The traditional ‘greasy spoon’ cafes of East London are slowly dying out. Their humble charm, familiar menus and everyday hustle and bustle are in danger of becoming extinct. The faded elegance of their tiled walls, formica tables and chairs and chalk board menus welcomed all: from workmen in their workgear perusing the latest page 3 girl, to students in between classes, business men holding meetings, black cab drivers stretching their legs and families keen on saving their pennies. The East End ‘greasy spoon’ cafe is a cultural icon.
The first ‘greasy spoons’ started to appear on East London high streets during the last half of the 19th century and indeed it was Scottish writer and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson whom first used the term about a cafe he regularly frequented in Paris. ‘Greasy spoons’ or cafes soon started to appear on every street across East London and eventually the whole of the UK in the early 20th century and just after the war.
Usually they were small family run establishments serving typically fried foods – full english breakfasts, pies, chips and snacks. They also served strong milky sweet tea also known as ‘builders brew’ and traditional puddings such as bread and butter pudding with custard. Greasy spoons or ‘caffs’ as they were also known hold a warm and nostalgic part in every East Londoners heart and were frequented by all parts of society at some time in their lives. During their heyday of the 1960’s and 1970’s it was said that 50% of East London’s population visited a greasy spoon daily.
From the 1980s onward the decline of the greasy spoon caff began. The onslaught of Americanised fastfood chains plus the push for more healthy diets saw the start of the decline. Cafes that had been in families for generations started to close and soon many streets lost their trusted community cafe. By the 2000s the once ubiquitous greasy spoon was a thing of the past. The sense that we have reached the end of an era was felt most keenly when Dalston’s famous ‘Arthurs cafe’ closed its doors in 2019. A hundred years old and once a thriving cafe frequented by all – from old school london gangsters through to young professional hipsters the closure of Arthurs cafe was a blow to the great tradition of the once thriving East London Greasy spoon cafe.
Thankfully some of the East ends favourite greasy spoon cafes still survive and thrive. In Shoreditch the Sheperdess cafe has been serving fry ups to locals and hipsters alike since the wartime. Head over to bethnall green to visit the beautiful E Pellicci. This has has been run by the same Italian family since the 1930s. The cafe is now listed as a culturally significant building. The regency cafe is arguably the King of the greasy spoon cafe scene. A London institution since 1946 its set breakfasts, home made pies and bread and butter puddings have been staples for decades.
Shared spaces such as greasy spoon cafes should always have a heart and community at their soul – Alpinos in chapel market has that community vibe in bucket loads.. Grab some milky tea, rub shoulders with people from all walks of life and let the world go by.
Blighty pays homage to greasy spoon cafes and the food and drink of the East end.
The traditional ‘greasy spoon’ cafes of East London are slowly dying out. Their humble charm, familiar menus and everyday hustle and bustle are in danger of becoming extinct. The faded elegance of their tiled walls, formica tables and chairs and chalk board menus welcomed all: from workmen in their workgear perusing the latest page 3 girl, to students in between classes, business men holding meetings, black cab drivers stretching their legs and families keen on saving their pennies. The East End ‘greasy spoon’ cafe is a cultural icon.
The first ‘greasy spoons’ started to appear on East London high streets during the last half of the 19th century and indeed it was Scottish writer and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson whom first used the term about a cafe he regularly frequented in Paris. ‘Greasy spoons’ or cafes soon started to appear on every street across East London and eventually the whole of the UK in the early 20th century and just after the war.
Usually they were small family run establishments serving typically fried foods – full english breakfasts, pies, chips and snacks. They also served strong milky sweet tea also known as ‘builders brew’ and traditional puddings such as bread and butter pudding with custard. Greasy spoons or ‘caffs’ as they were also known hold a warm and nostalgic part in every East Londoners heart and were frequented by all parts of society at some time in their lives. During their heyday of the 1960’s and 1970’s it was said that 50% of East London’s population visited a greasy spoon daily.
From the 1980s onward the decline of the greasy spoon caff began. The onslaught of Americanised fastfood chains plus the push for more healthy diets saw the start of the decline. Cafes that had been in families for generations started to close and soon many streets lost their trusted community cafe. By the 2000s the once ubiquitous greasy spoon was a thing of the past. The sense that we have reached the end of an era was felt most keenly when Dalston’s famous ‘Arthurs cafe’ closed its doors in 2019. A hundred years old and once a thriving cafe frequented by all – from old school london gangsters through to young professional hipsters the closure of Arthurs cafe was a blow to the great tradition of the once thriving East London Greasy spoon cafe.
Thankfully some of the East ends favourite greasy spoon cafes still survive and thrive. In Shoreditch the Sheperdess cafe has been serving fry ups to locals and hipsters alike since the wartime. Head over to bethnall green to visit the beautiful E Pellicci. This has has been run by the same Italian family since the 1930s. The cafe is now listed as a culturally significant building. The regency cafe is arguably the King of the greasy spoon cafe scene. A London institution since 1946 its set breakfasts, home made pies and bread and butter puddings have been staples for decades.
Shared spaces such as greasy spoon cafes should always have a heart and community at their soul – Alpinos in chapel market has that community vibe in bucket loads.. Grab some milky tea, rub shoulders with people from all walks of life and let the world go by.
Blighty pays homage to greasy spoon cafes and the food and drink of the East end.
Welcome to Blighty – greasy spoon greatness since 2013