It was a lovely sunny morning, so rather than braving the notoriously temperamental circle line I cycled down to Embankment and followed the river to Battersea Bridge - one of the most scenic routes in London - and met my friend for brunch at Tom's Kitchen.
The restaurant - owned by the Michelin starred Tom Aikens - sits on a quiet street in the pretty residential area just north of King's Road. While one could be forgiven for mistaking it for a pub from the outside (black-painted wood and the old-fashioned lamp both add to this impression), the interior is light and airy, and stylishly decorated. I especially liked the white tiled bathroom with its ornate mirror
Is it weird that I took a picture?
The food here was fantastic - my friend's egg florentine was apparently as tasty as it looked, but I want to focus on (or rather, rave about) the absolute gorgeousness of my brunch choice - the brioche french toast with caramelised apples and cinnamon whipped cream.
Oh.My.God. The french toast - a good 3 inches of light, sweet, custard-soaked brioche, topped with generous chunks of soft, caramelised apples and served with a beautiful syrup (rich, brown, buttery), which drench the french toast and pooled delectably around the edges (perfect for dipping!)
Cinnamon whipped cream was a dream - sweet and delicately spiced, the perfect accompaniment to the brioche/apple/caramel flavours of the french toast. A jug of maple syrup was also provided on the side, but I felt this to be superfluous - the lake of caramel sauce was more than sufficient for dipping purposes, and the stronger flavour of the maple syrup would have detracted from the dish, if anything.
After brunch we made our way over to Kings Road, wandering past an assortment of charming boutiques and specialist food shops on our way...