Randomness Guide to London Menu

Volunteer-run community cafe in Walthamstow.

The community centre that houses the cafe was opened by local activists in 1992, and it continues to be run by volunteers. As of August 2010 the cafe is open Wednesday-Saturday, offering a small (3-4 dishes) and frequently-changing menu of vegetarian and vegan food.

The decor is cheerful and cosy. A sofa and easy chair near the door are flanked by a low coffee table, and the rest of the space is filled with upright chairs and tables seating around a dozen people. A noticeboard is filled with posters and flyers advertising local events, some of them (such as a knitting group) taking place within the cafe.

Kake and friend visited on a Wednesday lunchtime in August 2010. When we arrived around 1pm, there were a couple of free tables, but these filled up during our visit.

Kake's gado gado (£4.75) photo was quite tasty, consisting of cooked potato and cauliflower along with raw carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and leafy greens; the peanut dressing had a pleasing consistency too. My friend was a little less pleased with her polenta and mixed vegetable pie (£4.75 including three salads) photo, finding the choice of vegetables not entirely to her taste and some of the leaves in the green salad a little bitter, though she enjoyed the polenta, the accompanying new potatoes, and the tomato-cucumber salad.

Service was a little haphazard, though this is possibly because we were there at the peak of lunchtime trade.

Accessibility: A ramp up to get in. It's on one level once you're in, and there's a spacious, accessible toilet cubicle.

See also:

• Veggie Heaven comments