HIDE

Located in the very heart of London, HIDE opened approximately eight years ago and received a Michelin star just five months after launch - a distinction it has retained ever since. The restaurant offers all-day dining; my focus, however, was specifically on breakfast. To form a considered opinion, I visited twice.First visit - “Black truffled scrambled eggs on toast”.In short: slightly dry. The dish clearly called for a sauce - a proper binding element to bring everything together.Second visit - “Buckwheat waffle pancake with smoked salmon, cream cheese & soft herbs”.A buckwheat waffle served with smoked salmon, cream cheese, onion, and sliced cucumber. Here, the issue was quite the opposite. The concept itself is appealing, and smoked salmon works well with all the listed components, but the topping was overly generous. The waffle was thin and lacked the structure to hold everything together, arriving at the table already softened.The classic croissant was perfectly fine, while the “buckwheat pain au chocolat” was not. Yes, buckwheat flour does not provide the structure required for laminated dough and can result in a drier, coarser texture , but not to the extent of feeling as if the pastry had been left uncovered on the counter for a couple of days.The final touch: a forgotten cappuccino, which had to be requested twice.Overall, the breakfasts are fine, but they don’t quite live up to Michelin-star expectations. This review is based on breakfasts only.