Brunch on Saturday: No 29 Power Station West review and linseed pudding recipe

In this week’s Brunch on Saturday, we dine at Battersea’s best kept foodie secret and make linseed pudding at home

While the Battersea menu is the same as that at its sister pub in Clapham, the food did not disappoint

Brunching out...

Weaving in and out of south-west London’s pre-war housing and tower blocks, orientate your way onto a stretch of the Thames that was once the province of coal worker’s labouring at Battersea Power Station.

Closed off by building works and accessible by a barely noticeable staircase leading from Battersea Bridge, the iconic factory, now decommissioned, is in the process of being regenerated into a destination for tourists and locals to eat, drink and shop.

Before the crowds set in as the new tube station is built, there is an opportunity to visit the area’s best kept secret, No 29 Power Station West. Situated between the iconic Power Station and Battersea Park, the bar-cum-restaurant pays homage to its industrial neighbour with a stripped-back aesthetic comprised of wide open windows and bare walls. Soft furnishings of velvet, leather and lines give the space an art deco feel, while potted plants and modern artwork place it within the cannon of London’s hippest spots.

While it serves diners and drinks from dusk until dawn, we visited during the brunching hour and tried the weekend menu, sampling the No 32 bacon sandwich with roasted Portobello mushrooms and truffled three cheese inside a brioche bun; No 32 eggs benedict with honey roast ham, avocado and spinach on sour dough with homemade hollandaise sauce; as well as coconut pancakes with caramelised banana and coconut yoghurt. Having visited the sister pub in Clapham, I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t anything unique to the Battersea menu.

What was on it, however, didn’t disappoint. On top of the usual brunch fare, we picked at the small plates menu at a leisurely pace over cocktails, ordering the parmesan cauliflower croquets with truffle mayo and spicy crab cakes with sweet chilli crème fraîche. We particularly enjoyed the selection of crostinis with a variety of toppings, including smoked salmon, truffle honey and ricotta; fennel salami, chilli and truffle ricotta; sobrassada, burrata and basil.

No 29, offers a selection of coffees, fresh juices and breakfast cocktails, which includes a range of Bloody Mary’s from the Bloody Beet – replacing tomato juice with beetroot juice – or the Bloody Snapper substituting gin for vodka.

Breakfast for three came to £120

No 29 Power Station West; Unit 29 Circus West, Battersea, Battersea Power Station, London SW8 5BP; 020 3857 4669; no29powerstationwest.co.uk

Brunching in...

Linseed pudding by Dan Wilson, Dandy

50g of linseed
50g of honey, or golden syrup
100ml of water
200ml of coconut milk

Smoked syrup

100g of golden syrup
1 handful of wood chips

To serve

Edible flowers
½ flat peach, or plum
1 handful of blackberries
40g of macadamia nuts, crushed

Make the pudding 24 hours in advance. Place all the ingredients in a pan and heat to 70C over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and tip into a container. Set aside in the fridge for 24 hours.

For the smoked syrup, Place the golden syrup in a shallow baking dish. Place the hot coal in a smaller metal vessel and sit it in the syrup. Add the smoking chips to the coal and cover with foil.

The smoking chips and the coal should sit like an island in their vessel billowing smoke. When covered the smoke will slowly infiltrate the syrup. Leave for up to an hour.

Take the pudding from the fridge (after waiting 24 hours), place two scoops in a bowl with some slices of stone fruit and edible flowers. Cover with macadamia and lashings of the smoked syrup.

For more brunch recipes, visit greatbritishchefs.com