Allan's Cafe

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When you enter you see this lovely inscription: "All our visitors bring happiness. Some by coming, others by going" and it immediately makes you laugh as you hope you fall into the first category.

Maybe it is a well-known saying, maybe not but I have never heard it before. And it is the same with Allan's Café. It is designed with oriental touch - like many other places, but there is something special about it which makes it a perfect spot for lunch, a little rendez-vous or a place to relax after shopping at busy Oxford Street.

Allan's Café is located on Duke Street – when you are walking from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch it is third street on the left hand side after Bond Street Station. The first time I visited here was by a complete mistake. It was one of my visits to London before I'd settled down here and at that time, my then fiancé and I were looking for a quiet place to sit for tea after crazy day spent on sightseeing and shopping.

And this place turned out to be perfect – tea was served in a sweet white pot with two cups, with a range of Turkish delights.

The place had a cosy atmosphere and the staff were so helpful and welcoming. Recently, I returned there for lunchtime chat with a friend of mine to find out that it is a place worth visiting any time of the day.

We tried a vegetable tart as well as one of the salads. I would rate them both as fine but nothing special, while the coffee was excellent. We chose quite a safe version of food but there are some other delicacies on the menu, like Allan's Salad with houmous, roasted peppers and aubergine, served with multigrain bread or bourek, which is feta & spinach in a pastry curl.





The cafe is located on two floors with quite a lot of tables, so hopefully no one has a problem with getting a spot. As for some, it may appear crowded because of that, for me it creates homely and informal atmosphere. It is also possible to rent this place for a bigger gathering and I think the downstairs part is perfect for it – full of mirrors and couches - it seems such a great place to relax.

#afternoon_tea
#brunch
#cafes
#food_wine
#function_venues
#mayfair
#oxford_circus
#turkish_restaurants
#westminster
%wnlondon