Full English breakfast
- "The only way to eat well in England is to have breakfast three times a day." ( — W. Somerset Maugham)
The bacon is traditionally fried. Poached or scrambled eggs and perhaps grilled bacon may be offered as alternatives. Some of the additional ingredients that might be offered as part of a "full English breakfast" include: pork sausages; black pudding; fried or grilled tomatoes; mushrooms; fried bread or possibly sauté potatoes; baked beans; kidneys; and bread and butter on the side.
A full English breakfast served at a hotel might offer additional courses consisting of a choice of cereal, porridge, kippers; toast and jam; kedgeree or devilled kidneys. You would also expect to be served with coffee or tea and fruit juices.
Orange juice and dry cereal are American innovations that were added to the English breakfast after 1950. Coffee at breakfast is a Continental tradition introduced through hotel fare.
There are many traditional cafés in Britain that specialise in serving breakfast meals throughout the day. The full English breakfast may therefore be listed as the "all day breakfast". "Transport caffs" are a tradition along main trucking routes. Such cafés ("caffs") are typically frequented by construction workers working in the local area. As a consequence the very strong tea that is often served in such establishments is colloquially known as "builder's tea".
Other breakfasts in the British Isles differ somewhat. In Scotland you might be served "square sausage" in the form of a patty slice, in Ulster - soda farls and potato farls, while elsewhere in Ireland you might get white pudding and soda bread.