Nottingham’s best breakfast: We put the Hungry Pumpkin to the early morning test

To claim anywhere does the ‘best breakfast’ in Nottingham is a very quick way to start an online ‘discussion’ or so we found. While some are all about eggs and bacon, others prefer a continental-style affair complete with cheese and croissants. So when we set ourselves the task of finding the best breakfast in the city, we opted to play it safe and let Trip Advisor decide for us.

I’m easily pleased when it comes to breakfast as early morning food in the newsroom is too often not a great mix. It’s hard to write about a breaking news story while avoiding dropping your toast butter side down on the keyboard. Also, not sure editors enjoy the sound of munching during the morning meeting.

So with the weekend ahead of us and nowhere pressing to go, we headed into town with the best breakfast suggestion from the travel site - The Hungry Pumpkin on High Pavement Street. The small cafe is well known in the city as having some of the best Italian coffee outside....well...Italy.

We got lucky when we visited given that the cafe can get incredibly busy and you may have to wait for a table. This is partially due to the aforementioned coffee but also, the reputation that the venue has for great food. I’ve always known this as the place that Italians go to get breakfast which, it has to be said, is a good sign.

The menu is incredibly varied ranging from loaded jacket spuds to a full English option with bacon, sausages, egg, mushrooms, beans and tomato. There are plenty of veggie options including a vegan cooked breakfast. While there was plenty that looked appealing, the Halloumi Special caught my attention because, let's face it, any excuse to eat cheese.

The dish comes with halloumi as you would expect, smashed avocado and two poached eggs on top of sourdough. My partner and I opted to order the same dish but one was to be gluten-free which was swapped out with no hesitation. I decided, when it comes to a review, ‘go hard or go home’ so I ordered a side order of wedges to accompany our toast.

Sadly, the wedges proved not to be gluten-free but thankfully, our server realised and brought it to our attention before we ate. We did end up taking the wedges to go as we left.

It had to be said that the breakfast was in fact, everything we needed it to be. I would be lying if I said there hadn’t been pints the night before that had influenced the decision to order a cheese-filled treat. We found the eggs to be perfectly poached as our knives popped them and we were able to mop up any yolk with our bread. A decent amount of avocado to be found on the toast too.

The price was a little high at £9.95 but, to be honest, it was worth it given the amount of toppings and also, it was incredibly tasty. The buttery avocado was matched with the delicate, rich flavour of the poached eggs with just the right amount of black pepper sprinkled on top. The homemade wedges were incredibly reasonable £3.95 given they were massive and could have been a meal within themselves.

It has to be said that the location of the cafe is great as it's tucked down the side of St.Mary’s Cathedral where you can watch people wander. We did end up being in the background of a tourist’s photo at one stage but it was all great fun. The staff could not have been more accommodating or friendly either.

Is this Nottingham’s best breakfast though? It is certainly well up there and would warrant further research so we could have another slice of the Halloumi special. After all, we take our job seriously.....