Scotti's Snack Bar

London’s Best Italian Caffs, According to Caffs Not Cafes Instagram | Eater London

"Scotti’s Snack Bar is among a very select group of eating places where it’s quite possible to feel embarrassment and even a small amount of shame for not being able to drive a black cab. But that doesn’t mean the caff’s kindly proprietor, Al, doesn’t make his customers feel at ease. If he spots one struggling to decide what to order, he’ll most certainly help them along; the place has a “talking menu” in any case. Plenty of cabbies are to be found here eating chicken escalopes, which Al cooks fresh, rather than reheating like most other places. He has also been known to cut slices from his prized joint of perfectly pink roast beef, which he leaves on show in a metal basket, like a baby in a manger. Others may prefer the bacon roll, which has the neatness and refinement of something that has clearly been prepared with love thousands of times. It’s easy to fall head over heels with every caff on this list, but there’s something particularly exhilarating about going to Scotti’s. The place is a time capsule, a living museum, a faithfully rendered and beautifully preserved exhibit on “life in 1950s Britain”. A lot of this comes down to all the incredibly old functional things in the place: the ancient water boiler, which rises up from the counter like a periscope; their antique metal cuboid of a toaster, which has probably been around longer than Elizabeth II has been queen. But the finest historical piece of kitchenware in Scotti’s is obviously its age-old meat fork, which Al’s grandmotherly sidekick uses to shallow fry the bacon, as the pair exchange Italian phrases." - Isaac Rangaswami