Whenever The Man and I visit the UK we treat ourselves to at least one fry-up breakfast. It is a dish dear to the hearts of the proletariat, enjoyed by the likes of Ken Livingstone, ex-mayor of London. He has been photographed enjoying bacon butties on the campaign trail, and in 2011 he even managed to answer the Daily Telegraph's questions whilst eating a full English at a cafe in Feltham.
So it was no surprise, on our most recent visit to Old Blighty, to find Red Ken's image smiling down on us in probably London's most famous greasy spoon cafe. The Regency has been serving Westminster residents, workers and tourists since 1946, and its tiled walls have formed the backdrop for gritty films and television series. The Man and I visited on a wet Thursday morning during parliamentary recess. I imagine when the House of Commons returns, the place will be full of MPs acting as if they are just like the majority of the people they represent, but in August none were to be seen. The clientele were generally tourists like ourselves, and workers. There was an all-American mom, pop and two kids, taking sustenance from a hearty British breakfast before embarking on their arduous day of sightseeing. Behind us sat three guys, described as security by the logos on their black polo shirts. Two of them were so fresh-faced they probably had toast cut into soldiers for dipping in their eggs.
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| Ken Livingstone in the Regency |
There is no table service in the cafe. You must stand in line at the counter and wait your turn to place an order with the slight, bespectacled and soft-voiced blonde. She writes it down and hands it to the white-aproned men in the kitchen. They cook it, plate it, and place it on the counter. Then the gentle lady raises her voice to a level that drowns out the clacking and scraping of cutlery on crockery. It caused the surface of my tea to vibrate in its mug. "Lady's two brown toasts ready!" "Second bubble!" "Gentleman's scrambled egg on toast!" "Salmon eggs Benedict with mushroom!"
Our own repast was a more traditional egg, bacon and sausage. It was excellent, just as we expected it to be, not far off the best we have ever eaten (that accolade goes to the now closed Lloyds Hotel in Llanidloes). With bellies full and Ryan Paris on the radio, we were living like in a Dolce Vita. My gaze fell on another photograph. It was Kate Moss on a Vogue front cover from August 2011, sharing a frame with a black and white shot of a model posing on the pavement outside the cafe. She looked like she should have been inside, sharing a bacon butty with Red Ken.
- 17-19 Regency St
Westminster
London SW1P 4BY
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Salmon eggs Benedict with mushroom? Not so typical greasy spoon fare, but maybe the MPs go for this!
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