Lost Cat

Don’t be distracted by the flowers out front – walk through the florists and follow the neon sign (“cheap food and fancy drinks”) to two floors of fun, with late-night bevs, daily happy hour, BOGOF cocktails, scran every day 5pm to 10pm, and bottomless brunch and DJs on weekends.

Brunch is a steal, with a choice of toasted breakfast bagels (streaky bacon or folded egg or hash brown or scrambled tofu) for just one pound of your hard-earned cash. Lost Cat got the smashed avocado on toast memo, but here it’s thick white sliced bread, none of that expensive sourdough stuff. The most spenny things on the brunch list give you change out of three quid, and include the Monte Cristo bagel with smoked bacon and melted Swiss cheese, 15 warm mini pancakes with maple syrup and powdered sugar, and the blueberry cheesecake French toast. Bottomless brunch brings you an hour and a half of boozy action with unlimited hash browns and fresh OJ, refillable lagers, mimosas and more from the drinks list, and a selection of items off the brunch menu, including sliders such as the morning stack of pork sausage patty, folded egg, hash brown, melted American cheese and brown sauce in a buttered toasted bun. Dinner baps include a good choice of plant-based and meat-free, including one with cauliflower and another with grilled halloumi. There’s the vegan cheeseburger with onion, pickle, house ketchup and yellow mustard. There’s the tofu burger, featuring a marinated crispy “patty”, shredded cabbage, dill pickle, buffalo sauce and vegan mayo. There’s the Korean BBQ grilled king oyster mushroom with sesame ‘slaw and kimchi mayo. Then there’s the Thai shrimp, with a fragrant prawn patty, charred spring onion mayo, shredded cabbage and coriander salad on a toasted bun, a crispy buffalo chicken tender number, and a house-cured salt beef bagel. Stick some tater tots or fries on the side, and you’ve got a balanced diet.

For afters, the chocolate fudge French toast does exactly what it says it will, and for little outlay on your part: chocolate ganache, fudge sauce and vanilla bean ice cream meet fudge pieces, powdered sugar and eggy grilled sliced white. Maybe have the paramedics on speed dial.