I sampled an upscale breakfast at Easton’s plant-filled hipster hotspot

St Mark’s Road, and Easton in general, is not a part of Bristol known for large green spaces or tree-lined roads. But if you want to escape the carbon monoxide of the concrete jungle and breathe in the natural oxygen that the plants bring, the Easton Garden might be your best bet.

The impressive range of plants gives you the impression of entering a mini-Kew Gardens, especially when you walk up the stairs. Although the menu prices and card-only payment system may leave some locals out of the inner jungle, this has not stopped the place from being one of the most popular restaurants in the area.

A full breakfast retails for just under £13, with a meat, veg and vegan option to choose from. I had the vegan breakfast, which left me so full that I struggled to eat anything else for the rest of the day.

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The vegan option includes scrambled tofu as an egg substitute and crispy aubergine, which offers an alternative to the halloumi slices featured in the veggie breakfast. In addition to these items, the breakfast includes half a slice of toast, a veggie sausage, home baked beans, crispy fries, a flat fried mushroom with a few raw spinach leaves and four cherry tomatoes on the vine.

Not being a meat eater myself, I tend to pay little attention to such dishes, but I couldn’t help but notice the smoked bacon when our neighbor at a nearby table decided to put a plate of it on down. The sudden appearance of a dog quickly cleared up my brief confusion.

My greedy friend also ordered a side of bacon with breakfast – costing £2.60 – along with a number of other extras which made the breakfast add up to almost twenty pounds. “No exchanges” on breakfast items isn’t the only controversial rule in place at the popular hipster joint.

I was slightly surprised that despite receiving table service, we had to pay for the meal before it was served. Although we were given a takeaway box, we were told that they generally don’t offer ‘to-go’, which I thought was unreasonable given that we waited 30 minutes for our meal to arrive and when came, some of the items weren’t as hot as me. I liked.

In any case, the food was tasty enough when it finally arrived. My favorite items were probably the scrambled tofu and the large portobello mushroom and I had no complaints about the other items except the tomatoes which had to be sent back and I was offered a free hot drink as an apology.

The crispy eggplant was something completely unique that I have never seen as a breakfast item. I made the mistake of putting ketchup on them, which wasn’t the best combination but they felt quite dry on their own, as did the crispy potatoes and there were few sauces to choose from.

If I were to go back I would probably try something different and given the breadth of the menu, the range of food on offer and the impressive array of plants, it’s not hard to see why the restaurant is so popular. The evening menu offers completely different dishes, including small plates that can be enjoyed with a wide range of drinks – including cocktails that are also available for brunch.