Deptford Properly

At first glance, the name in squiggly writing seems an ironic take on the tawdry talk of house prices in this 'up and coming' Zone 2 locality. But not a bit of it. 'We decided that everything we do here, we want to do properly,' explained local creative Ben Cummins, one of the brains behind this sassy little café and the Utrophia multimedia arts project to which it is attached. The other half of the partnership is Düsseldorf-born Sakura Tanaka, whose touch in the kitchen sees that the tasty range of cakes (including some outstanding cheesecakes), sandwiches, shakes, juices and a daily main dish are done properly, without the ping of a microwave. From the butterscotch-and-banana cakes (£4) to halloumi, sun-dried tomato and pesto sandwiches (£4) and vegetarian pastas (£4.50), all are prepared in this friendly little room of hand-me-down furniture, board games, house plants and shelves of tatty books - jumble you might find at the nearby market on Deptford High Street. 'There are only greasy spoons down there,' said Tanaka, who moved into the area as a student five years ago. 'There's nothing wrong with a fry-up, but we wanted to offer shoppers something different.' Thus Tanaka runs this modest premises tucked down a pedestrianised passageway of parked cars, a cycle shop and a launderette, four days a week: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday - plus Sunday for good measure. A popular knitting circle, Improper Knitters, are regulars on a Sunday afternoon. On occasion, furniture is moved outside to catch the lunchtime sun and, perhaps, attract some of the otherwise unwitting young professionals recently moved into the new developments by the DLR station round the corner.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/12527.html