I’m always on the lookout for new brunch spots.
There are a couple of local places near my house which Gary and I go back to time and time again, purely out of convenience. But when it comes to PROPER brunch, the kind where you’re not sure whether it’s lunch or breakfast, and you eat multiple courses, and drink bottomless drinks, and laugh with your girlfriends…
Well, then I’m aaaaall about the new experiences. Or at least, new-ish.
Señor Ceviche has been hanging out at Kingly Court for about three years now. They serve epic cocktails and delicious Peruvian-inspired dishes, and have been a favourite of mine for a long time. (In fact, they were one of my very first restaurant reviews!)
They’ve just opened another branch in Fitzrovia, so Milly and I popped in to try their brand-spanking-new brunch menu!
We kicked things off with drinks from the Boozy Brunch Club Menu. You get two hours of cocktails for £18, and we definitely got our money’s worth!
The staff were great at topping us up promptly, and what with our zingy Pisco Punch being so yummy… well we were definitely a bit tipsy by the end of the morning!
To line our bellies, we started with my absolute favourite dish from the original Señor Ceviche menu: the chifa chicharrones. Slabs of slow-cooked crispy pork belly, marinated in sweet soy sauce and served with a dollop of pretty peppers.
These have been my favourite ever since my very first visit to Señor Ceviche back in 2014.
Originally, they were tiny bite-size pieces (you can see the pic in my old review!), which made for crispier meat. These bigger lumps of meat are juicier, but a bit chewier too. The crackling on top was also not as crisp as I’d have liked.
Definitely still worth ordering, but maybe not quiiiiite as good as the original.
Obviously, you can’t go to Señor Ceviche without ordering the ceviche!
We plumped for the eponymous Señor Ceviche ceviche (“say ceviche again”), which is a medley of raw seabass and octopus, sweet potato puree, red onion and plantain.
The fish is cured in aji amarillo tiger’s milk, which is a Peruvian dressing made from lime juice, coriander, ginger, and spicy aji amarillo paste. It’s an important part of any ceviche, and this aji amarillo version is SO GOOD.
It’s kind of hard to explain the flavours, but it’s tangy and sharp, but also slightly creamy, and it just tastes so utterly yum.
We also loved the added crunch from the fried plantain crisps. Perfect for dipping in the leftover tiger’s milk!
Our lovely waiter was also VERY insistent that we should try the smoked haddock, and we didn’t have the heart to say no. Turns out it was the right decision to make, as it was the BEST thing we ate that day. Even better than the chifa chicharrones!
The smoked haddock is flakey and full of flavour. The pisco and aji amarillo butter sauce is INSANE, for all the right reasons. The quinoa muffins were crispy and delicious, if a little tough to cut through. And the purple potato crisps added the perfect bit of crunch.
Honestly, we were fighting over the last bites. It’s rich and indulgent, and I’d order this again in a heartbeat.
Thanks Mr Waiter Man!
For mains, Milly ordered the ith Peruvian sausage, fried duck egg & Señor’s hot sauce.
It’s almost like an upgraded full English breakfast! Goey egg, crispy sausage, and that lovely smooth spicy sauce… delicious.
But I think my breakfast was best!
The
burnt tomato salsa (the brown blobs), poached eggs, and yuzu truffle hollandaise.
My only (tiny) complaint was that I barely even noticed the burnt tomato salsa. It didn’t really have much flavour, and I could have done without it to be honest. But the hollandaise sauce totally made up for it! Rich from the truffle, citrussy from the yuzy, and utterly yum.
I have zero clue how to make hollandaise at home, but if I ever had a reason to learn: this would be it!
Honestly, I was so impressed. I’d looked at the brunch menu before we visited and wasn’t sure it could live up to expectations, but it definitely did.
The staff are lovely, and the new venue is GORGEOUS. I forgot to snap photos, but there’s a sort of indoor patio/garden area with tons of beautiful skylights, as well as a cosier area filled with leather booths (we sat here!), and a separate evening pisco bar downstairs.
My only real niggle is the price. At £7 a starter, and £9-£12 a main, it’s not exactly cheap. The bottomless booze is also a little bit more expensive than the standard, as I’d usually expect to pay £15 for 2 hours of unlimited drinks.
It’s not super expensive, but I’d definitely use it as more of a special occasional kind of place, rather than a casual get together.
Overall: a big thumbs up. Book it for a birthday brunch or special treat, and I promise you won’t be disappointed!
*We were guests of Señor Ceviche for this visit.
MORE BOTTOMLESS BRUNCHES IN LONDON:
Bottomless brunch at Scarlett’s, Covent Garden
