London is great at pubs. It’s also great at cafés. But what it sometimes lacks is those more liminal, affordable, European-style hangout spots which serve up both coffee and booze in a chilled-out, stay-all-day setting. So it’s seriously sad to see that Waterloo’s Scootercaffe has closed down: its owners have taken to Instagram to explain that fire safety rules have stopped the fun, at least for now.
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Waterloo’s Scootercaffe was a Lower Marsh institution for 22 years, opening up at 9am to fuel locals with espressos from its gorgeously retro Gaggia coffee machine, baking its own sourdough bread for midday toasties and then slinging cocktails till midnight. It was housed in former Vespa repair shop, which lent an Italian air to proceedings, with a vintage scooter perched amongst the lovably chaotic decor. And there were even resident moggies: Bob the female cat was often found curled up inside the café’s retro pram, sleeping like a baby.
Waterloo’s Lower Marsh street was once a haven for indie businesses but that’s changing fast. Another indie café and cocktail joint, Four Corners, also recently closed its doors, while small-batch roastery Coleman Coffee Roasters has been lost too. But luckily, it’s not the end of the road for the Scootercaffe team. This week, it’s reopening its other site, Cable Café in Kennington, which offers coffee, pastries, craft beer, cocktails and live jazz nights. Head down for bohemian evenings amid crumbling plaster walls, dim lighting and a laidback atmos that’s a welcome contrast to London’s increasingly slick café culture.
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