There’s nothing wrong with eggs on toast. Even avocado on toast, which is on the precipice of going from beloved Instagram-friendly dish to tired, done-to-death faux-health food, has its merits. But because both dishes have become so ubiquitous on the brunch menus of restaurants – particularly in London – it’s refreshing to come across a place like Dandy, in Newington Green, with something different to offer. While both are still an option (although the avocado on toast comes with feta, onion ash, cucumber and spring onion salad), it’s the other items on the menu that make Dandy stand out from the late morning weekend crowd.
‘Anthony Bourdain has written at length about how awful it is having to poach eggs for hundreds of people every Sunday, and how it represents the fall of any great chef,’ co-owner Dan Wilson tells me as we sit down over a plate of lamacun, made with crispy lamb mince, slow-cooked spiced lamb shoulder and plenty of tahini sauce. ‘But in the UK at least, that’s kind of what everyone expects brunch is going to be. An extension of breakfast with some avocado and bacon. That’s not really what I like to eat, and it’s not the sort of stuff we enjoy cooking here.’
Dan opened Dandy with his business partner Andy Leitch in April 2017 – before that, they’d run a pop-up out of a shipping container in London Fields (where else) serving modern dishes inspired by various international cuisines. While the café-restaurant-bakery is open all day and does a full dinner service it’s become best-known for its brunch offering, thanks in part to Dan’s baking background, which means all the pastries and breads are made in-house. Throw some speciality coffee into the mix and you’ve got a pretty decent set-up, but a quick look at the menu proves there’s more to Dandy than meets the eye. Corn and ‘nduja with pickled Padrón peppers and egg yolk; Linseed and coconut pudding with smoked syrup and Crumpets with Parmesan custard and courgette are just a few examples.