The Electric Cafe
Cafe · West Norwood ·
Hand-cut chips, bubble and squeak, and pies served.
Hand-cut chips, bubble and squeak, and pies served.
"he real make or break for a greasy spoon connoisseur is the choice of carb to form a buffer between the solids (bacon, sausage, black pudding) and the gloops (egg yolk, beans). Toast is compulsory so it doesn’t count, therefore the standard options are chips (for lunch and for children), hash browns (for Americans and for children) and bubble (correct). Bubble is the aficionado’s choice, and those who subscribe would travel a long way for a breakfast based around it — to Tulse Hill perhaps. Electric has been going since 1932 and like the other great London caffs — Pellicci, Regency, and Alpinos — is run by a proprietor with origins outside the U.K., in this case Stavros Tsoukkas whose Greek-Cypriot family has owned it since 1978. The bubble here shows a little bit of that Mediterranean touch, intensely herby with big enough chunks of Savoy cabbage to stave off scurvy for a day or two, all moulded into a big soft patty fried to a char on both sides that cuts through the oil and fat like a strong cup of tea." - James Hansen
"The Electric Cafe is south London’s best caff. It’s so old that its name evokes a time when electricity was a novelty, something worth showing off. The place is a sepia photograph, which provides a glimpse into a forgotten interwar Britain, where we ate out in simple dining rooms, with handwritten menus, creaky wooden chairs and W. M. Still & Son water boilers. The Tsoukkas family has been running The Electric Cafe since the 1970s and like Knight’s Fish Bar nearby, another remnant of south London’s Greek Cypriot community, the hand-cut chips here are simultaneously soft, fatty, and crunchy. There’s an elegance to the fry-ups too — a rarity in caffs — proving that there can be lightness and refinement in bubble and squeak. For lunchtime visitors, it’s worth trying the gammon, a delicious bacon frisbee which goes perfectly with a pile of green peas and golden potato shards. Stav personally recommends the pies." - Isaac Rangaswami
"West Norwood’s Electric Cafe is a South London institution. Established in the 1940s, it is one of the capital’s best preserved greasy spoons — wood panelling, a beautiful facade, a very noisy old till — and is adored by locals. Today, it’s run by Greek Cypriot Stav, whose family have owned the cafe for generations, and who is renowned for his tomatoes, fried with oregano. Bacon sandwiches here are doorstops of brilliance, while the set breakfast — always served with a generous pool of beans and a quality Cumberland sausage — is everything a Crystal Palace fan could want before a game. The fried bread is an absolute must and the cheese omelette doesn’t disappoint." - Josh Barrie
"Truly, there are only so many ways you can fry a sausage, so the real make or break for a greasy spoon connoisseur is the choice of carb to form a buffer between the solids (bacon, sausage, black pudding) and the gloops (egg yolk, beans). Toast is compulsory so it doesn’t count, therefore the standard options are chips (for lunch and for children), hash browns (for Americans and for children) and bubble (correct). Bubble is the aficionado’s choice, and those who subscribe would travel a long way for a breakfast based around it — to Tulse Hill perhaps. Electric has been going since 1932 and like the other great London caffs — Pellicci, Regency, and Alpinos — is run by a proprietor with origins outside the U.K., in this case Stavros Tsoukkas whose Greek-Cypriot family has owned it since 1978. The bubble here shows a little bit of that Mediterranean touch, intensely herby with big enough chunks of Savoy cabbage to stave off scurvy for a day or two, all moulded into a big soft patty fried to a char on both sides that cuts through the oil and fat like a strong cup of tea. Eat it in a setting that feels like is hasn’t changed for donkey’s years, surrounded by wooden signs and assorted arcana from halcyon days, old boys with old accents tucking into liver and onions, and feel grateful that at least someone is preserving it." - Jonathan Nunn
Phottos P.
Greer L.
London Pub M.
Pub R.
Rosie B.
Grace C.
Chun W W.
Les Quatre F.
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Bull M.
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