a good place for a cup of tea and a think:

cafe miscellania

from Kieran
i used to work as a dispatch rider in london and went to hundreds of cafes and i've seen some of my old faves on your website. i wonder if you can help me find a real gem.... it was a small cafe run by an ex-boxer in his late 50's and had old b&w photos of boxers/fights/promo posters all over the place and i mean from skirting boards to ceilings. the food was good but the character of the place and the people there was awesome. all i can remember is that it was in it's own small building in the greenwich area on a desolate industrial estate. it'd be great to re-visit or see a review cheers and thanks for all that dedicated eating
from Clare
It may be too far out of the west end for you, but I have a haven of greasy spooned-ness at the end of my road. YORK CAFE on Woolwich Road is clean, friendly and with proper chips. It is even licensed I think. Give it a go!
from Lambros
TJ's Cafe in mortlake sw14 open seven days a weeks, big portions!! cheap. you should definatley visit this place won the "best greasy spoon" in london award 2003
from The Shropshire Cafe
Russell how come we have not seen you at our cafe you are missing a treat. We serve the best all day breakfast in the North West We cater for everyone also we are in the process of taking on the title of the Ace Cafe of the Midlands Regards Lynn & Pete.
from Dave
May I heartily recommend Sues Cafe in Gillingham Road, Gillingham, Kent (almost opposite the Arriva Bus Depot). Great food, great tea............very good prices for such good quality breakfasts and dinners.
from Abby
The mess in Hackney is much nicer (and admittedly middle classer) than it's local counterparts (nice sausage rather than pig's bum). Some say it's better than Mario's... Alt for a good proper greasy spoon Dilari's on the corner of Mare Street is pretty good. Packed out every lunchtime and they have a non-smoking side of the room. Finally, if you live near Ealing and you've never been to Starvin' Marvins you're missing out. I was cautiously eating my breakfast with the pancake and maple syrup on one side and the bacon and eggs and hash brown on the other. Then absentmindedly I stabbed a bit of bacon onto the end of my syrupy pancaked-up fork… It's manna from lardarse heaven.
from Emma
I love yr book and website. I have never commented on one or a blog before as I dont know how to. My son got this space for me. I am trying to get info on my favourite old cafe, The Blue Sky, by corner of Westbourne Grove and Chepstow Rd,London W2, between PAddington and Portobello Rd, which was my home from home from 1974-80.I lived in various squats and flats nearby and hung out with various groovy people in those days.... It closed down a few years ago. I wld love to get photos and the name/address of the lovely Irish waitress and Italian boss.... I have tried the Archives at Westminster City Library but no luck. I am doing a Ceramics degree as a v mature student and want to do an installation recreating a table at it, the light coming thru steamy bright plateglass windows, the smells, food, china,plastic menus, etc etc. I have assembled a load of stuff (tables, chairs etc),but they are not perfect. I wonder if you have any ideas on where I cld borrow/hire perfect stuff in one fell swoop, for a few days in early Jan 07? Most of all I want to get hold of a tape/CD of cafe background noises. Any ideas? Many thanks, Emma

« January 2004 | Main | March 2004 »

lido, great castle street, w1

the lido is just north of oxford street. there aren't many places open before seven around there. so this is a nice refuge from the cold.

lovely cup of tea. dark, brown, deep.

it has quite a gloomy interior, quite a gloomy mood altogether. but not unpleasant.

there are these odd murals on the wall. slightly sinister.

excellent sign. i like the little chef, but what does he add? is it not clear that the place is a cafe bar restaurant? is the little chef telling you anything extra? no, he's not. but he's making it more friendly. so leave off the little chef.

February 27, 2004 in oxford circus | Permalink | Comments (0)

cafe roma, berwick street, w1

This is an interesting place. It's a little cafe down at the bottom of Berwick Street. In the middle of Soho's 'sex district'. Right opposite the Raymond Revue Bar. I bet this place sees some interesting confrontations and encounters. At 8 on a Saturday morning it's quiet, and a good place to watch a different world waking up.

The tea's nice. Cheap. Hot.

This is slightly alarming. I ordered a bacon sandwich, which was nice. But there was no sauce in the regular bottle, so they gave me this catering one. It's huge. And it's scarily basic looking. This is where a lot of cafes lose it for me; they stint on the sauce. This stuff is thin and watery.

One of the sex/video type places, across the passage from the Roma.

February 22, 2004 in soho | Permalink | Comments (2)

little portland cafe, little portland street, w1

It would be easy to lament the make-over of the Little Portland cafe. It used to be dingy and decrepit and have a kind of gothic, disolute charm. But now it's been decorated with these bright pinks and new chairs and strange 80s track-lighting and all that charm went away. But, you know what? sometimes we cafe afficionados have to live with that. These people have got to make a living and not everyone's a devotee of faded glory. Some people just want tea and cakes in a nice friendly environment. And they provide that with aplomb.

And they certainly make a nice cup of tea. Dark and brown and quick. In a big vessel with just the right balance between cup and mug.

And there's still a nice sense of personality to the place. It's not faceless and corporate. It's still hand-made and personal. I like the bubbly writing on this sign.

UPDATE: March 2016. Still going strong.

February 20, 2004 in fitzrovia | Permalink | Comments (3)

centrale, soho

this is an interesting place. a limited menu, some pasta, some omlettes, egg and chips. the menu's a bad photocopy, but the chef is extremely tempremental and won't allow any deviation from it. you're very likely to have to share a table because it's so small. but it has a lovely ancient feeling. wood rubbed smooth by years and years of idling bottoms, red formica-y stuff, polished by generations of worn elbows. strange paintings covered in nicotine.

a lovely place to sit and drink your tea. because there's always a conversation to overhear.

As Patrick warned, the Centrale has indeed closed.

But life goes on, as the owners explain all over their windows.

With a handy map...

February 18, 2004 in soho | Permalink | Comments (23)

101 snack bar, charing cross road, wc2

the main attraction of this place is the vibrant yellow, well, everything - counter, walls, the lot. it's not beautiful but it'll probably cure seasonal affective disorder. you can't really sit here and nurse a long pot of tea. but if you're in town, perhaps book browsing down the charing cross road it's the perfect place for a quick cuppa.

oh blimey, they've just put a new sign up. admittedly the old one had fallen apart, but it was lovely. this new one is horribly generic. look -

February 09, 2004 in soho | Permalink | Comments (4)

bar italia, frith street

i've always been a little wary of bar italia, it always seems so aggresively part of 'the scene'. whatever that scene is. but it turns out to be the perfect place to sit outside and have a cup of tea on a sunday morning, when there's not much else open in soho. i know tea's not really supposed to be the thing you have there, but they give you a nice big cup.

it's a nice place to just sit and watch the world. there seem to be a load of chinese kids going to school on sunday morning. reminds me of the misery of going to sunday school, but they seem a lot more motivated than I did.