Brunch on Saturday: Cartel bottomless brunch review and metis, gorgonzola and sourdough recipe

This week in Brunch on Saturday, Rachel Hosie visits Cartel in Battersea for bottomless frozen margaritas and we whip up Metis fruit and gorgonzola on sourdough toast at home

Juan of a kind: Party brunchers can enjoy a three-course menu, live music and unlimited Tequila

Brunching out...

With exposed brick walls, filament bulbs hanging over the bar, rustic wooden tables and chunky fairy lights strung across the ceiling, Cartel in Battersea unsurprisingly attracts a young, stylish crowd.

When we arrived at the Mexican bar and restaurant for their party brunch – a concept which seems to be growing in popularity – our fellow diners were predominantly glamorous young women, some in twos, others in large groups.

The bottomless brunch party starts at 1.15pm and entails two hours of bottomless Prosecco or frozen margaritas and a three-course brunch, for the quite reasonable fee of £35.

The party soundtrack set the fun tone, but was then replaced by a singer and his guitar – the live music was a nice touch.

Unlike some bottomless brunches where you rely on staff topping up your glass, at Cartel it’s simply a case of heading back up to the bar as soon as your tumbler – because, of course, drinks are served in tumblers – is empty. So thankfully no waiting around for top-ups.

You can switch between Prosecco and frozen margaritas too, the latter being so delicious they slip down like lemonade.

The first of the three courses was soon served: Crispy homemade tortilla chips, drizzled with cheese and served with salsa.

For our main course, from the choice of two dishes, my friend and I both went for the thoroughly basic choice of sourdough toast topped with smashed avocado and a poached egg, served with sweet potato fries. Classic it may have been, but it was also delicious with plenty of avo; the sourdough was chewy, the yolk was runny and it was a good portion size.

We finished off our brunch with a scoop of coffee ice cream each, served in a little cone. It was sweet and – pleasingly for the non-coffee fans among us – not too strong.

The food may not be fancy, but it’s certainly a fun way to spend an afternoon and great if you have something to celebrate with a group of friends.

Cartel Battersea, 517-519 Battersea Park Rd, London SW11 3BN; 020 8610 9761; cartelbattersea.co.uk

Brunching in...

Metis and blue cheese on sourdough

This quick and easy lunch mixes a combination of sweet Metis with savoury and rich gorgonzola for the perfect balance of flavours. The star of the show is Metis Oxy: Packed full of sweet flavour, it’s the ideal pairing for blue cheese. Metis is a new innovative stone-fruit brand – a lot of plum, with a little apricot added.

Serves 1

2 slices of sourdough
1 Metis Oxy fruit
50g blue cheese (we used gorgonzola)
olive oil
lemon
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Brush the slices of sourdough with oil on both sides, and place into a hot griddle pan. Toast on each side until grill marks appear.

Slice the Metis Oxy into thin wedges and place on the sourdough, then crumble over the blue cheese and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt and black pepper.

Recipe from metis-fruits.com