Places To Eat In London: The Orangery, Kensington

Yesterday before heading into the office to get some work done, I headed over to Kensington Palace for a blogger breakfast at The Orangery, the beautiful and historical conservatory dining room in the middle of Kensington Gardens. It was built for Queen Anne in 1704 to protect her citrus trees from the cold and the frost. Now it makes for the perfect place to escape from it all for a spot of breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea. 

Breakfast at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
Outside The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
Outdoor Seating The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
Dining Room at The Orangery, Kensington | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
The Orangery, Kensington | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps
Breakfast China at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

Spearmint Tea at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

All of the tables are set with crisp white table cloths and napkins, and the most beautiful Royal Palace china. Do you think they would have noticed if I’d taken my tea cup and saucer home with me? I had mine filled with spearmint tea, and we ordered rounds of coffee, fresh orange juice and apple juice for the table. 

Eggs at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps Full English Breakfast at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

We simply could not choose from the actually very small breakfast menu, so we ended up on opting for an egg dish each, with a couple of plates of waffles and bowls of fruit salad for the table. I feel this was a delicious choice, because it meant that we all got to try a little bit of everything. And I got a full English with the extra black pudding other people did not was all to myself! The Orangery serves up the most delicious, light and buttery scrambled eggs; colour me impressed. They also presented a good sausage, quality bacon and a well cooked mushroom and tomato. And a wonderful slice of black pudding. I love black pudding! 

Eggs Royale with Chervil Hollandaise at The Orangery, Kensighton Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

While I like to have as much choice as possible on my breakfast plate, for the more refined ladies among us there is a choice of Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royal, both served with a brilliant yellow chervil hollandaise. Good, English (let us forget that Eggs Benedict is an American innovation, for a moment) breakfast foods. I’d really recommend The Orangery as a good breakfast meeting spot. 

Waffles with Caramalised Apples & Cinnamon Cream at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

So, I may not have managed to get enough good shots of them, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth in the mornings, the waffles are truly wonderful. They’re Belgium style waffles, more like a pastry and studded with pearl sugar, the caramelised apples had a beautiful flavour, and the gradually melting dollop of cinnamon cream should find its way onto many, many other sweet breakfast dishes. A towering stack of pancakes, perhaps? 

Instagramming Breakfast at The Orangery, Kensington Palace | www.rachelphipps.com @rachelphipps

It is not often I have the time to be in London for breakfast anymore (I took a commuter train, and only arrived in work after midday!), so when I am around I usually choose somewhere unusual, or with an all singing and dancing menu. Actually I think I’d been missing out on the basics. Well executed dishes with good English ingredients, in a beautiful, elegant setting. 

Something I love about these blogger breakfasts is getting to catch up with some of the wonderfully talented ladies like Claire, Kristabel and Charlotte who I have not seen in a while, as well as the opportunity to meet new people and find new blogs to read as well. Be sure to check out Supal, Ella and Laurie‘s blogs, too! 

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