this is my favourite so far. it's somehow simultaneously loved and abandoned. it's hidden away on brooks mews, behind claridges, in a part of town where most people aren't looking for a cheap cup of tea. so it's never mobbed. but the locals seem to know it. as do taxi drivers, who can pull-up outside and grab a sandwich without being harrased too much. you can imagine the staff from claridges popping over for a fag and a cuppa. i bet there's gossip about celebs to be heard.
it's not preserved in aspic, but it still has 'period charm'. like this sign. i wonder if you can still get these somewhere. i'd like to put one over my desk, as a phonelist.
there's a lot of places where a fruitmachine can drive you mad. they seem to have the volume just right here.
it's nice and bare and simple, not cluttered with stuff like so many places with 'charm'.
a strangely excited spout on the sugar dispenser.
nice cup of tea too.
Hi
This made me laugh, cause I worked at Claridges... and walked past this bar every day! No talk about celebs though of course.. ;)
Posted by: Alice | March 06, 2005 at 10:07 PM
As of today it looks like it's been closed for a while. There are no signs about holidays that I can see. Has it closed for good?
Posted by: Carl | August 25, 2005 at 02:46 PM
Carl,
A lot of Italian-run places close for a few weeks in August for their summer holidays. Hopefully this is the case with the Sandwich Bar, though as you say, there's usually a notice in the window.
I think there's the possibility of a redevelopment of the block in 2006, which would lead to the cafe's closure.
If it's still closed by the second week in September, it could be a case of another caff bites the dust.
Posted by: Patrick | August 25, 2005 at 08:36 PM
According to Adrian Maddox's "Classic Cafes" website, this place closes on December 15.
It's one of London's great hidden cafes, so get there while you can.
There should be a "Departed Cafes" section on this site, for places like Lino's, Bon Appetit, Centrale etc. etc., so sad gits like me can indulge in caff nostalgia !
Posted by: Patrick | December 07, 2006 at 09:27 PM
hello patrick,
have a look at the ebcb entries on linos and euston sandwich bar. I'm trying to note the demise of some places.
Posted by: russell | December 07, 2006 at 09:37 PM
I went here on the 8th December 2006 and it seemed very much open.
It would be a real shame to see it go :(
Posted by: nel | December 18, 2006 at 05:07 PM
Russell,
Thanks for this.
Another great 60's hold out, the Chelsea Kitchen, in King's Road, Chelsea, closes on Xmas Eve. It's been there since 1960. It might have been the first of the Stockpot chain, as the menu seems similar.
It was a great place, leatherette booths on the ground floor, and a cave-like basement area, with a real art-school, bohemian ambience. The owners were old-school Italians.
It's the usual story, the landlord's hiking up the rent, making it hard to operate. It'll be a mobile-phone shop - quelle surprise.
Posted by: Patrick | December 23, 2006 at 06:04 PM