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
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Fantastic place in Clerkenwell. Not there for fry-ups really. More about sandwiches, coffee and a break from the 21st century. Really friendly people and all the right kind of stuff. There's some great pictures of the owners at classic cafes. Nice cup of tea an' all.
A gorgeous exterior which really fits in well in the vibe of the area.
Everything in the place has been rubbed smooth with use and affection.
Piled high with goodness, caffeine and crisps.
This place is perfect. Slightly off the Llandudno main drag it was fairly quiet in December. I hope it's packed in the summer. It's completely fantastic.
As regular readers may know I'm normally a tea man. But this place demanded a frothy coffee - one which was clearly made by Tommy Steele in 1957 and transported here by time-machine.
Someone ate all the pies.
Fantastic formica. Lovely cabinets. Minimal, but sufficient, confectionary selection.
Deeply ancient and patinaed booths. Like the timbers of a well-loved yacht or the seats on an elderly ferry.
Of course they serve Tunnock's tea cakes. Anne would approve.
And Horlicks. Not cheap though is it? Is Horlicks normally a luxury like Hot Chocolate? I don't know much of the way of the Horlicker.
One of the things I love about cafes is the informal signage. And the way that cafe owners can just decide their own rules. This is a perfectly sensible rule. And magnificent hand-writing.
Again, nothing to argue with here. Though if persons did bring their own food could they still sit in there, despite not getting served? I think we should be told.
I have to quibble with this. I know why push-chairs cause trouble but I can think of nothing better for young parents who've just got little Ikea off to sleep than popping in here for a tea and a tunnocks.
This is the piece de resistance though. A brilliant sign. Look at that type. I love these people.
Go to Llandudno. Give these people your custom. Keep them going.
(a point of explanation on the comments below. I originally had this place listed as in Aberystwyth. Which it isn't. Sorry about that. Richard kindly pointed that out. And I disagree with Tony. There's some lovely people in Aberystwyth. And a lovely chip shop.)
It seems that eggbaconchipsandbeans.com has been nominated as one of the 'Yahoo! Finds Of The Year'. Which is nice. And if you click here you can vote for me. And if you did that I'd be your best friend.
It started as a page about my personal obsession with the traditional British fry-up - specifically egg, bacon, chips and beans. Which is what I always order. But it (along with this page) has also become a way of documenting a quickly disappearing slice of British culture - the traditional cafe. And it's become a place where people are discussing the idea of a Cafe Preservation Society. (See here and here ). (And if you want to see more great cafes then hi yourself hither, hither, hither and, of course, thither.
For everyone who's been talking about the Cafe Preservation thing. This is what I'd suggest should happen next.
I had a cup of tea a while back with Adrian Maddox (creator of classic cafes and author of the definitive classic cafes book). He's become the authority on this stuff so it'd be great to have him involved. He seems keen to do something, but clearly has lots of his own irons in the fire and they're keeping him busy. (And he probably thinks I'm a wimpy corporate apologist. Which is fair.)
But anyway, I think we should just plough on with something. At least move the conversation off the internet and into a cafe. So who's up for a cup of tea somewhere central? (if we made it the New Piccadilly maybe Adrian would come) How about one evening at the end of Feb? We could meet up, chat, work out what we want to do. And then report back to everyone not in Central London.
Thoughts?
Cafe Romano is a lovely little Italiany place, around the corner from Coram Fields.
Nice cup of tea. And reasonably cheap.
Minimal condiment cluster. Just the basics.
Never know when you'll need spare ashtrays.
Eccentric signage with a Swiss-chalet feel.
This a great place. Fin de siecle ennui. Weltschmerz. Beautiful misery. All can be cultivated here with great aplomb...
Staring into your cup of tea...
Idly fiddling with the salt cellar...
Staring at the huge, startling mural.
Il Buffone is a fantastically friendly place, just on the outskirts of Covent Garden, lovely cup of tea and a lot of Italian chat and gusto.
It's all wood with great wooden seats/booths which I seem not to have photographed.
Marylebone Cafe, Marylebone Lane. Modest, unassuming place. Lovely cup of tea.
Welcoming windows.
Plain, vibey ambience.
Enormous pile of ashtrays. This is a place for smoking hard.
There's an air of the decor not quite being finished. Don't know how long it's not been quite finished.
Wouldn't you like to spend time arranging these windows.
I'm hungry. This sign makes me hungry.
I bought the London Caffs book yesterday (fantastic - great photos and commentary, good mixture of 'cafe eras'). And it prompted me to look through Classic Cafes again. (Equally brilliant - lovely shots, fascinating points of view). Both make my own efforts look pretty feeble.
But that's not important now.
These books set me thinking that maybe we could all do more than simply document the decline of these places. Maybe we should try and take all this enthusiasm and knowledge and channel it into something like a Cafe Preservation Society.
It's role could be to keep an eye on the great cafes in danger, lobby planning authorities etc. and/or if all else fails; ensure that the atmosphere of the place is recorded and maybe some of the fixtures and fittings preserved for posterity.
Maybe it's something that English Heritage or the National Trust or the 20th Century Society are already doing, but they must have other fish in the air or balls to fry and sometimes you can't do better than get a few like-minded lunatics together to get something done. (You sometimes get the impression that Adrian Maddox is joined in lonely battle on these issues, maybe more of us could offer some help)
I'm going to write to the great cafe luminaries, see what they think, but I'm quite enthused by this idea. I'd love to get something going. What do you all think? Any volunteers? Who's in? Someone want to build a website? etc. etc.
If nothing else we could have some regular outings to cafes, and preserve them through our custom.
Or am I mad? Or is someone already doing this and I should pay more attention to the world around me?
Comments please.
What a shame. I'd love to have gone to this place. It's closed now, but some splendid folk have created a great tribute site. Fantastic overheard conversations.
