Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 6 and Version 5 of Cafe Below, EC2V 6AU

Version 6 Version 5
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The Cafe Below is a cafe in the crypt of St Mary Le Bow church on Cheapside in [[Locale City|the City]].
 The Place Below is a totally vegetarian cafe in the crypt of St Mary Le Bow church on Cheapside. Being in [[Locale City|the City]], it's mostly geared towards breakfast and lunches, and indeed doesn't open at all in the evenings or on weekends.
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It used to be called The Place Below, and was totally vegetarian for the first two decades of its life, but in autumn 2009 it started serving meat and fish dishes as well, and relaunched as the Cafe Below. It also now opens later in the evenings; it used to close at 3pm, but now stays open until 9pm for post-work drinks and/or dinner. (We're not sure if it opens on the weekends now — it used not to.) As before, the menu changes daily, and there are still a couple of vegetarian and vegan (marked as "dairy free") options.
 The menu is small, and changes daily: one soup, one hot dish, one quiche, and one salad. (As Charles Campion points out in the review linked below, this is a good sign. The website mentions that they've been in existence for nearly 20 years — another good sign.)
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[[Kake]] last visited around 2004, when I was still vegan and the cafe was still vegetarian. I called in on a Friday morning at about 11am, and it was completely empty, unsurprisingly, although a few besuited types wandered in later for takeaway coffees.
 The location means that it gets very very busy at peak times; they recognise this, and go some way towards alleviating it by [http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/Bill-P-greatdeals.htm offering] £2 off the hot dish, quiche, and salad of the day if you eat in at off-peak times (11:30am-noon and 1:30pm-2:30pm). Also, everything is available as takeaway.
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Most of the breakfasty options were pastries and things, and not vegan, so I had the "Healthbowl", a concoction of short-grain brown rice, lentils, and various vegetables, served on a sheet of nori (price as of 2009 is £5.50 eat-in, £4.50 takeaway). I wasn't convinced by the raw mushrooms or almost-raw sugar snap peas in this; but I suppose that's what you get if you order something with "Health" in the name, and I did really like the lentil and rice bit. (Note that the Healthbowl isn't usually available until lunchtime, which begins at 11:30am, but they took pity on a hungry vegan and got the kitchen to do me one a bit early.)
 [[Kake]] last visited around 2004, when I was still vegan. I called in on a Friday morning at about 11am, and it was completely empty, unsurprisingly, although a few besuited types wandered in later for takeaway coffees.
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Most of the breakfasty options were pastries and things, and not vegan, so I had the "Healthbowl", a concoction of short-grain brown rice, lentils, and various vegetables, served on a sheet of nori (price as of 2007 is £5.65 eat-in, £4.45 takeaway). I wasn't convinced by the raw mushrooms or almost-raw sugar snap peas in this; but I suppose that's what you get if you order something with "Health" in the name, and I did really like the lentil and rice bit. (Note that the Healthbowl isn't usually available until lunchtime, which begins at 11:30am, but they took pity on a hungry vegan and got the kitchen to do me one a bit early.)

Lunchtime is potentially better for vegans; the healthbowl is always vegan, and there's always a vegan soup. The hot dish is vegan on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the salad is often vegan too. It's worth noting that "dairy free" on the menu actually means vegan. (Everything in this paragraph confirmed by email, September 2007.)
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They also do fresh juices (the apple juice I tried in 2004 was really good, and actually tasted of apples, unlike the stuff you buy in cartons from the supermarket) and what I hear is some very good home-made lemonade — in 2004, these were all £1.70 eat-in and £1.40 takeaway, not sure of current prices. They are now licensed too, and serve wine, Meantime beer, and Dunkerton's cider.
 They also do fresh juices (the apple is really good, tastes of apples, unlike the stuff you buy in cartons from the supermarket) and what I hear is some very good home-made lemonade — in 2004, these were all £1.70 eat-in and £1.40 takeaway, not sure of current prices.
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* [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-183573-details/The+Place+Below/restaurantReview.do?reviewId=23368721 Charles Campion's review]
 * [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-183573-details/The+Place+Below/restaurantReview.do?reviewId=23368721 Charles Campion review]
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], some time in 2004; though continued existence verified in October 2009. Opening hours and up-to-date prices taken from the Cafe Below website, October 2009.</div>
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], some time in 2004; though continued existence verified in June 2008, again by [[Kake]]. Opening hours, details of &pound;2 off offer, and up-to-date prices taken from The Place Below website, September 2007.</div>
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category='Breakfast,Cafes,Sandwich Shops,Takeaway,Vegan Friendly,Vegetarian Friendly'
 category='Breakfast,Cafes,Sandwich Shops,Takeaway,Totally Vegetarian,Vegan Friendly,Vegetarian Friendly'
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formatted_website_text='cafebelow.co.uk/">http://www.cafebelow...'
 formatted_website_text='theplacebelow.co.uk/">http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/ '
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hours_text='7:30am-9pm (possibly only Mon-Fri)'
 hours_text='7:30am–3pm Mon–Fri (lunch 11:30am–2:30pm); closed Sat–Sun'
== Line 33 == == Line 38 ==
opening_hours_text='7:30am-9pm (possibly only Mon-Fri)'
 opening_hours_text='7:30am–3pm Mon–Fri (lunch 11:30am–2:30pm); closed Sat–Sun'
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summary='Cafe in the crypt of St Mary le Bow on Cheapside.'
website='http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/' website='http://www.cafebelow.co.uk/'		 summary='Vegetarian cafe of long standing, in the crypt of St Mary le Bow on Cheapside.'
website='http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/' website='http://www.cafebelow.co.uk/'

The Place Below is a totally vegetarian cafe in the crypt of St Mary Le Bow church on Cheapside. Being in the City, it's mostly geared towards breakfast and lunches, and indeed doesn't open at all in the evenings or on weekends.

The menu is small, and changes daily: one soup, one hot dish, one quiche, and one salad. (As Charles Campion points out in the review linked below, this is a good sign. The website mentions that they've been in existence for nearly 20 years — another good sign.)

The location means that it gets very very busy at peak times; they recognise this, and go some way towards alleviating it by offering £2 off the hot dish, quiche, and salad of the day if you eat in at off-peak times (11:30am-noon and 1:30pm-2:30pm). Also, everything is available as takeaway.

Kake last visited around 2004, when I was still vegan. I called in on a Friday morning at about 11am, and it was completely empty, unsurprisingly, although a few besuited types wandered in later for takeaway coffees.

Most of the breakfasty options were pastries and things, and not vegan, so I had the "Healthbowl", a concoction of short-grain brown rice, lentils, and various vegetables, served on a sheet of nori (price as of 2007 is £5.65 eat-in, £4.45 takeaway). I wasn't convinced by the raw mushrooms or almost-raw sugar snap peas in this; but I suppose that's what you get if you order something with "Health" in the name, and I did really like the lentil and rice bit. (Note that the Healthbowl isn't usually available until lunchtime, which begins at 11:30am, but they took pity on a hungry vegan and got the kitchen to do me one a bit early.)

Lunchtime is potentially better for vegans; the healthbowl is always vegan, and there's always a vegan soup. The hot dish is vegan on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the salad is often vegan too. It's worth noting that "dairy free" on the menu actually means vegan. (Everything in this paragraph confirmed by email, September 2007.)

They certainly used to have soya milk available for tea and coffee, and I expect they probably still do.

They also do fresh juices (the apple is really good, tastes of apples, unlike the stuff you buy in cartons from the supermarket) and what I hear is some very good home-made lemonade — in 2004, these were all £1.70 eat-in and £1.40 takeaway, not sure of current prices.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, some time in 2004; though continued existence verified in June 2008, again by Kake. Opening hours, details of £2 off offer, and up-to-date prices taken from The Place Below website, September 2007.

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