Saturday 7 July 2007

goodbye new piccadilly


so another of london's greatest treasures is to be lost. by the 23rd of september that most classic of classic cafes the new piccadilly will close and, along with every other shabby but wonderful bit of that chunk of denman street, will get bulldozed.
i didn't get down there anything like as often as i should, the holborn tea rooms was more my spot for double egg on toast and paintstripper tea, and it was always just outside my own personal bit of london. (my london is ridiculously little when i think about it and the self imposed by years of habit borders are harder to cross than you'd think - i'd rarely get down brewer st further than walkers court, even piccadilly seeming to far west...) anyway i'm always far too easily tempted by a drop of what killed auntie in the french house, or the coach, or the blue posts or gawd knows how many other boozers along the way.



but i shall miss the old place, despite the classic fm and posters for terrible shows, and i urge you to pop in if you happen to be down that way.
you'll like it i'm sure.


and when i rule the world this will be required listening for every architect and evil developer in the land

chairmen of the board - working on a building of love

photos courtesy of mizzy*
more cafe loveliness at classic cafes

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

don't you hate that, when you find out some wonderful place is going the way of the wrecking ball, and all the time that has gone by when you could have been enjoying it and yet you didn't--the irony being, of course, that if it weren't closing down, you probably wouldn't have realized how much you wished you'd gone there in the first place? : )

londonlee said...

Damn, I hate it when this shit happens. Last time I was in London I dragged the wife up to Islington to the great old Alfredo's cafe which has been refurbished by the Sausage and Mash chain. Lovely place.

I still get nostalgic for the Dive Bar in Chinatown. Another great old "dump" that closed down.

ally. said...

oh don't get me started on the dive bar - a million lovely saturday night and sunday mornings...
the sausage and mash lot have done a good job on the old place i think.

Gideon said...

I'm sad that it's closing but let's hope that they'll put a few coffee chain outlets or franchised restaurants in its place because London doesn't have enough of those....