The Coffee Lovers

Wandsworth Road. Generally, a place for Portuguese gaffs. And also, this: a dark, lovably shabby little café with a distinctly north African vibe. Against one whitewashed wall (a rug hung on it, course it is) are crafts and clothing: slippers, hookah pipes, crockery and blankets. Only the tables (shiny old brown, the kind you get at charity shops) and the tinny soundtrack of commercial radio shatter the illusion.

Staff are sweet-natured and well-meaning, but it’s the food – available from a small counter or from a compact laminated menu – that lets this place down. The falafel were painfully dry; a classic msaman (a Moroccan ‘pancake’ of sorts) suitably spongy, but the bean tagine both thin and soupy. Coffee is pedestrian, the tea below par. CLC is best on a sunny day, as the alfresco tables – as long as you don’t mind a fair bit of traffic – make a good spot for people-watching.