Five sides of Regency Cafe
Five sides of Regency Cafe
The many facets of London’s most famous caff
Hello and welcome to Wooden City, a newsletter about London.
If you haven’t come here via @caffs_not_cafes, I'm a writer called Isaac Rangaswami and this is my Substack.
Every other week I publish an article about everyday places in London with unusual staying power, like shops, buildings, restaurants and public spaces.
Wooden City is a reader-supported publication and paid subscribers get much more. This includes access to maps, full articles and an archive of material covering over 170 places so far.
1. Regency Cafe as a cafeteria
Regency Cafe is like nowhere else. This is mostly due to the size, function and energy of its humongous queue. Even now, I get a little anxious joining it, because when you reach the end, you are under pressure to order swiftly and without hesitation.
At the counter, you are where everyone else is itching to be. In front of you stands a patient, highly composed member of staff, all ears. They bear the weight of this mammoth operation, but you have to help them keep things moving.
The first time I reached this point, I stumbled over my words. Then I got confused about where to go next. Now, I’m familiar with the process: I know that after you say what you want and pay, you need to linger at the counter for a moment while they prepare your bread and hot drink. I know that you need to find a seat while your meal is cooked. I also know that a seat will always be available, even when it seems an impossibility.
Most of all, I know how Regency Cafe sounds, because your main role as a customer is to listen. As soon as you hear the diaphragmatic bellow that throws your order, or first name, across the room, you must traverse the crowd to retrieve your plate, like a schoolchild collecting a marked exam. Some people always miss it, but I have heard its reverberations from the pub across the road.
If a school, factory or company administered this system, it would be called a canteen. You could describe Regency Cafe as a cafeteria for the same reasons, a term of which some say “caff” is a clipping. There is an element of self-service; you pay before eating; and the only thing it doesn’t have is table-sharing.
I try to avoid Regency Cafe at peak times because of its big queue. And I often miss the days when you could experience a slower, less touristy version of its mess hall atmosphere. This was when it stayed open later for a second sitting, between 4pm and 7.15pm, which didn’t survive lockdown.
Back then, it was feasible to eat your main and then go back up to the counter to order dessert. The sauces were still on the table too, which I preferred. I’m not saying loads of tourists didn’t go to Regency Cafe before this pivotal change, but it felt like a different place during those languid late afternoons.
2. Regency Cafe as a destination
Still, I reckon the rest of us get to enjoy Regency Cafe because of all the money those tourists spend. As with E Pellicci, this place is a glaring exception to the rule that no one goes to old-fashioned caffs anymore and that these heritage spots are all under threat as a result.