London's best greasy spoon cafés

Going strong since 1959, this Chapel Market institution may bill itself as an ‘Italian snack bar’ these days, but at heart it’s still a grand old greasy spoon. Ginormous fry-ups, pancakes, kippers and porridge will set you up for the day, while traditional sarnies sit alongside filled ciabattas and baguettes. At lunch, it’s all about hefty plates of pasta, risottos and other trattoria stalwarts at knock-down prices, with proper coffee and wall-to-wall photos of Serie A footie stars pointing up the venue’s Italian connections.  Note that Alpino shuts soon after lunch each day.   

TV presenter Jon Snow loves Andrew’s fried eggs. As do Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Tom Bradby, all of whom signed a petition to prevent developers shutting down this classic caff. Inside, it’s all battered chairs, wipe-down tables and photos of Routemaster buses, with a vast wall-to-wall blackboard menu above the counter. Local cabbies and electricians rub shoulders with familiar faces from the nearby ITN building, who are here for the stupendous breakfast fry-ups (including top-notch fried slice), plus burgers, omelettes, sarnies and a host of proper home-cooked lunch dishes – roasts, shepherd’s pie, liver and bacon, stewed steak with veg, chicken Kiev and so on. 

The name and the vintage frontage might suggest a deliberately stylised hipster café, but this Tulse Hill hangout is the real thing – a genuine greasy spoon that has been plying its trade for more than a century. The Electric’s long serving Greek-Cypriot owners have lovingly preserved the interior as a 1940s time-warp – all lace curtains, pastel-hued wooden walls and chequered tiling. Drop by midweek and you’ll get a free mug of tea or coffee with your breakfast fry-up, but the kitchen also rustles up roast lunches and old-fashioned nursery puds – not forgetting turkey dinners come Christmas time. At weekends, local families and hungover clubbers crowd the place. 

Launched back in 1900, this Grade II-listed caff is an East End classic that once counted the Kray twins among its regulars. Chrome-lined Vitrolite panels line the frontage, while the opulent art-deco interior harks back to the time when café culture was king in the capital – note the photos of famous faces on the walls. They do pretty decent grub, too: their huge fry-ups are first rate, and it’s also worth taking a punt on their fish and chips, grills, Italian specials and homemade desserts – anything from bread pudding to Portuguese pasteis de nata. But ultimately, it’s the welcoming vibe that makes the place so special.

No, not that River Café! This particular venue, opposite the entrance to Putney Bridge tube station, is a fine example of an old-fashioned British greasy spoon. The breakfast menu is built around a generously portioned mix-and-match full English, while lunch is anchored by hearty British classics – roast chicken, lamb chops, liver and bacon, bangers and mash, all at knockdown prices. If you still have room, apple pie and some tasty Italian puds await. What sells the place for us, however, is the feeling of being in a living museum dedicated to the 1960s – think gleaming blue-and-white tiling, seascape murals, plywood panelling and Formica tabletops.

An unreconstructed greasy spoon, complete with strip lighting, laminated menus and old-fashioned plastic sauce bottles, this corner café has been luring in a motley crew of builders, Hoxton locals and showbiz celebs for more than 30 years. All-day breakfast combos are the headliners, but the full menu runs also takes in sarnies, jacket potatoes and lunch dishes such as steak and kidney pie – all served with chips. Don’t leave without having a peek at the photos of former customers behind the till – from girl band All Saints to Delia Smith, Tom Jones and half the cast of ‘EastEnders’.

The only caff in London with its own brand of tea, Terry’s was founded in 1982 by, er, Terry, who originally plied his trade as a butcher in Smithfield Market. Inside, it’s wall-to-wall nostalgia with black-and-white photos galore, old sugar shakers on the check-clothed tables and wartime music coming out of crackly speakers. Brilliant breakfast-fry-ups and sarnies do the business for local workers, and there’s an honest all-day ‘bistro’ menu too – think bangers and mash, burgers, steak and kidney pud etc. Terry’s is also a diamond if you fancy ‘tea for two’.