Londoners know if they want a reliable restaurant recommendation, they ask a cabbie. And London restaurateurs know if they want a solid referral, they do right by their local cabbie community. Café Clement, the new restaurant at 180 The Thames, is in a good position to do just that. Directly across the road from Temple Place Cabmen’s Shelter — one of only 13 still in service — it put aside a morning during its soft launch to welcome black cab drivers for a full English or takeaway breakfast sandwich, and hundreds nipped over for a bite from the kitchen of Clement chef Danny Bohan. It made us wonder where they spent most other mornings, and which cafés come out on top. So here are five breakfast joints that come pre-approved by the drivers who know best.
Regency Cafe, Westminster
Even with a handful of Hollywood credits to its name (Layer Cake, Brighton Rock and Rocketman among them), the deco-style Regency still keeps quality high and prices low — though not quite as low as its early postwar days. The full breakfast is £9.99 with tea or coffee, eggs Benedict is £6.50 and the atmosphere is priceless. Its namesake street, set back from Tate Britain and the Thames, is quiet, unpretentious, and frequented by residents from the chequerboard Page Street Estate nearby, designed by Edwin Lutyens in the 1930s.
Terry’s Cafe, Borough
With Borough High Street just a block away, visitors are cottoning onto Terry’s, with its machine age modern furniture, sepia pictures and photogenic red exterior. They come to see Terry’s son Austin, now in charge 45 years into the lease, and serious about sourcing good, local ingredients for his breakfast sandwiches and fry-ups. These days the coffee is from Monmouth and the bread is from St John and Davies bakeries (it’s why they can charge nearly £20 for a big breakfast). Service is stellar, mind you.
E. Pellicci, Bethnal Green
It’s a local attraction in its own right: a vintage art deco façade that’s fed east Londoners since the turn of the 20th century. Inside, the wood panelling dates back to 1946, when a regular customer offered to spruce things up (the interior is now Grade II-listed). The family’s matriarch still cooks; her American pancakes could tide over anyone for the day. Meanwhile E. Pellicci merch is a status symbol.
Café Pier, Chelsea
Three years ago, a local couple took possession of a derelict 1910 cabmen’s shelter at Cadogan Pier in Chelsea. They cleared it out, fixed it up and fitted a new kitchen for their chef-mate, lured from an Istanbul restaurant. The space is minuscule — shelters were originally designed to the dimensions of a horse and cart — but bistro tables and chairs placed around Albert Bridge Gardens take the customer spillover. Breakfast, from 9am, consists of homemade pastries, focaccia sandwiches and bagels with smoked salmon.
Sapori, Westminster
Westminster really has a lock on affordable caffs with eggy platters for drivers doing the run to Parliament Square. Sapori, a traditional Italian with zero affectation, lets you get away with a full breakfast for a tenner or less, which is why you’ll see black cabs parked round the block. Breakfast dishes are straight-up English while the toasted sandwiches are stuffed with porchetta, Parma ham and slow-cooked pork.
