There are now half a million Turkish people living in the UK and the majority have come to London. For the most part they settled in the north with Enfield as their capital. But there are a couple of other communities south of the river in Lewisham, Peckham, Southwark and Elephant and Castle. Now Turkey has always had a strong food culture, unlike Britain, so it is unsurprising that many established food outlets. Aside from kebab shops (oh, thank you, thank you!!), they have turned their hand to the great British staples including fish and chips and, fortunately, cafés.
We stumbled upon Giggling Sausage while out collecting our daily 10k steps and it is now our go-to for a full English. It has booths with Formica tables, an illuminated frieze over the counter complete with photos of their menu, and enjoys a bright southerly aspect. Owned and run for 12 years by the Altun family, their food and service is wonderful, with dad in the kitchen and daughters working the floor. Catering to a broad audience they make all feel welcome and aside from their phenomenal all day breakfast, they also include skewered kebabs, Turkish tea and coffee.
Back to our main event, the full English breakfast: As their name suggests, they take sausages seriously and to my mind they are the litmus of a good café. Using only quality pork sausages they are hasselbacked, fried and then grilled, making them thoroughly cooked every time. Eggs are fried in a ring, served over easy though still good and runny with a chrome yellow yolk. Bacon is classic English style, and the baked beans are good quality. Chips are double-fried and the tomatoes are grilled to perfection. Add a couple of slices of black pudding and sautéed button mushrooms and we were pretty much defeated. We only managed half of the complimentary white bloomer toast and the whole meal is served on an enormous platter.
But we are intrigued to return for their lunch menu, which includes liver and onions, gammon steak, shepherd’s pie and an array of burgers.
There is love and pride in this room. You can taste it, just feel it. Eat in, take away or have it delivered by the usual suspects. If you live between borough and Elephant you now know where to go for a proper caff.
Full English Breakfast £11.50, cappuccino £3.00, orange juice £3.50.Meal for two c.£35
Giggling Sausage is open 6am-4pm Monday to Friday, 7am-3:30 on Sundays. Delivery available from Just Eat, Uber Eats and deliveroo.
Insta: @giggling_sausage_cafe
Related: Proper Caff No.3 – The Regency Cafe on Regency Street in Westminster