Nico’s Cafe

This is definitely one of these places where you have to know what you’re in for. If you’re looking for a lovely restaurant or a nice pub, this is not the place for you! But if you’re craving a great old-​fashioned greasy spoon with big portions for small prices, this is it!
This family style café offers fantastic, traditional English food that’s full of home cooked charm and flavour. The portions are HUGE and the prices tiny.
This place is usually quite busy, but so worth it if you need a hearty meal that will to keep you going for hours.

I love this place. only I don’t, because;
I want it all the time and its not open on Sundays or bank holidays or late at night, which is when I need it!
ow the disappointment.
lovely stuff.

One of the very best workman type cafes you will find in London and certainly in the East End. Really fresh-​cooked flavoursome food and real table-​creakers, where if you have my favourite, stewed steak chips and peas, they have to put the chips on a separate dinner plate… a usual procedure for most meals. If you prefer the healthier option to chips, the roast potatoes are crisp and perfectly cooked. Every main meal and sweet comes in large portions at a reasonable price, and makes for a memorable experience. Eat here and you won’t want anything else all day. If you are visiting the Geffrye Museum, (correction: Museum of Childhood) Nico’s is just opposite. If you are not, I insist that you take a detour to Nico’s.

I have only just discovered this Café after many years of living and eating in East London, and I’m flipping glad that i have! Located on the corner of Cambridge heath Road and opposite Bethnal Green Tube, Nico’s is always busy. I was there at 4pm, that ghost town time between lunch and dinner, and nearly all tables were full. Theo, the owner, has run the place with his father for the last 24 years and there is a real ‘family feel’ to the place. Proudly hanging on the walls are both photos of the family growing up and an article from a local paper with a spotlight on Nico’s, proclaiming it as the «busiest café in east London». The décor absolutely screams traditional English Café, with checkered table cloths and handwritten specials taped to the windows. The menu also reflects this with British dishes that would please my Grandparents no end! Liver and bacon, gammon and egg, mixed grills a plenty, all day breakfasts and shepherds pie are all standard along with curry and a spag bol thrown in for good measure. The prices are very reasonable; £5 for a well cooked main and a cuppa a mere £1, made to the strength you like it. Highly recommended.