Classic Cafes: Caff Cavalcade #11

 

Don't be fooled - three ruined Soho caffs ... and a decent effort

 
 



Valtaro in Kingly St - the most consistently sour service in London, some brown booths and a lingering ambience of lives solidified into defeat; San Marco - too much chrome but proper Italian atmosphere, cripplingly expensive; once useful Canaletto - horribly remodelled with worryingly frequent sitings of Chris Evans, avoid at all costs; Chinto's - retains two decent booths and an odd raised section but a refit job has stripped out all the glorious original fittings. Of this clutch, only the Valtaro merits a visit but beware, the combination of the proprietor's sustained ill-temper and the often unpleasant sandwiches will test your moribundian mettle to the full.

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