a good place for a cup of tea and a think: The Scandinavian Kitchen, Great Titchfield Street, W1

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

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The Scandinavian Kitchen, Great Titchfield Street, W1

I'm always intrigued by the tides of culinary culture that wash over London. A while ago we were invaded by Australian and Kiwi coffee connoisseurship, which seemed very odd to me until Dan explained that it was to do with different generations of Italian emigration, steam technology and a highly urban society. I'm hoping he'll write about it soon so I can make sure I've got it right. And now, we seeming to be seeing a mini-influx of Scandinavian-ness. Which, heretofore had been confined to those strange kiosk places past the check-out desks in Ikea. The only place I've been in so far is the Scandinavian Kitchen on Great Titchfield Street and it's rather lovely.

A cup of traditional British tea is clearly not a central to what they're all about, but they do it nicely. And I love these big proboscun cups. (Is that a word? It is now.) And your milk arrrives in what I presume to be an authentically Scandinavian pyramid. It's the little things that make cultural differences interesting.

The decor's what you'd probably expect. Clean. Simple. Woody but not too woody. Modern wood. Wood that's read Buckminster Fuller and always uses Helvetica. This would be a fine place for designing a new town or leaving through the new Monocle. (Obviously all these should really be references to Scandinavian folks but I'm a little too ignorant for that. Sorry.)

And they take the edge of the relentless good taste with a broad selection of nicely packaged Scandinavian foodstuffs, which livens the place up a lot. And there's nothing us un-cosmopolitan Brits like more than looking at exotic foreign biscuits. Especially when there's a chance to point at amusingly named products like Plopp. Ahh. Heaven.

All this plus nice sandwiches and they're funny too. Splendid place. I shall be going back.

August 22, 2007 in fitzrovia | Permalink

Comments

Excellent, have been meaning to eat in here for ages - this is just down the road from us.

I love their chalkboard outside - always raises a smile!

Posted by: claire gates | August 23, 2007 at 05:10 PM

Don;t know how i missed this, went there yesterday for a meeting. Absolutely first class coffee and service.

I've always been reminded of sweet shops whenever i've had a scandinavian breakfast (an ex was danish) and here's somewhere that is just that, actually recreating the feeling of a sweet shop.

They even sell that old meme Spunk. See below;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/prenya/9390759/

Posted by: Lee Thomas | September 20, 2007 at 11:02 AM