One of the hardest things about moving south of the river has been finding a new brunch place that suits both my carnivourous hearty eating Northern boyfriend and my Californian palate. I can only stomach so many greasy spoons and he has yet to cooperate with my requests for made to order breakfast in bed, so it's lucky we've found Gazette in Balham.

While we were initially wary of its slightly generic exterior, the food has proved to be exciting. He loves the basket full of fresh pastry, I love the eggs, mushrooms and parmesan served hot in a skillet, and we are both more amenable after sipping the very good coffee. The service is very French, but that's more understandable at a French place (what's the excuse in the rest of London), and if the waiters can get distracted at times, we keep busy creating chalk masterpieces on the slate tables.