Street address: Great Windmill Street
Zip code:
City: London
Category: Communication/Media
There's a gloriously thrown together feel to the boxy interior of this reliable Soho stalwart, its smattering of wooden tables topped with mismatched tea cups and faded plastic soy saucers. The cafeteria vibe was bolstered on our last visit by an unfortunate line in radio-friendly R&B seeping from the stereo. Set lunches offer everything from tempura to teriyaki beef or chicken, all served with vegetables, rice and miso soup, while a kaleidoscopic array of hand-rolled sushi is available alongside a comprehensive list of à la carte options. We plumped for chirashi, a generously heaped bowl of steamed rice topped with a colourful assortment of raw fish - tuna, eel, shrimp and salmon roe - that was disarmingly fresh and delicious.
This ever-popular, quirky Soho stalwart - set in an old townhouse - has an endearingly unpretentious, Dickensian feel. Pint sized, its narrow ground floor and bijou basement rooms come hung with old prints, while closely-packed paper-clothed tables, old cottagey chairs and settles add to the Soho-fashion-police-be-damned character. Candlelight at night adds to the atmosphere, alongside its bohemian crowd and lunchtime suits. The kitchen takes a simple, honest approach, with light, seasonal, ingredient-led dishes on a handwritten daily-changing menu. Classics (dressed crab or goose rillettes) mix with more modern thinking (seared king scallops and calasparra pilaf with peas, chorizo and pancetta), while puds tow the chocolate brownie comfort line. The wine list's a corker.
This old-school Italian caff is brimming with character, making it an ideal spot for breaking up Soho shopping sprees with coffee and cake. Dark wood furniture lends a homely feel, and colourful art deco posters adorn the walls. The main draw is the astonishing array of sweet delights filling one long, L-shaped display cabinet, although the hot dishes are equally worth stopping off for. Piping-hot smoked salmon fettuccine came in a seriously substantial portion, with fresh pasta and an artery-clogging amount of cream (our only complaint). For dessert, we couldn't fault the millefoglie, a creamy treat featuring paper-thin layers of flakey puff pastry, but given the café's proudly Italian heritage, we thought the cappuccino could have been better prepared.