Ben’s Techy Musings

Yesterday I decided to try a branch of the Sausage & Mash cafe on Brushfield Street, Spitalfields. Considering the homely, comforting image that the businsess promotes, I can’t help but wonder whether the moniker S & M cafe is one chosen innocently or provocatively.

I ate:

• two Cumberland premier sausages;
• traditional mash;
• wild mushroom gravy;
• minted peas.

Having arrived at 1pm, when the tables were all full and there was small queue forming, I should have found it no surprise that it took 30 minutes to serve our food.

Although there are things other than sausage and mash on the menu, the fun of it is getting to choose your sausages (from about half a dozen varieties), your type of mash, gravy, then adding vegetables if you wish. When the food arrived, it seemed like the wait had been worth it; I cleaned the plate almost before I’d started. My only complaint about the food is that the peas could have been fresher.

Around £10 for a plate of sausage and mash may seem a little steep, but it was nicely presented and, well, this is central London.

Unfortunately its popuarity means I probably won’t be returning there; after finally getting my food, I hardly had time to eat it before heading back at the end of my lunch hour.

I went to Giraffe, Spitalfields for lunch today.

I ate:

• herby chicken escalope with mash and rocket;
• a quarter of somebody else’s club sandwich;
• banana waffle split.

The prices were about average for a nice but unpretentious chain in London.

The food was very tasty and nicely presented. Portion sizes were average. The manner of the staff ranged from genial to rushed. An orange juice that I ordered never came yet was added to the bill, but we were reimbursed with a hot drink to take away when we pointed this out. The atmosphere was vibrant and the clientele included families (I think this week is a school holiday) and office workers. I thoroughly enjoyed eating lunch here.