Verona Cafe on Drury Lane -- a place of no returns!

Boxing Day -- wonderful to have our Day Off match a Day Off for the city...We ramble in on our regular double-decker, hopping off at Waterloo Bridge for the best views of London!  We watch the preparation of the ice rink at Somerset House for another day of skating.

We stroll up Drury Lane, past the shops filled with dance paraphenalia, heading to our favourite ECo Cafe.  Alas, closed for the holiday.  But we're in luck...the lights are on at nearby Verona Cafe.  But that's where our luck stops.


Unfriendly, okay -- rude staff, hard-boiled yolks in our poached eggs, no hot milk given, and a charge of £2.20 ($3.50) for a refill of hot water poured over our used teabags add up to not a great breakfast experience. And the special deal advertised on the outside sandwich board is "not available today," and that comment right after a greeting of "Merry Christmas."  Yes, the tea was hot, but not piping, and three times the cost of a usual mug.  

 The expedition  to the loo down the stairs in the middle of the room was the icing on the cake...or the cream on the scone.... 


No stars of approval for this place -- except, thankfully, the place is dead silent which means a peaceful background as we chew our hard eggs and dry toast.  And after a complaint about the charge for the cup of hot water, the waiter reluctantly and with a snarl returns the £2.20. 

Sorry Verona, but we will not be coming back. 

Happy Boxing Day!  

Chatham, Kent -- Piggy's Coffee House

The first photographed cafe (remember, it's pronounced "caff"), not so much for it's food, but for its theme. Piggy's is near the Medway River below/behind the High Street of Chatham (in Kent).  With a Porky-Pig-look-alike peeking out from behind the signs and plaster porker casts filling each alcove in the dining area, there is no confusion as to the cafe's namesake!  HH (Handsome Husband) had the inspiration to photo-document the event.  

Handsome Husband at Piggy's

 While the decor was delightful, the fact that we were the only people in a double-wide cafe was telling.  (Double-wide meaning that it fills two store fronts.)  We enjoy visiting Chatham High Street and the Historic Dockyards, but we have never returned to Piggy's Coffee House.

Not the only piggy decoration!

Hampstead Heath - Zamazingo Cafe -- at the end of Bus 24

Last Thursday...Zamazingo Cafe -- our first stop after our two bus rides from home to Hampstead Heath.  A New York Times article sent by my sister-in-law planted the seed-of-interest in Hampstead Heath. So off we went.  We often troll the internet asking something like "breakfast cafe in...(location)", but after identifying only posh tea rooms and places with names seemingly designed for tourists in Hampstead Heath, today we decide to just go for it.  I prefer the bus to being subterranean in the tube, so we enjoy our homeline in to the city, and then number 24 which ends its route right in front of....Zamazingo Cafe!  We literally walked off the bus into the warm welcoming cafe.  

Handsome Husband looking forward to his full English Breakfast

I considered putting a close-up of the food first, but I really do not like food photos.  Nothing worse than a billboard presenting a giant plate of someone's favourite food for our delightful viewing.  Yuck.  So here you have a very handsome husband behind the food -- much more pleasant to look at.  HH (short for handsome husband) doesn't usually get a full breakfast, but he was overcome by the sensuous smells and other happy customers in Zamazingo and decided to go wild.

Our friendly hostess, happy to be posted on our new blog.  (I wrote down her name and then lost the paper -- apologies)

So, what makes a cafe fit the bill, or at least fit our bill?  That's what we'll be exploring.  We have our favourites, of which I'll write in time -- when I get some photos.  They might well be considered "dives" in Chicago or "diners" in Pennsylvania.  Here they are just Caffs, and they open early, before the rest of the community even comes alive.

Friendly-feel interior

The sandwich board that goes outside of many cafes at 6:00 am or 6:30, very helpful to folks like us, new in the neighbourhood!  Easy to spot in an instant.

My perfect eggs -- runny poached on hot crisp toast

Zamazingo, Hampstead Heath -- at the end of Bus line 24.  Another perfect early breakfast with strong hot tea!

Looking for the perfect eggs and toast.

Looking for a tasty serving of eggs and toast? Or a bit more?  Hoping our trials can help avoid your errors!  My husband and I eat breakfast out each Thursday, our day off.  We live in London, so often we take a bus or train, or walk as Londoners do, to a Cafe (pronounced "caff").  Other weeks we drive south into Kent, usually leaving home between 5:00 and 6:00 am.  After doing this for 3 years, we decided we'd share our collected experiences, and keep you up to date with the new venues we visit each week.  Here goes...