours in Split before we'd seen enough. We collected our luggage and caught a bus to nearby Kastel Stari where we'd be spending the next 3 nights.

Kastel Stari was beautiful! Lots of stunning buildings with a network of alleyways connecting the streets together. We fell in love with this place as soon as we arrived.

We'd booked our accommodation through Air BnB and managed to find a lovely double room beside the sea with it's own terrace for just £30 a night.

I was looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed again tonight!

The accommodation was well equipped and really quaint. For me though the best thing about this place was definitely the air con, much needed in this heat!

This was the view just 10 meters from our front door. There were lots of restaurants and bars along this stretch of the coast so no end of places to eat at.

A short walk away we found the beach where we discovered there were no jellyfish visible in the sea, a good job we'd bought our swimwear then.

It was time for a spot of lunch and this restaurant had been recommended by the owner of our Air BnB, so we decided to eat here.

It's not often you'll see me order a salad but I was really craving one. It was actually really nice to eat something that wasn't fried for a change! 

We took a walk along the coast after lunch and went for a quick dip in the sea. 

Then we spotted this derelict hotel, the third one I'd come across this year. We just had to take a little look inside Hotel Palace.

We only got as far as the main foyer and heard people upstairs so decided not to explore it any further today.

We hadn't really made any plans to do anything particular during our time in Kastel Stari except relax for a few days. We pondered over whether we could manage to do this or instead end hiking up a nearby mountain as we enjoyed a beer, only time would tell!

Later that evening we ordered gnocchi and salad and enjoyed it on the waters edge underneath the moonlight, magical!

Click here for Day 11
Taking it easy in Kastel Stari