Londoners Magazine

It was a very rainy morning after the night before, and having trekked up to the Giraffe café in Islington for brunch with friends, we found it was much like being back in the school dining room. After some uncomfortable stares from rows of yummy mummies, we soon realised that you needed at least three toddlers with old-fashion, trendy names to get in (think Ned or Cuthbert). So we began to trudge back down Essex road, when we spotted a beaming light of gingham red curtains and fellow hung-over young delinquents .

Decked out like an American fifties diner, the S&M café is defiantly English. The menu boasts that it has “hearty portions of your favourite food just like grandma used to make.” Principally being a wholesome meal of bangers and mash. The menu is a mix and match type of affair; you pick how many sausages you can handle, what type of sausages, the type of mash, the side order and finally what gravy you want it drowning in. There are at least ten different sausages to choose from, from the classic S&M “London” sausage to the more bizarre chicken and red pepper.

Having realised we were way too late for their breakfasts (I got excited when I spotted a finished egg and soldiers on the neighbouring table), we ordered classic bangers and mash combinations with sides of cauliflower cheese and mushy peas. The servings were a good size, and the three sausages ridiculously filling, leaving you to wonder who can handle the ‘Desperate Dan’ a dinner of no less than 12 sausages. Don’t be fooled by the kinky name of this place, by the time you have stuffed yourself with sausages, you will be feeling a lot less sexy but a lot more content.

The S&M café is a great place to go on with an empty stomach on a miserable afternoon in London, and we all left heavier to waddle home for a nap.