DERELICT LONDON - Cafes
Derelict London - London's Lost Cafes
Many people, quite rightly discuss the loss of many a traditional boozer, but the old school caff is important too. Due to property redevelopment and increasing rents that only coffee chains can afford this website since 2003 has documented the gradual decline of the English cafe culture. London's "greasy spoon" cafes are gradually disappearing and the number of branded coffee shops like Starbucks have trebled in recent years even though their drinks are usually double the price. Many typical greasy spoon caffs focus on fried or grilled food, such as fish and chips, chicken, sausages, bacon, liver, fried or scrambled eggs and omelettes. These are usually accompanied by sides of baked beans, hash browns, toast or fried bread and chips. Pies, burgers, jacket potatoes and sandwiches are also popular. A greasy spoon is often located alongside a main road to serve passing motorists especially people who are on the road all-day but these days so many parking restrictions have contributed to their downfall. Some say the craze for healthy food is another reason for the decline in traditional cafes, but that doesn't explain the rapid increase of fried chicken shops. Also, the continued increase in JD Wetherspoon pubs which offer a decent breakfast for around a fiver with unlimited tea or coffee included in the price has not helped the small cafe trade. Whilst I have partaken in many a 'Spoons breakfast myself I do still prefer to check out the smaller cafes and talk to the local characters who eat in them. Less Wi-Fi more banter..........
Victory Café - Bethnal Green, E2 (2003)
Victory Café - Bethnal Green, E2 (2003)
This sad site is the Victory Café at 431 Hackney Rd that I snapped back in 2003. A piece of the building's frontage remained until 2005 before being completely obliterated and replaced by a 178 room hotel. First it was the Days Hotel, then the Re Hotel and now Mama Shelter, a French boutique chain. The Hotels Network website says, "The brand has become a reference for design-oriented lifestyle hotels, with properties located in out-of-the-way corners in the most iconic cities around the world, guiding guests to discover hidden gems of neighbourhoods".
Traditional English Foods in Dagenham
The Cafe, Caff or Greasy Spoon.
A greasy spoon is a small, cheap cafe typically specializing in fried foods and/or home-cooked meals. The term greasy spoon has been used in the United States since at least the 1920s and is sometimes used in the United Kingdom to refer to a cafe or caff, (which is not to be confused with the European term café, which may mean "coffee-house" or "bar"). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term greasy spoon originated in the United States since at least the 1920s but since then, has been more commonly used in the UK. MacMillan's Magazine in 1906, refers to events of an earlier time: a restaurant in Paris was visited daily by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1874. "...the Cremerie in the Rue Delambre, - an eating-house much frequented by artists, and familiarly known as The Greasy Spoon..."
A greasy spoon is a small, cheap cafe typically specializing in fried foods and/or home-cooked meals. The term greasy spoon has been used in the United States since at least the 1920s and is sometimes used in the United Kingdom to refer to a cafe or caff, (which is not to be confused with the European term café, which may mean "coffee-house" or "bar"). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term greasy spoon originated in the United States since at least the 1920s but since then, has been more commonly used in the UK. MacMillan's Magazine in 1906, refers to events of an earlier time: a restaurant in Paris was visited daily by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1874. "...the Cremerie in the Rue Delambre, - an eating-house much frequented by artists, and familiarly known as The Greasy Spoon..."
The Tea Rooms - Bloomsbury,WC1
The Tea Rooms - Holborn WC1 (2004)
The Tea Rooms at 11 Museum Street in Central London was a lovely little cafe originally opened in the 1930s and owned and operated by Eugenio and Rene Corsini since 1960. Gilbert and George, Diana Rigg, Bamber Gascoigne and Patrick Moore had all been customers over the years along with office workers, binmen, taxi drivers and visitors for the British Museum. Eugenio died in 2000 and his wife carried on the business until retiring in 2004 amidst increasing rents and long term planning proposals for the whole block. After the defunct cafe appeared in the first edition of the Derelict London book in 2008 readers have written to me saying that Rene serving her regular customers helped her in her bereavement.
Shortly after the Tea Rooms in Holborn closed for business a sign appeared in the window that read: ‘The Tea Rooms has now closed after 44 years of happy trading. I would like to thank all of my customers who showed their loyal support throughout the years. I will miss you all dearly. God Bless. Mrs Reni Corsini’. It's still standing derelict in 2021 and the building has become more and more dilapidated. The Art Deco-lettered sign has disappeared revealing the original hand-painted ghost sign that had been hidden underneath. Unfortunately, that got painted over when the shop was briefly used as offices in 2011/12.
I wonder where Mrs Corsini is these days...
A modern day photograph of The Tea Rooms can be found at my Dereliction and Beyond.... Then and Now Pics from the Derelict London book.
https://www.derelictlondon.com/dereliction-and-beyondthen-and-now-photos.html
Shortly after the Tea Rooms in Holborn closed for business a sign appeared in the window that read: ‘The Tea Rooms has now closed after 44 years of happy trading. I would like to thank all of my customers who showed their loyal support throughout the years. I will miss you all dearly. God Bless. Mrs Reni Corsini’. It's still standing derelict in 2021 and the building has become more and more dilapidated. The Art Deco-lettered sign has disappeared revealing the original hand-painted ghost sign that had been hidden underneath. Unfortunately, that got painted over when the shop was briefly used as offices in 2011/12.
I wonder where Mrs Corsini is these days...
A modern day photograph of The Tea Rooms can be found at my Dereliction and Beyond.... Then and Now Pics from the Derelict London book.
https://www.derelictlondon.com/dereliction-and-beyondthen-and-now-photos.html
The Tea Rooms - Holborn WC1 (2007)
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The Tea Rooms - Holborn WC1 (2004)
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Bon Appetit Sandwich Bar - Queen Victoria Street, EC4 (2014) |
Bon Appetit Sandwich Bar - Queen Victoria Street, EC4 (2014)
This lovely building called Bridge House, which housed the Bon Appetit, sandwiched (excuse the pun) between Blackfriars Bridge and Blackfriars Station was derelict for many years surrounded by construction work for the redevelopment of Blackfriars Station. Once the new shiny glass building of Blackfriars Station was complete, work commenced in 2015 on gutting out this prime location building. I had money on it becoming a Star*ucks style chain, but the whole building is now swanky offices called the Beaumont Business Centre whose website boasts of having an "on site barista."
Susan Heaver wrote to Derelict London in 2014: "When driving through Blackfriars with my mother recently she let out a sudden gasp. She had spotted a derelict snack bar/café by the bridge called, Bon Appetit. My mother will be 85 this year, my father died in 2012. They visited this cafe after going to the cinema on their first date in the early 1950s. They had a coffee then he walked her to the underground station to catch her train home. 10 days later he proposed to her. They were very happily married for 58 years."
Susan Heaver wrote to Derelict London in 2014: "When driving through Blackfriars with my mother recently she let out a sudden gasp. She had spotted a derelict snack bar/café by the bridge called, Bon Appetit. My mother will be 85 this year, my father died in 2012. They visited this cafe after going to the cinema on their first date in the early 1950s. They had a coffee then he walked her to the underground station to catch her train home. 10 days later he proposed to her. They were very happily married for 58 years."
Bon Appetit Sandwich Bar - Queen Victoria Street, EC4 (2014)
Blackfriars Cafe - Blackfriars Road, SE1
Blackfriars Cafe - Blackfriars Road, SE1
The fate of this block first came to my attention when the Blackfriars Cafe, where I used to call in for breakfast before my River Fleet guided walk, was closed down in Summer 2013.
The popular family run (since 1978) Blackfriars Cafe was the best fry-up in the area. Some London cafes have closed in London due to declining business, but this one was ever popular and was forced to close due to the demolition of the whole Edwardian mansion block called St George's Mansions that it was sited in. The block also contained a newsagent and a dry cleaners.
A bar called Imbibe in a building adjoining St George's Mansions also had to close to make way for the new development. The bar, previously a pub called the Pre-demolition St George's Mansions on Blackfriars Road dates to 1839. Russ Conway the pianist was known to have played at the pub (Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits).
The lot has been demolished and replaced by an apartment block called The Residence. During planning proposals the developer's website stated that "the existing Blackfriars Café and laundrette will be provided space within the new development." Despite local opposition, Southwark Council's planning committee voted four to three in favour of the scheme, with Labour members backing the application and Lib Dems voting against. Beneath the new apartment block there is a new dry cleaners but no Blackfriars Cafe, only a small Japanese fast food place. These days I wander over to Marie's Cafe in Lower Marsh for a full English with hand cut chips and home-made chilli oil, tea and toast all for around a fiver. It's a traditional caff in the mornings and Thai in the daytime and its BYOB too!
The popular family run (since 1978) Blackfriars Cafe was the best fry-up in the area. Some London cafes have closed in London due to declining business, but this one was ever popular and was forced to close due to the demolition of the whole Edwardian mansion block called St George's Mansions that it was sited in. The block also contained a newsagent and a dry cleaners.
A bar called Imbibe in a building adjoining St George's Mansions also had to close to make way for the new development. The bar, previously a pub called the Pre-demolition St George's Mansions on Blackfriars Road dates to 1839. Russ Conway the pianist was known to have played at the pub (Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits).
The lot has been demolished and replaced by an apartment block called The Residence. During planning proposals the developer's website stated that "the existing Blackfriars Café and laundrette will be provided space within the new development." Despite local opposition, Southwark Council's planning committee voted four to three in favour of the scheme, with Labour members backing the application and Lib Dems voting against. Beneath the new apartment block there is a new dry cleaners but no Blackfriars Cafe, only a small Japanese fast food place. These days I wander over to Marie's Cafe in Lower Marsh for a full English with hand cut chips and home-made chilli oil, tea and toast all for around a fiver. It's a traditional caff in the mornings and Thai in the daytime and its BYOB too!
Georges Diner in Silvertown, E16
Georges Diner in Silvertown, E16 (2007 but looks exactly the same in 2021)
Certainly, one of the most iconic of London's Lost Cafes and one of the most photographed sites on my Derelict London Silvertown walking tours.
Allegedly serving up the best fry-ups and home-made steak and kidney pies for miles around, and run by Brian (not George), the clientele here was a great mixture of builders, lorry drivers and Canary Wharf suits. Other attractions included showers for the drivers, cracked plastic chairs, and copies of the Sun and Truckers Weekly plus a large car park for drivers something extremely lacking in London these days. I have been informed that George was Brian's dad and that the family originally owned the cafe on Leonard Street in Silvertown before it moved to this site on North Woolwich Road.
Georges Diner – they never got around to putting an apostrophe in the sign – closed down in 2005 to make way for the new Silvertown development (still pending). As of 2021, the site remains derelict.
Tony Jauncey writes to Derelict London: "From 1970 to 1973 I work as a subcontractor with my Dads firm in Crosse and Blackwells in Silvertown. The food in the canteen was not too bad, but we always chose George's out of preference. The first time I went into Georges I was amazed that the family that run it were so small, the average height of men and women was about 5ft 2. Brian was Georges son and as you say, the food was superb. I can honestly say that I have never had a better breakfast since, the place should have been listed. Sadly, the guts have been ripped out of the East End, but your site brings back many happy memories"
Allegedly serving up the best fry-ups and home-made steak and kidney pies for miles around, and run by Brian (not George), the clientele here was a great mixture of builders, lorry drivers and Canary Wharf suits. Other attractions included showers for the drivers, cracked plastic chairs, and copies of the Sun and Truckers Weekly plus a large car park for drivers something extremely lacking in London these days. I have been informed that George was Brian's dad and that the family originally owned the cafe on Leonard Street in Silvertown before it moved to this site on North Woolwich Road.
Georges Diner – they never got around to putting an apostrophe in the sign – closed down in 2005 to make way for the new Silvertown development (still pending). As of 2021, the site remains derelict.
Tony Jauncey writes to Derelict London: "From 1970 to 1973 I work as a subcontractor with my Dads firm in Crosse and Blackwells in Silvertown. The food in the canteen was not too bad, but we always chose George's out of preference. The first time I went into Georges I was amazed that the family that run it were so small, the average height of men and women was about 5ft 2. Brian was Georges son and as you say, the food was superb. I can honestly say that I have never had a better breakfast since, the place should have been listed. Sadly, the guts have been ripped out of the East End, but your site brings back many happy memories"
Lou's Cafe - Deptford, SE8 (2013)
Lou's Cafe - Deptford, SE8 (2013)
This Italian family-owned cafe in Deptford High Street run by Giuseppina (known to everyone locally as Josie), her older brother Lou and his wife Polda closed in the 1990s after nearly 60 years in business. The cafe then became Josie's home but in 2013 she died here in 2013, aged 82 years old after an arson attack intended for the Vietnamese bar next door. A man was found guilty of manslaughter and two counts of arson and was jailed for 13 years.
The premises appear to have been converted for retail use but currently vacant.
The premises appear to have been converted for retail use but currently vacant.
Matthiae Café - Richmond, TW9
Matthiae Café, Richmond, TW9 (2007)
This one can be found in the All New Edition of the Derelict London book with Then and Now photographs.
Reg Matthiae opened the venture as a bakery in 1920 and subsequently expanded the business to include a café, restaurant and catering service. The family business closed in 2001 after 80 years. The building remained empty for nearly 12 years and suffered from a lack of general maintenance. A few old wedding cake decorations covered in dust remained visible in the window.
Tesco bought the café site and residents with support from local councillors persuaded & worked with the supermarket chain to sympathetically restore the iconic building which has retained its art deco frontage, while individual Tesco steel lettering makes up the signage maintaining its 1930s style. A window display is now in homage to the history of the building.
Reg Matthiae opened the venture as a bakery in 1920 and subsequently expanded the business to include a café, restaurant and catering service. The family business closed in 2001 after 80 years. The building remained empty for nearly 12 years and suffered from a lack of general maintenance. A few old wedding cake decorations covered in dust remained visible in the window.
Tesco bought the café site and residents with support from local councillors persuaded & worked with the supermarket chain to sympathetically restore the iconic building which has retained its art deco frontage, while individual Tesco steel lettering makes up the signage maintaining its 1930s style. A window display is now in homage to the history of the building.
Callegari's Restaurant - Limehouse, E14
Callegari's Restaurant - Limehouse, E14 (2012)
This derelict Commercial Road cafe was owned by Peter who had been running it for 50 years, although it had been in the family since 1899. It closed down in the 1990s and has been vacant ever since apart from the odd spell of squatting. Not surprisingly the state of the building has deteriorated since I took this photograph in 2012.
A few doors up is one of my favourites - Franks Cafe which has been run by the same Italian family since the 1960s. There is always a warm welcome from the brothers and their mum and plenty of gossip from the locals and cabbies. The artists Gilbert and George often visit here for breakfast too.
A few doors up is one of my favourites - Franks Cafe which has been run by the same Italian family since the 1960s. There is always a warm welcome from the brothers and their mum and plenty of gossip from the locals and cabbies. The artists Gilbert and George often visit here for breakfast too.
Eastern Cafe - Limehouse, E14
Eastern Cafe - Limehouse (2005)
The Eastern situated next door to the Star of the East pub on the Commercial Road was owned by the Ferrari family since before the First World War in what was originally a hat shop. During the heyday of the nearby docks the cafe was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week employing 9 staff. The Queen once sent a telegram to them congratulating the Ferrari for all their years in the cafe business. The undertakers a few doors up often stored coffins in their cellar. This info was from a book called Cafe by Cheryl A Aaron published in 1985. The Eastern Cafe closed in the early 2000s. This and the shop to the right of this photograph was demolished and replaced by 2009 with a similar looking building containing two more shops with the one on this spot is now HG Health which specialises in massages.
Lea Side Cafe - Upper Edmonton, N18
Lea Side Cafe - Upper Edmonton, N18 (2018)
Until 2016 this scenically placed riverside cafe (it is beside the River Lee Navigation) was booming with business as it was surrounded by all the depots and warehouses Stonehill Business Park. Most of the surrounding buildings have been cleared as this sits within Enfield Council’s Meridian Water Regeneration Project which will provide 10,000 new homes. The cafe reopened in 2019 but has now permanently closed down.
Lea Side Cafe - Upper Edmonton, N18
Court Café - Newington Causeway, SE1
Court Café - Newington Causeway, SE1
This family run Italian café opposite Inner London Crown Court closed down in 2015 due to pending redevelopment of the 'Borough Triangle' scheme. As of 2021, the building is still standing.
This family run Italian café opposite Inner London Crown Court closed down in 2015 due to pending redevelopment of the 'Borough Triangle' scheme. As of 2021, the building is still standing.
Copper Grill and Piccolo Sandwich Bar - The City, EC2
Copper Grill - The City, EC2 (2004)
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Piccolo Sandwich Bar - The City, EC2 (2004)
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These two cafes sat side by side on Eldon St behind what's now the Broadgate Centre near Liverpool Street Station. Both were extremely popular cafes throughout the day with basement dining areas serving everything from full English breakfasts to sandwiches throughout the day. There were multi-coloured Formica tabletops in the Piccolo and Rosewood tables in the style of an 1960s American diner in the Copper Grill. Some staff had worked at the Copper Grill for 35 years by the time both closed in 2004 and subsequently demolished soon
after.
A new block stands there now with a Nationwide Building Society occupying the exact position of the former cafes. You have to make do with the Costa Coffee over the road.
after.
A new block stands there now with a Nationwide Building Society occupying the exact position of the former cafes. You have to make do with the Costa Coffee over the road.
Snack Bar - Poplar, E14
Snack Bar - Lochnager Street, Poplar, E14
Lochnagar Street and adjacent Ailsa Street were a source of many photographs for the Derelict London website including the abandoned milk float in my first Derelict London book and the Toyota dumped in a skip in the All New Edition of Derelict London plus many more wrecks featured on the vehicles section of this website. Plenty of dodgy activities and atrocities committed here over the years in this fascinating piece of East London sandwiched between the Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach Road and the Bow Creek. On land that was once streets of Victorian housing leading to warehouses and factories beside the river that were all demolished sometime in the late 1970s became occupied by various industrial activities, including car breaking, vehicle salvage, waste transfer and open storage yards.
Part of the area is now subject to a big regeneration project by Country Garden, China’s biggest developer for a 785-home project on the Ailsa Wharf site a project of thirteen housing blocks ranging from 3 to 16 stories high. The site of this snack bar is part of the Islay Wharf scheme by another developer who plan a 22-storey tower comprised of 133 apartments.
Part of the area is now subject to a big regeneration project by Country Garden, China’s biggest developer for a 785-home project on the Ailsa Wharf site a project of thirteen housing blocks ranging from 3 to 16 stories high. The site of this snack bar is part of the Islay Wharf scheme by another developer who plan a 22-storey tower comprised of 133 apartments.
Islington, N1
"Cafes are oases, crossroads, resting-places; each has its own individual character and clientele. Cafes are places for special relationships, places to pass the time, to assuage all sorts of thirsts, hunger. The hustle and the bustle of the world outside is exchanged for good-humoured banter. Cafes are gathering places for human contact". By Bernard Kops from Cafe by Cheryl A. Aaron.
Diana's Diner - Covent Garden, WC2
Diana's Diner - Covent Garden, WC2 (2014). Apologies for the poor quality pic.
This cafe on Endell Street was originally run by Australian Diana from the 1970s until at least the 1990s. The cafe eventually closed down in around 2013/4. As with all these greasy spoons the cafe was popular among workman in the area and actors from the local theatres. The walls were adorned with many black and white photographs of these actors many of whom would stay for late night lock ins at Diana's. I randomly took this wonky slightly blurry photograph back in 2014 and only dug it out recently after a taxi driver told me that notorious serial killer Dennis Nilsen, whose day job was in the local job centre, often helped out in the kitchen here in the evenings.
Musicians including Supergrass dined here. There is a story associated with the formation of The Beloved that Jon Marsh placed an advertisement in the music press in 1983, which read as follows:
"I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. "Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three years time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2." However, Marsh confirmed to Soho Radio in 2017 that this was a story made up for a press release.
The former cafe is now Parsons Seafood restaurant described as "a popular eatery featuring upscale seafood dishes & wines by the glass in a bright, intimate setting".
Musicians including Supergrass dined here. There is a story associated with the formation of The Beloved that Jon Marsh placed an advertisement in the music press in 1983, which read as follows:
"I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. "Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three years time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2." However, Marsh confirmed to Soho Radio in 2017 that this was a story made up for a press release.
The former cafe is now Parsons Seafood restaurant described as "a popular eatery featuring upscale seafood dishes & wines by the glass in a bright, intimate setting".
Below is a selection of closed down cafes in London that I have photographed between 2003 and 2021:
Just to reassure those of you there still are decent cafes to be found just not as many as there used to be. Here is a list (not in any order) of some of currently open cafes that I regularly go for a full English breakfast:
Franks' Cafe, Limehouse, E14
Regency Cafe, Westminster, SW1
Servewell Cafe, Bermondsey, SE16
Maries Cafe, Lower Marsh, SE1
Cafe Dylan Dog, Paddington, W2
New Local Cafe, East Finchley, E2
Oak Cafe, Honor Oak,SE23
Jennys, Peckham, SE15
Criterion Cafe, Peckham, SE15
Golden Chefs Cafe, Croydon, CR0
Devons Cafe, Bromley-By-Bow, E3
Pellicci's, Bethnal Green, E2
Astro Cafe & Brunch, Bethnal Green, E2
Poplar Cafe, E14
Oliva's Cafe, Canning Town, E16
Roz Cafe, North Woolwich, E16
Westbourne Cafe, SE23
Cafe Verona, Drury Lane, WC2
Shandeez, Hammersmith, W14
Georges Cafe, Hammersmith, W14
Premises Cafe, Hoxton, E2
Franks' Cafe, Limehouse, E14
Regency Cafe, Westminster, SW1
Servewell Cafe, Bermondsey, SE16
Maries Cafe, Lower Marsh, SE1
Cafe Dylan Dog, Paddington, W2
New Local Cafe, East Finchley, E2
Oak Cafe, Honor Oak,SE23
Jennys, Peckham, SE15
Criterion Cafe, Peckham, SE15
Golden Chefs Cafe, Croydon, CR0
Devons Cafe, Bromley-By-Bow, E3
Pellicci's, Bethnal Green, E2
Astro Cafe & Brunch, Bethnal Green, E2
Poplar Cafe, E14
Oliva's Cafe, Canning Town, E16
Roz Cafe, North Woolwich, E16
Westbourne Cafe, SE23
Cafe Verona, Drury Lane, WC2
Shandeez, Hammersmith, W14
Georges Cafe, Hammersmith, W14
Premises Cafe, Hoxton, E2
