Five of the best trad caffs
Pellicci's is the daddy of East End caffs
- E Pellicci, 332 Bethnal Green Road, E2 (020 7739 4873) The daddy of East End caffs. Toscana (a mix of vegetables in a cream and pesto sauce), served with or without meat, £4.40 - and Maria Pellicci's home-made steak pie, £4.40.
- The Regency Café, 17-19 Regency Street, SW1 (020 7821 6596) Forties black and white caff featured in Matthew Vaughn's film, Layer Cake. Local favourites include: braised steak served with potatoes or chips and vegetables, £4.50.
- L Rodi, 16 Blackhorse Lane, E17 (020 8527 4541)Art Nouveau signage and tiled interior. Favourites include home-made steak pie with vegetables, £3.60. A cuppa costs 50p.
- The New Piccadilly, 8 Denman Street, W1 (020 7437 8530) Soho kitsch landmark with an all-original Fifties interior including Cadillac-pink coffee machine. But it is under threat from rising rents. The menu consists of old favourites including steak, chips and spaghetti, £6.50, served on a 1950s oval plate. The "seaside cafe sweet", as owner Lorenzo Marioni describes it, is banana split, £1.75.
- Alpino, 97 Chapel Market, N1 (020 7837 8330) Founded in 1959, with wooden booth seating, fluted beige wall panels and teak-veneered Formica. Specialities include Kleftiko with roast potatoes and boiled cabbage, £4.50.
