food time - the black penny ♥

The Black Penny is fairly new to the Sloane Square area. I recently reviewed the Lebanese hot spot next door, Comptoir Libanais so I was excited to see another food venue added to Sloane Square. Specialising in coffee, The Black Penny pride themselves in creating a variety of freshly brewed coffee concoctions and popular breakfast and brunch dishes. Usually open from Monday to Thursday from 8am to 8pm or slightly later on the weekends, The Black Penny has a menu that will certainly wake up your taste buds.

After a few hours shopping, Ollie and I decided to sit down for a late breakfast. I love that the breakfast options are served from 8am to 4pm. Is there anything more heartbreaking than missing breakfast or brunch? Although the menu does not offer Eggs Royale or Eggs Benedict, I decided to order the Eggs How You Like Em dish. I would say that the menu is short but sweet, the dishes are very simple and fresh but you can add extra sides to cater the dishes to your liking. I was only disappointed about the lack of hollandaise sauce.

That completes a breakfast dish for me but still, when the dish arrived I noticed that the eggs were cooked to perfection so I still had the yolk for my sauce. Juice wise, The Black Penny have nailed this drink option. I am a very big juice fan and I can be quite particular. For me, pressed juices need to be freshly pressed and not from a bottle or simply blended and The Black Penny have a selection of juice options that give a big salute if you fancy a healthy boost. From ginger to beetroot, they have enough options so you can get your juice fix for the day.

If I had to describe the interior for The Black Penny, the word cosy and comfortable springs to mind. Don't get me wrong, the large seating area outside of the cafe is perfect for the summer seasons but I usually sit inside because the English weather is far too breezy for me. As you step inside the cafe, you are greeted with a very quirky interior. Every detail of the cafe is carefully thought out, from the wooden feature wall display to the painted illustrations. It is incredibly quirky and it is tries to capture the authentic art of creating coffee, including when coffee cafes first arrived in England, in the 17th century. 

If you fancy looking for menu inspiration, The Black Penny have a pretty impressive Instagram page. I don't know about you but I usually prefer to visually see a dish before I order it and their Instagram is full of different options to help you choose and get your taste buds inspired. If you haven't noticed, the menu is very fresh and full of flavour, they don't cover the meals with thick heavy sauces so if you are looking for simple healthy dishes, whether you are a gym lover or just fancy something lighter, I definitely recommend the menu.  

Ollie can be very particular with breakfast at the moment, one minute he says he's trying a vegetarian diet and then the next moment he is ordering a Big Mac. So I was surprised when he ordered one of the vegetarian options. The dish included poached eggs on sourdough toast, grilled halloumi, baby spinach, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans. As you can see, there are quite a few vegan and vegetarian options on the menu that look pretty delicious. Ollie was delighted when his food arrived, we both commented on how tasty the sourdough toast was and he even tried to recreate this brunch dish at the weekend. 

If you are visiting at the weekend and looking for a brunch menu, The Black Penny have a pretty unique offer on the table. For one penny, you can treat yourself to a glass of Prosecco when you order from the brunch menu. A pretty clever idea, right? I can certainly understand why the cafe was so busy when we arrived in the afternoon. Prosecco is always a popular menu choice. So, my overall thoughts on The Black Penny? I think this is a great hot spot if you want perfectly cooked eggs and if you want a healthier option. The coffee menu is extensive and very impressive but even if you aren't a coffee lover, the juice menu is definitely worth a try. 

Overall, we had a really pleasant visit, we were seated very quickly despite the queue and limited staff. The cafe certainly has a buzzing vibe and atmosphere, I think this makes the perfect stop when you want to do some shopping in Chelsea. Plus the cafe is right next to a big Zara store which is definitely a win, win for me. My ginger, lemon and apple juice was the exact pop of energy that I needed for the day and although I missed my hollandaise sauce, the sourdough toast and poached eggs were incredible and don't worry if you have a sweet tooth, the French toast looks divine! ♥