Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
There are so many unique cafes and restaurants these days in the capital that it is often refreshingly nice to find a classic joint. That leads us to the question; what exactly is a classic café? Are there set rules, menus and other standards that they must maintain? While there could certainly be such standards maintained by the best cafes in the world, that makes little difference to someone who is looking to find a good place to hang out, complete with great food, coffee and hospitality. With those aspects in mind, today we are going to point out a few tips that will help you find those cafes in London that fit into that classic café mould effortlessly.
Great Coffee
It doesn’t get more obvious or classic than that now, does it? A classic café should be able to serve great coffee to all its guests because the very term café is French in its origin, which quite literally means coffee! Both before and after the British adopted it, the term was translated to “coffeehouse” in English. Therefore, if the coffee is not up to the mark, it just does not qualify as a classic café. For example, Café Luca on Liverpool Street is one of East London’s best classic cafes, and they are famous for their speciality coffee made from beans roasted by renowned roasters Climpson & Sons. Check the menu and book a place from their website at cafe-luca.co.uk.
The Right Menu
Cafés can be described as restaurants, but to consider the two as being one and the same would be a mistake. Restaurants are places where people usually go for lunch and dinner, while cafes are for breakfast, meetings, hangouts and everything in between. Now, these are not exactly rules, because people eat both lunch and dinner in cafes all the time, but a café that doesn’t serve coffee at all hours and/or does not have a specialty selection of bakery items, is not a classic café. The menu does not have to be too long at all, as long as everything mentioned on it tastes like quality food should.
Friendly People
Cafes should have friendly, jovial attendants, rather than formal ones. These are places where people go to catch up, take a break and hang out with others, so having that casual, friendly aura about the place is quite essential. That being said, service should always be top notch, as is the number one rule that applies on the entire hospitality industry. The general idea is that guests should like it enough to come back again, and most guests will not come back to a café if they do not feel welcome and comfortable during their first visit.
Finally, people generally don’t visit cafes in groups to have a quick bite and get out immediately, except when they are taking a break in between work hours of course. A classic café relies on holding onto regulars more, rather than shoving in as many strangers as they possibly can every day. Consequently, a state of leisurely allure is part of the charm which no classic café experience should be devoid of.
Keep up with Project Fairytale
