If you ever find yourself in central London at 8 am on a Sunday, you’ll find a shockingly empty place. In stark contrast to the usual hustle and bustle of the weekdays or weekend days filled with tourists, Sunday mornings are sleepy and the relative silence is sort of eerie and serene at the same time. I was recently down in covenant garden during such a period and looking for a place to get a coffee.

One of the only centers of life open was the SOHO coffee co. It’s a London based chain with multiple locations all over England. While I had been to one before, it’s the first time I noticed their “bacon buttie” menu. For those not familiar, a bacon buttie is another British classic and is simply: bacon and either ketchup or brown sauce on bread. It’s exceedingly basic (which, coming from the country who created “beans on toast”, is not necessarily surprising) but hits the spot on chilly British mornings. However, Soho coffee co. had spruced up their butties so I decided to try the Big Breakfast Bacon Buttie.

The Sandwich

Overall: 6.2/10

The Good

Chain coffee shops don’t usually make their sandwiches from scratch. SOHO coffee does. As you’d expect, the meat was the star of the show. It had that classic, perfectly cooked British back bacon that’s a staple on bacon butties and having three Lincolnshire sausages on a sandwich is always great for the meat lovers of the world. I liked the fried egg. It was nothing to write home about but definitely a solid, no frills, well cooked egg that’s hard to be upset about. Staying true to its bacon buttie roots, the big breakfast buttie was served on a classic English white roll which, despite being a bit basic, gives some great texture and a hint of flavor without getting in the way of the stars of the show. The ketchup on top capped off a solid take on a bacon buttie.

The Bad

For being the star od the show, the Lincolnshire sausage left much to be desired in terms of quality. Even though it was cooked in house, it still felt too processed which was odd given Britain’s typically top notch sausages. If you’ve read my blog before you know I had to take off a point for no cheese (even if it is shooting the messenger a bit given bacon butties never have cheese). The bread was solid but would have liked to see it toasted to give the sandwich a bit more texture. And while ketchup is a classic, it’s pretty bland and isn’t turning any heads. The biggest glaring weakness, however, was balance of the ingredients. The sausage absolutely dominated the flavor here. I’m aware that it’s supposed to be the star of the show but for christ’s sake remember that the sandwich is a team and the other players need to play too. It needed either less sausage or more egg/bacon to balance it out.