Brunch at Aubaine

Before the mister and I went to see the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit at the Natural History Museum we sat down for brunch at Aubaine on Brompton Road in South Kensington.

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Where: 4 locations in zone 1

The Scene: Too many bodies adorned in luxury items to count, brunching and gossiping

Delight: Speedy seating and a nice cup of joe

Disappointment: Lukewarm food

I love brunch. So when we booked tickets for the Wildlife exhibit at 1pm (a.k.a lunch time), I thought it was a great excuse to go to brunch. I chose Aubaine not because I had heard anything about it, but because of its proximity to the museum.

On a hunch that people in South Ken like to brunch I made a reservation. I was right to do so. It was a snowy day and the tubes were delayed. Yet, even though we were 10 minutes late and there was a line of people waiting to be seated, we were still seated upon arrival.

I ordered a cappuccino and we both glanced over the menu. Even though I love eggs benedict and could eat it every time I brunched, I am always a little disappointed that I never see waffles on the brunch menu. I know it's an American thing but I think if the British tried it, they'd like it. 

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After a few minutes of deliberation and people watching, (There was definitely a person of interest in Aubaine that morning because a table kept being approached by random diners - the mister and I had no idea who the person was.) we ordered. I ordered the oeufs royal (poached eggs, toasted brioche, smoked salmon, hollandaise sauce) and the mister ordered the croque monsieur (open face ham and cheese sandwich) and a side of french fries.

In about 6 minutes (estimated) our food arrived. Upon my first bite I knew exactly why it arrived so quickly. It was borderline cold. They were busy, I'll give them that, but lukewarm food that is supposed to be hot is a tick in the wrong box in my book.

When we finished our meals, not more than 10 minutes after their delivery we realized that we still had eons until our tickets were valid at the museum. We sat, I sipped my coffee and after the waitress came over for the third time, we decided to order a chocolate croissant to kill time and keep our waitress happy.

Our tab came to about £35 with service which was a bit steep in general for brunch but even steeper considering our food had likely been prepared 20 minutes before we had even arrived.

For not doing any research on Aubaine I still think the mister and I did alright. The atmosphere was buzzing and our bellies were full. I'd go back to Aubaine for a croissant and coffee but wouldn't recommend any of their hot lukewarm food.