This bank holiday weekend Stew and I decided to travel into the city on Sunday for brunch at Big Easy in Covent Garden. Having eaten at Big Easy once before, we were familiar with their dinner menu but were intrigued to hear they were now offering weekend brunch dishes. We headed down just after midday, which I suppose is more of a lunch time rather than brunch. However, considering the size of the dishes Big Easy serve up, you need to starve yourselves for a good few hours beforehand if you have any hope of finishing a dish. This is not to say that quantity is favoured over quality. Not at all. Their brunch dishes offer the same top quality cuts of meat and shell fish as any other classic Big Easy dish. They are just extremely generous with their portion sizes, which really goes hand in hand with the ambience that Big Easy restaurants offer. Eating here is about enjoying time with friends and loved ones, sitting back and relaxing, feasting on great food and washing it all down with great drinks. On both occasions when I’ve dined here, we’ve never felt rushed, no matter how busy they’ve been, and the waiters and waitresses have always been super attentive, topping up water, asking if we would like anything further. It’s one of the few chain restaurants in London that I really love.

When perusing the brunch menu, Stew immediately settled upon their The Big Pig Gig, an unlimited boozy brunch special for £29.50. The dish allows you to sample a little bit of everything, including North Carolina chopped pork, pit-smoked BBQ chicken and St Louis pork ribs, slaw, pit-smoked beans, fries and fresh baked cornbread. It was literally presented like a platter with individual plates and pots for each part. As Stew’s came out of the kitchen first, I couldn’t help but dig in whilst I waited for mine. The chopped pork and smoked beans were a favourite of mine. Super succulent meat and really tasty beans. The sweetness of the cornbread went perfectly with the saltiness of the fries and the sticky ribs too.

I also ended up choosing an unlimited boozy brunch special, mine being called the Lobster Fest. With this dish you can choose from either a whole fresh lobster, lobster roll or lobster mac n cheese. Having already tried their fresh lobster on a previous occasion, I already knew how good this was, and although it was tempting to go for it again, I decided to choose one of my all-time favourite dishes – lobster mac n cheese! This was by far the winner out of the two dishes we chose. The mac n cheese was perfectly cooked with hot gooey cheese in the middle and crispy, browned cheese around the edges of the skillet. Large chunks of meaty lobster were dotted throughout meaning you had lobster in every mouthful. Served with fries and a house salad, the greens were a welcome break from the indulgence.

Both dishes include either bottomless Big Easy brew, prosecco or house wine. Obviously I opted for prosecco and our waiter was attentive enough to keep topping me up throughout the course of the meal. After 3 pints of house brew for Stew, it’s safe to say we left Big Easy feeling rather light headed on a sunny Sunday afternoon! Whilst exploring Covent Garden afterwards seemed appealing beforehand we ended up retreating home where we continued the day of indulgence with an afternoon of Netflix binging. A Sunday well spent if you ask me!

If bottomless brunches aren’t your thing, Big Easy also offer smaller dishes such as chicken and waffles, shrimp po boy and French toast waffles. I was also intrigued by their ‘fried chicken, biscuits and gravy’. I know this is a Southern America classic and would love to try it someday. Also if you love the sound of my dish but would rather not have a prosecco filled day, you can choose the ‘Mac Attack’. Enjoy!