The Regency Cafe, London - Pudding for Pennies

Home made bread & butter pudding. It was like eating a lullaby.

You are in a major capital city and you are hungry. It is cold and you crave something warm, homely and nourishing. You have 5 pounds on you (US$7.50). Good luck!

However, if that capital city happens to be London, then you are in luck. Find your way to the Regency Cafe. Described as a "working man's cafe", the Regency is unassuming, welcoming and will fill your belly up with good honest food for less than it costs to buy your orange mocha frappaccino in some parts of the world. This is a no fuss, no frills kind of place. What you see is what you get and what you get is good. If you are coming for lunch, come early or you will join the queue that often reaches out the door.

We arrived for an early dinner (keep in mind it shuts at 7:30 so don't show up too late) and "ummed" and "ahhed" our way through the menu before settling on the gammon with chips and salad (known as the half and half approach - otherwise you can skip the salad and get a quantity of potatoes that even the Irish would struggle to chew through). My dining companion opted for the home made beef pie served with a generous pile of peas, chips and a river of thick gravy. You order up at the counter first before taking your seat - a strict etiquette adhered to at the Regency which magically ensures that no matter how busy the cafe is, you always seem to get a seat by the time your order is ready, since people seem to finish their meals at about the same pace as new orders are slowly taken.

Only a matter of minutes after taking our seat we heard the yell from the counter that our food was ready (pay attention because this is a no-name system where they will simply yell out the name of the dish that is ready and it is up to you to remember what you ordered and get on your feet to collect it when called upon).

The beef pie was piping hot, with fluffy pastry embalming thick, tender chunks of quality beef. The simple gravy was the perfect companion to the pie and the thick hand-cut chips were delicious tools to mop up any excess sauce. I had never tried gammon before and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It came across like a thick, less fatty version of bacon and appeared to be cooked in a similar way. It didn't rock my world, but it was fine for what it was.

A friendly patron of the cafe suggested that we should end our meal with one of the deserts on offer, namely the bread and butter pudding, and at 2 pounds, how could we refuse? What emerged from the kitchen was a bowl almost the same size as our main dinner plate that was filled to the brim with pudding and custard. Often quantity spells disaster for quality, but in this case the pudding was easily the winner of the meal. The texture was perfect - light enough for the spoon to slice through the pudding with ease. The creamy custard, while basic, complemented the fruit and cinnamon spice of the pudding. I was transported back to my childhood, sitting in my grandmother's kitchen enjoying a recipe that had been handed down by generations before her own.

If you are looking at this on a 32" screen, then this picture is probably actual size.

RECOMMENDED

I struggled with coming to an overall verdict for the Regent. Reading the above you might assume that this place warrants a highly recommended and you would almost be right. It was good, it was very reasonably priced and it left me with that warm, contented feeling that you only get in your tummy after eating comfort food. However, this kind of simple fare doesn't challenge me or present any new combinations of flavours or cooking methods. I give it a "recommended" for doing what it does very well.

You will definitely need to take a look at our map to find this place.

The bill (for 2):
1 x Gammon & Chips - £4.50
1 x Home Made Steak Pie with Chips, Peas & Gravy - £5.20
1 x Bread & Butter Pudding - £2.00
TOTAL: £11.70 (Approx. US$17.50)

Restaurant address: 17-19 Regency Street, London, Greater London SW1P 4BY, United Kingdom
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Regency-Cafe/146515905390603

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