Bar Centrale

Have passed here every day for three years but only tried it recently. Ordered a prawn and avocado sandwich only to be told the avocado wasn’t ripe as it was the wrong time of year”!
Had a roast beef and horseradish bap instead. Could have done with more beef as the flavour was lost in the horseradish. Coffee was dreadful. Pretty expensive at £5.45.

I can only speak to their breakfast, which certainly hit the spot! I was craving a full English and Bar Centrale, though the décor left a little to be desired, came through on the food. The coffee was very nice also, and while I didn’t actually sample any, they had a lovely display of pastries.

Don’t be fooled by the odd choice of name — this is actually an Italian café! Small and cosy, they serve a wide variety of homemade paninis, sandwiches, cakes and soup for ~£3.50 to take away or eat in. My personal favourite is the avocado, mozarella and sundried tomato ciabatta. Hot and cold drinks are also available. Service can be slow because it is so popular at lunch time but the staff are friendly and it is conviently located in between Russell Sq tube station and Russell Sq itself. Bön Appetit!