Best international breakfasts in London

It's easy to get stuck in a rut with your morning ritual. Cappuccino with two shots, toast buttered just so and semi-skimmed on your Cheerios. But on these dreary winter days isn't it nice to break from routine occasionally? As more and more bars and restaurants are laying on breakfast options, it's the ones that do something different that are finding fans. Whether you're after a healthy and energy-boosting beginning or a greasy, hangover-curing start to the day, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee with our guide to London's best international brekkies...

Cinnamon Club
Politicos love this wood-panelled former Victorian library's breakfasts, and not only for the full English — the Indian selection is even more ­thrilling. Start the day with some spice: the uttapam (£8), a dosa-like rice pancake from southern India served with lentil broth and coconut chutney, or the gluten-free option, upma (£7), a spicy grain dish made with quinoa. The Cinnamon Club's breakfast specials also include that Anglo-Indian classic kedgeree (£7.50), and the best-selling spiced scrambled eggs (£7). Breakfast is from 7.30am to 9.30am, weekdays only.
Cinnamon Club, The Old Westminster Library,
30-32 Great Smith Street, SW1 (020 7222 2555)

Camino
There are several ways to kill a hang-over stone-dead in Spain: with a strong coffee, a tot of brandy or a toasted cheese and ham sandwich. All three together is even better. Try the combination at this King's Cross bar and restaurant where unusual Iberian specialities litter the menu. Why not swap your usual latte for a café bombon (espresso with a deliciously sweet and thick layer of condensed milk, £1.60) or a carajillo (with a shot of brandy — at any time of day, £3.90)? Breakfast is served until 11.30am weekdays and 4pm at the weekend, when piping hot churros and hot chocolate (£1.75) and eggs with Navarran sausage (£3.50) come highly recommended.
Camino Bar and Restaurant, 3 Varnisher's Yard, The Regent Quarter, King's Cross, N1 (020 7841 7330)

Gazette
The two branches of this chic café-brasserie in Battersea and Balham have all the ooh-la-la you'd expect of a classic French caff. We love the charming French staff, the jars of home-made jam at every table and the romantic soundtrack of soothing chansons d'amour. A classic "petit déjeuner Français" might simply be coffee (from £1.30 for filter, with a generous refill) with a croissant, pain au chocolat or a baguette, jam and butter (£1.30), but for something more substantial, order croque-monsieur (£4.50) or oeufs cocotte meurette (£4.50) — fried eggs with red wine sauce.
gazettebrasserie.co.uk

The Landau
The Landau at the five-star Langham is one of the few places in London to offer an authentic Japanese breakfast. At £30 it's not cheap, but what a healthy start to the day — a plate of fruit, a bowl of miso, rice, pickles, omelette and crisp grilled salmon all served in a black lacquer bento. Chef Andrew Turner introduced the breakfast for the hotel's Japanese guests but has found Brits are taking to it, too. It's perhaps not one's first choice to slake a hangover (the chopsticks are too much like hard work), but for a change, it's hard to beat.
The Landau, The Langham, Portland Place, W1
(020 7965 0165)

Scandinavian Kitchen
The coffee of choice here is strong filter by Swedish brand Gevalia, coffee roasters to the King of Sweden (£1.70 a cup, note the funky cups by hip designer Normann Copenhagen). The finest accompaniment to which is a cinnamon bun (£1.30) or toasted rye bread (£1). Homesick Swedes come here for the "filmjolk" (a drink somewhere between sour milk and yogurt, £1.35), served with fruit salad or muesli. On Saturdays, a brunch of cold cuts and unpronounceable Scandinavian cheese is offered until midday. The 18-month-old café is a simple, friendly spot only five minutes from Oxford Circus, but it feels like a mini break to Stockholm.
Scandinavian Kitchen, 61 Great Titchfield Street, W1 (020 7580 7161)

The Diner
With portions large enough to sustain the hungriest cowboy, The Diner offers a slice of Americana, complete with bottomless coffee, eggs "over easy" and stacks of blueberry pancakes. All the dishes you know from Stateside road trips are there: "huevos rancheros" (eggs with refried beans, salsa and tortilla, £8), pancakes with bacon and maple syrup (£7.50) and breakfast burritos (£8). The really brave can tackle the Hungry Man breakfast (£8.50), complete with bacon, eggs sausages, beans, mushrooms, hash browns and a muffin. Find your nearest neighbourhood Diner in Camden, Soho, Shoreditch and Kensal Rise.
thedinersoho.com

Princi
Italians, though food mad, usually save their gustatory pleasure for lunch. Breakfast is often little more than a shot of espresso on the hoof. Enjoy a more leisurely version of Italian "prima colazione" at Princi, the acclaimed Milanese bakery brought to London by Alan Yau, of Hakkasan fame. Yau has tracked down the best coffee he could find (Kontra coffee from Copenhagen, £1.40-£1.90). Food-wise, the Princi day begins with Italian cakes and buns such as venezianina (£1.20) or almond crostata (£3).
Princi, 135 Wardour Street, W1 (020 7478 8888)