Monster Brunch launches at Freak Scene on 15 August, running every Saturday and Sunday until 20 December with DIY temaki, sharing plates, a resident DJ and an optional 90 minutes of free-flow drinks.
Bottomless brunch has a reputation problem: apologetic eggs, warm prosecco and a waiter counting your ninety minutes down like a hostage negotiator. Freak Scene, the punk-Asian restaurant on a quiet Balham corner, is aiming considerably higher. From Saturday 15 August, its new Monster Brunch runs every weekend until 20 December, and it comes with an actual kitchen behind it.
The menu
Two 90-minute sittings, at noon and 2pm, are built around DIY temaki: hand-rolls guests fill themselves with spicy tuna, avocado or salmon tartare, plus sauces and crunchy toppings. From there the sharing plates take over – izakaya sliders with umami mayo and chilli jam, pumpkin croquettes with yuzu kosho mayo and pickled chillies, chicken kushiyaki in yakiniku sauce, barbecue prawns with laksa, crispy shallots and herb salad. Garlic fried rice, house pickles and grilled hispi cabbage with ponzu, brown butter, truffle and dried miso round the table off, all served family-style. It is, in other words, a considerably more serious spread than most bottomless brunch in this city bothers with.
The chef
Scott Hallsworth ran the pass at Nobu London before founding Kurobuta, and Freak Scene is his loosest project yet, maximalist Japanese and Southeast Asian cooking that has picked up nods from Time Out, Harden’s and BBC’s Saturday Kitchen along the way. The £35 Monster Brunch covers the feast, a welcome drink and the DJ. The £45 Monster Free-Flow adds ninety minutes of unlimited prosecco, beer and selected cocktails, and both prices rise by £5 if you book with less than a week’s notice.
The London x London Take: Southwest London’s brunch scene has been crying out for a kitchen this serious behind a format this loud. Go for the Free-Flow – the extra £10 buys ninety minutes of drinks that would cost more than that on their own – and book the noon sitting before the DJ decides the room needs waking up.
Need to Know
- Where: Freak Scene, 1 Ramsden Road, Balham, London SW12 8QX
- When: Saturdays and Sundays, 15 August to 20 December 2026, sittings at 12pm and 2pm
- Price: £35, or £45 for free-flow drinks
- Nearest station: Balham (Northern line, plus National Rail)
