€9.50
Barcelona

Around a 23-minute walk away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist funnel that is Las Ramblas, Barcelona, sits a corner-cafe serving brunch to the locals. Luckily, it's too far away from the main areas, so any globetrotters that make it all that way are there for a reason and not just dropping in because there's a queue at Burger King. And speaking about dropping in, surely a party of three can drop into a hot brunch zone at peak brunch time on a Saturday without a reservation, right? No. We got bounced outside to a bench until we were called in 20 minutes later, and with the timing befit of a cheap sitcom, hailstones the size of peas bombed down from out of the sky, battering the area before soon giving way to rain.

As we stood huddled under some nearby scaffolding, we glared through the windows of Urgot at the patrons nearest to us who were wasting time by taking constant selfies like we were mobsters putting the frighteners on. Eventually, we were summoned in and clambered through the door to our freshly wiped table. It was a curious crowd that populated Urgot; people seemed to be (mostly) chatting instead of mindlessly scrolling on their phones in deafening silence that I so often see in London.

I glanced at the menu at the usual breakfast/brunch items and was instantly piqued by a selection of "Artisan savoury doughnuts with poached farm egg", and ripe with puns naming their creations (Doughnutella Versace, Doughnut Trump, etc) I ordered the Madoughnut because I'm a Material Girl and I want one.

When I read "savoury doughnut", I just assumed it was neutral round bread, possibly with some umami flavourings. But when the dish turned up, the description "savoury doughnut" was used to take an actual sweet doughnut and encapsulate it with savoury stuff. Not even an attempt to reimagine a doughnut for savoury consumption (just round bread, basically) like when they make candy versions of things like pizza.

Manually placed from a small egg cup to the doughnut hole was one of the best-poached eggs I've ever sampled. It's one of those things that is a hidden stamp of cookery; if cutting open a poached egg is like cutting open a baseball, you're probably in a place that sells tinned chicken. Mushrooms and freshly wilted spinach with a slightly bitter bite created the foundations for the doughnut to sit upon, and around it, a moat of hollandaise sauce. Finished with an expensive amount's worth of saffron slammed on top, Urgot Bruncherie's Madoughnut was every bit eating as it was remarking over when it was presented at our table. Novelty aside, it was one of the best egg's benedicts I've tried.