Marylebone, Sandwiches, Cakes, Etc Restaurant Guide

“Really splendid open sandwiches” (smørrebrød) to eat in or take away are the most eye-catching items at this Nordic café in Fitzrovia from a Dane (Bronte) and a Swede (Jonas), who also import and distribute food and groceries from Scandinavia. After 18 years they opened a second café, ‘SK Vicky’ near Victoria station, in spring 2025. Top Tip – “the Shrove Tuesday Fat Buns look astonishing”.

2024 Review: “Great coffee and extremely moreish light snacks” is the simple-but-winning formula at this ethical and sustainable Scandi-style roastery that started life in Richmond six years ago and now has outlets scattered across some of central London’s foodie enclaves.

“So good that they keep up the high standards they set themselves over the years” – Peter Dore-Smith’s Aussie duo of Fitzrovia brew stops started in 2009 on Great Tichfield Street. “They still do some of the best coffee in London, with proper flavours” plus very decent breakfast, lunch and baked treats, alongside coffee classes and one-to-one barista training. “It can be a bit of an awkward sit down but you can’t have everything!”

You can grab a bite in Covent Garden while supporting the life chances of learning disabled trainees at Bianca Tavella’s forward-looking café (which every year gives 15 people, aged 18-25, with special needs the opportunity for work experience). And you don’t even have to slum it: it’s a very cosy and inviting little place.

Design by India Hicks, one of King Charles III’s 33 or more god-children, has helped drum up PR for this May 2025 newcomer: an über-luxe bun shop [er, sorry, ‘premium patisserie steeped in a rich legacy of chocolate-making’] in Mayfair. Promising ‘an oasis of intimate luxury and decadent flavours from around the globe’, it is owned by brothers hailing from the clan behind a famed Turkish chocolatier, Pelit, est. 1957. Its ‘reimagined patisserie traditions’ include Chocolate Eclairs, Basque Cheesecake and Magnolia Pudding alongside savouries including Lobster Roll and Bresaola Sandwich; all washed down with funky teas and coffees; there’s also fizz.

2024 Review: Jet-set living for the price of a (admittedly relatively expensive) croissant and a coffee? That’s the promise of this new café within Claridge’s, serving up toasties, crepes and cakes in a new space with a small art gallery attached designed by John Pawson.