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Tito’s at London Bridge is that rare thing – a Peruvian restaurant that does an English breakfast. And that’s exactly what I had at 7.15 this morning (the search for the next cheap eat never stops…).

As we walked in, I noticed two dishes on the back counter – one piled high with bacon and the other with sausages. I’d like to think that they’d been cooked in preparation for the lunchtime rush, to be used in sandwiches for the city workers. It was either that, or the bacon and sausages for the breakfasts are cooked in advance and then re-heated when someone orders…

We ordered at the counter and then took a seat at one of the many tables at the back – the tablecloths one of the few giveaways that we were in a Peruvian café / restaurant.

The breakfast wasn’t bad – bacon (tasty if a little salty), sausage (deep fried, as always), two fried eggs (nicely cooked), beans, a token hash brown and toast with butter. Admittedly, there were one or two notable absences from an ‘English breakfast’ – namely, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes (although I must admit, I’ve never been a fan of the latter). But then for £3.50, with coffee, what did I expect?

5/10

The Victoria Cafe is at the Queenstown Road end of Lavender Hill in Battersea. It’s basically your classic greasy spoon with the added bonus of some fantastic lunchtime specials. I’ve been a handful of times to this cafe, each time struggling to squeeze my newly rotund stomach out of the door as the portions are enourmous.

Most recently I had the liver and onions special with chips, two veg and a cup of tea. It was perfectly designed to replace some of the nutrients I’d lost on the beers the night before. As ever the amount of food was gargantuan and the quality was reasonable. I sometimes get reminded of my school dinners with the veg you get, but for the price (£3.95) you couldn’t expect more.

If I was to be ridiculously picky and try to pick out some bad points, I could only say that it’s way too smokey - but of course come 1st July and the smoking ban, this will no longer be a problem.

My overall feeling is this is a reasonable greasy spoon that offers a much broader menu than the standard fry-up. With everything from jacket potatoes, to home made lasagne, chicken pie and more. If you’re very very hungry and don’t have much money, this is a cheap eat you could comfortably fill up at. Don’t expect too much and you’ll definitely walk away a happy man (or woman).

6/10

Pellicci’s has been around since the turn of the last century and has become somewhat of an institution round the East End.

Inside, it’s small which, along with the original wood panelling, gives it a cosy feel. We went on a Saturday morning for a late breakfast, and as it turns out, a lot of other people had the same idea; it gets busy so be prepared to wait or share a table.

The menu is fairly comprehensive, offering everything from traditional cooked breakfasts to home-made pies to meat and two veg, and the staff are friendly and provide an efficient service.

We both ordered a cooked breakfast – definitely the real deal because it included a ‘fried slice’. It was good value and, although much of it deep fried (including the obligatory processed sausage), tasty and not too greasy. You can tell they’ve been doing this for a while. The coffee was also good and strong, as you would expect from an Italian family-run business.

Although Pellicci’s clientele now seems to be a mixture of young professionals, students and trendies in addition to the genuine Eastenders, it’s still a good place to sample a bit of real East End life and cooking.

Closed Sundays.

8/10

After looking round Bromley for a café that served a full English after midday, we stumbled across The Terrace Café.

To be honest, I am not to keen on cafés; I always think of “the caf” in Eastenders and deep fried everything!

We peeked through the window and it looked busy so decided to venture in. We were greeted by a friendly waitress and shown a seat. The menu was a huge mixture of everything from sandwiches and pies to breakfasts and Greek food.

We both decided to have a full English but with different options. Both were under a fiver and included a tea or coffee. First came the drinks shortly followed by the toast/bread which was a freshly cut loaf with butter - delicious!! So far so good.

The breakfast arrived and this is when I usually get worried and end up eating nothing! Everything was freshly cooked though and not greasy. My only thing was the deep fried sausage but I was expecting that! My other half had chips with his and they were great.

Another great thing was that the sauce bottles were clean and no crust on the sides!! Everyone in the café seemed satisfied and all the other food we saw looked good.

Full up, our plates were cleared and we paid the bill which I have to say was good value for money.

Overall the Terrace Café put all my preconceptions of a greasy café to bed; a great find and worth a visit if in the area.

7/10

(One thing to point out - the toilets; ladies were blocked so had to use men’s and no lock on the door!!)