Eggs Royale: the smoked salmon version of Eggs Benedict explained

Eggs Benedict Royale, usually shortened to Eggs Royale, is the smoked salmon version of Eggs Benedict. Two poached eggs sit on a toasted English muffin over slices of smoked salmon, and warm hollandaise sauce is spooned on top. The salmon replaces the cured meat of the original and gives the plate a softer, smokier flavour.

What is Eggs Royale?

Eggs Royale is a brunch dish of poached eggs, smoked salmon, toasted English muffin and hollandaise sauce. It belongs to the Eggs Benedict family, where the muffin, eggs and sauce stay fixed and only the layer beneath the egg changes.

The salmon is normally cold-smoked and sliced thin, so it drapes over the muffin rather than sitting in a thick slab. It is eaten as it comes, without being cooked further, and the heat of the eggs and sauce just warms it through. Some menus call the dish Eggs Benedict Royale, Eggs Royal or Salmon Benedict. All of these names describe the same idea.

How is Eggs Royale different from Eggs Benedict?

Eggs Royale differs from Eggs Benedict only in the layer under the poached egg: smoked salmon rather than sliced cured meat. The rest of the plate is the same.

Because smoked salmon is already salty, many cooks go easier on salt in the hollandaise for Royale. A little lemon helps balance it.

What does Eggs Royale taste like?

Eggs Royale tastes rich and gently smoky, with a creamy sauce, a soft yolk and a slightly salty fish layer. The muffin adds a toasted, chewy base, and lemon in the hollandaise lifts the whole plate.

Cold-smoked salmon is silky and mild rather than fishy. If you have not eaten it before, think of it as delicate and savoury, closer to a cured fish slice than to a cooked fillet.

How do you make Eggs Royale at home?

To make Eggs Royale at home, prepare the hollandaise, poach the eggs, toast the muffins, lay on the smoked salmon and finish with sauce. The salmon needs no cooking, so the method is simpler than a Benedict that needs warmed meat.

1. Split and toast two English muffins, then keep them warm.
2. Make a hollandaise from three egg yolks, about 100 g melted butter and a squeeze of lemon, or warm a ready-made one gently.
3. Simmer a deep pan of water, add a little vinegar and poach four eggs for about three minutes each.
4. Lay two folded slices of smoked salmon on each muffin half.
5. Top each with a drained poached egg and spoon hollandaise over.
6. Add black pepper, chives or dill, and serve straight away.

For four eggs you need roughly 100 g of smoked salmon. Smoked salmon trimmings are cheaper and work well because the slices are folded anyway.

What can you serve with Eggs Royale?

Eggs Royale pairs with fresh, slightly bitter or acidic sides. Rocket, watercress, sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes all work, and so do a few capers or a wedge of lemon.

Drinks that suit the plate include a flat white, a cappuccino, loose-leaf tea or fresh orange juice. Heavier sides such as fried potatoes make the plate very rich, so many cafes keep the accompaniments light.

Is Eggs Royale on the Lazy Graze menu?

Yes. Lazy Graze lists Eggs Royale, and listings name it as a popular breakfast order. The recorded menu describes it as poached eggs with hollandaise, and it is the cafe’s closest dish to a Benedict.

Lazy Graze is a tea room and cafe in Montpellier Courtyard, Cheltenham, and this site is an independent guide rather than the cafe itself. The dish name comes from public listings read on 13 November 2026, and no price was published. The exact contents, such as which muffin or sides come with it, are not recorded, so check with the cafe. See the recorded menu and opening hours before you go.

How do you order Eggs Royale?

Order Eggs Royale by name and say how you like the yolks. Most kitchens serve them runny. Ask what comes on the side if you want a lighter or heavier plate.

If you need to avoid certain ingredients, ask the cafe before ordering, since the sauce contains egg and butter and the muffin contains gluten. The cafe is the only reliable source for allergen details, and none were confirmed on the listings used for this guide.

What smoked salmon works best for Eggs Royale?

Cold-smoked salmon is the standard choice for Eggs Royale because it is thin, silky and ready to eat. Supermarkets in the UK sell it in packs of slices or as cheaper trimmings, and either works.

Whichever you choose, take the salmon out of the fridge a few minutes before assembling so it is not ice cold against the hot egg.

Eggs Royale vs eggs and smoked salmon on toast: what is the difference?

Eggs Royale is a hollandaise-topped muffin dish, while eggs and smoked salmon on toast is a simpler plate with scrambled or poached eggs beside the fish. Both use the same two main ingredients.

The toast version has no sauce and usually uses sourdough or brown bread. Scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon on toast is a lighter order, and it is common on cafe menus that do not have the equipment to hold hollandaise warm. Eggs Royale is the choice when you want the buttery sauce and the stacked, knife-and-fork plate.

Why is it called Royale?

The name Royale is used because the smoked salmon version is regarded as the luxury member of the Benedict family. Salmon is a pricier ingredient than a slice of cured meat, so the dish got the grander name.

No single source fixes who first used the name, so treat the explanation as the generally accepted one rather than a recorded fact. Another named variation in the same family is Eggs Florentine with spinach, though names vary between cafes.

Common questions

Planning a visit? Start with Lazy Graze: address, opening hours, menu and directions in one place.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Lazy Graze itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.