Wimpy

"If Rolando Pujol, a nostalgia obsessive who unearths fossils of the American roadside, were to come to London, he’d probably make a beeline for Bexleyheath. Why? Because it’s home to a beautiful anomaly, the only Wimpy in the capital spared a remodelling job, which has kept its remarkable 1990s interior intact. Counterintuitively, Wimpy Bexleyheath also feels more loved than its 19 refurbished cousins, which can be found in places like Streatham, Bermondsey and Watney Market. The restaurant occupies an extraordinary, mirror-filled room, with cushioned fixed seating and dramatic moulded plastic booths, with the same colour scheme as the opening sequence of Saved by the Bell. The staff are friendly and attentive too, offering table service with a smile. Wimpy burgers are basically burger van burgers, mass-produced versions of the ones at football matches. So eating at a Wimpy is a uniquely un-American experience, in contrast to McDonald’s and Burger King, with vinegar on every table and burger sauce always close at hand; chips are chips, not “fries”. Fascinatingly, this specific Wimpy has regulars too: on weekday evenings, groups of people chat over soft drinks, as if they’re at the pub." - Isaac Rangaswami