The Jukebox Café  at 18 Hartley Road in Radford is an absolute classic café in the ‘greasy spoon’ genre.

I have sampled some of their offerings over the last couple of years from their outside catering stall at the Nottingham beer festival and today I was here at the source to see what they would put on my plate.

Back in 2011 it was a regional winner in a national competition to find the best builders breakfast in the country so game on! An All day breakfast was the mission, and once I saw the menu board outside I could tell that it was going to be a pretty easy mission to complete!

The Jukebox café chalkboard is kind of a dream in the world of the ‘builders breakfast’ (and I am not even a builder). As I steadied myself for the job ahead, I wasn’t sure what the breakfast plates would look like, I was pretty sure that they were going to be substantial though!

The Big Breakfast

Considering what was on the plate this picture makes the Big Breakfast look quite tame! I like a bit of plate organisation and even a bit of plate filling slight of hand. So what you have before you is Two slices of bacon (peeking out from beneath the baked beans), Two Sausages, Two Fried Eggs, some mushroom, Two slices of black pudding, Two slices of Fried Bread, and those aforementioned baked beans and that is just on the plate in question!

To add to the main plate (and I didn’t realise this when I ordered) I was given a plate of toast and bread and butter. There were two slices of each, way too much to really eat! I did try but just half of the toast. That was all that I could manage! I really did try!

It was lucky that the whole meal came with a great big mug of tea to wash it all down with! This was the perfect accompaniment to my big breakfast.

This was not a pretty affair to watch or to eat, but it was very filling and very comforting. I liked it all and while I will not pretend that it was a gourmet affair, it was an affair with the heart as I worked my way through the plate slowly and steadily. Ok so the eggs were a bit overcooked having been flipped the yolk was not as runny as I like, but I know that there are a lot of fussy people out there who don’t like their eggs sunny side up so fair enough. The sausages were not bad at all, not the best gourmet, but they were crisp and well cooked. The bacon was fried and fine enough. I liked the fried bread as I hardly ever eat that these days and the beans and mushrooms were as named. It doesn’t really help to break it all down or to be clever when talking about an All Day Breakfast though, all that really matters is that feeling when you munch your way through a massive plateful and the way you feel for hours afterwards.

The Jukebox Café provides a Big Breakfast that matches all expectations from price to satisfaction in your belly. Just what I want and what I need when I seek such a treat!