The Best Breakfast in the South West: Why the Holiday Starts at the Table

There’s a particular kind of optimism that comes with a really good breakfast on the first day of a holiday. Something shifts. The journey stops being a means to an end and becomes part of the experience. And the South West – with all its coast and countryside and things to look forward to – deserves a breakfast that matches the occasion. 

That’s what we’re here for. 

An all-day brunch menu built for the journey 

Brightside serves breakfast and brunch all day. That matters, because not everyone leaves home at 7am, and not everyone wants a full fry-up the moment they’ve left the driveway. The menu runs from early morning through to the evening, and the kitchen is ready for it throughout. 

At the heart of everything is the Brightside Breakfast: smoked streaky bacon, proper sausages, hash browns, free-range eggs any style, baked beans, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, and toast. It’s generous, it’s cooked fresh, and it’s the kind of thing you’ll still be thinking about somewhere around Bodmin. 

But that’s just the start. The choice – proper choice, not token choice – is part of what makes a Brightside breakfast worth stopping for. 

Choose your breakfast 

The Brightside Breakfast – the classic. Everything you want, nothing you don’t. 

The Big Breakfast – for when you want to make sure you definitely don’t need to stop again for a while. 

Veggie Breakfast – halloumi, free-range egg, hash browns, mushrooms, baked beans, slow-cooked tomatoes, avocado, and toast. Genuinely satisfying. 

Vegan Breakfast – vegan sausages, mushroom, hash browns, baked beans, slow-cooked tomatoes, and sourdough toast. Same spirit, no compromise. 

Smashed Avocado – if what you actually want is something fresh and clean before a long day. 

Bacon & Maple Pancakes – triple-stacked buttermilk pancakes with crispy streaky bacon and maple syrup. The holiday-starts-here option. 

Hot Honey Fried Chicken Waffle – not a traditional breakfast, technically. Still very much worth ordering. 

Gluten-free versions are available across the breakfast menu. Just ask. 

For the kids 

If the whole car is stopping, everyone needs to eat well. The kids’ menu has proper breakfast options – not just toast and a juice box. Smaller portions, proper food, things children actually want to eat. The ones who are fed and happy make the second half of the journey considerably better. 

There are also colouring sheets and activities on the table, because sometimes the meal needs a bit of help. 

Where to get it 

Brightside serves this breakfast menu across three South West locations: 

– Brightside Honiton – A303, Devon. EV charging available. 

– Brightside Exeter – A38, Haldon Hill, just outside Exeter. 

– Brightside Saltash – A38 Trerulefoot roundabout, on the edge of Cornwall. 

All three are dog-friendly, fully accessible, and bookable in advance. We’d recommend booking for weekend mornings in summer – they get busy, and the right booth makes all the difference. 

The holiday starts here 

We’ve heard it from customers more than once: they pulled in unsure, not quite expecting much from a roadside stop, and left having had one of the best meals of the trip. Sometimes the bar is set on the first day, and everything else measures up against it. 

Set the bar high. Start at Brightside.