What a great day it was yesterday to go down to Richmond and have breakfast at Canyon. Canyon is a restaurant that He Who Knows suggested, and even though technically not part of the Challenge, thought I would check it out. With bright sun and blue skies heralding in a great London Sunday, Richmond by the river is a great place to go out and have breakfast.

You can find Canyon by the riverside at Richmond and is a very popular place with the locals. It appears to be quite kid friendly from the number of little bodies that were seated yesterday. I suggest going fairly early unless you have a booking as most of the good tables go quite quickly and the staff are likely to turn you away. The restaurant itself does not have a great vantage point like a number of the other places have of the river, but its clean cut white tablecloths and modern décor put on a very calming atmosphere to dine in.

The service was quite good and I never found it in your face like many other places are. It seems that the staff monitored the tables quite well from afar and prompted at the right points during the meal to ask if we wanted another coffee, without interrupting the flow of conversation. They serve a delicious soft sweet bread with butter when you sit down, but this place comes highly recommended for its eggs Benedict, which Ben said “were the best ones he’s ever had.” I was left quite full from the vegetarian breakfast that I found nice and not greasy in the slightest. The hash brown (it’s thought of differently here in the UK) was flavourful and filling, the mushrooms well cooked, the eggs were nice and creamy and there was not an excess of beans overflowing the entire plate.

Canyon has a lot going for it, with lots of style and a great location. I can understand why some people consider it overly pricey, and I found the staff who served us were friendly and polite unlike the pretentious mob I had been warned about after reading a number of reviews (but we could have been lucky). It is a bit of a classier dining place than a number of the outdoor cafes, but what it does, it does well.

Details: Canyon
Found On: The Towpath, Riverside, Richmond, TW10 6UJ
Contactable On: 020 8948 2944
Highlights: Excellent quality food, great service, nice location
Room for improvement: Not the best value for money
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10