I've just heard some earth-shattering news. The New Piccadilly Cafe is about to close its doors for the last time. This little gem, founded in 1951, is tucked away in Denman Street, just behind Piccadilly Circus. Inside, the Formica topped tables, swivel chairs, menu written on a giant horseshoe, burbling espresso machine, and white-jacketed staff take you back to a vanished Soho of the 1950's; a shadowy world populated by spivs, bogus Spitfire pilots, teddy boys and gangsters; when the Skylon was a futuristic installation on the South Bank, rather than a trend-setting restaurant.
There are hardly any of these cafes left now. As London becomes more affluent, higher rents are forcing independent shops and cafes to close. The King's Road in Chelsea is a typical example, and the transformation occurred at lightning speed. The same thing almost happened to another perennial favourite, the Polish cafe, Daquise, in South Kensington, which I am delighted to say is still there (although re-furbished), but still serving its rib-sticking helpings of Goulash, Hunter's Stew, Seurkraut, and Golonka- which, as I am sure you all know, is a stewed and huge knuckle of pork.
