Chapter 44- Look Mum, No Hands!, East London
Like a proud proclamation of independence, Look Mum, No Hands! certainly caught Jean's eye when she and I were flipping through her London Coffee Guide book one night after her exam season officially ended last month. While on my way to the cafe the next day with Jean and two other friends, I kept wondering why the cafe was named as such. It is quite a walk from Old Street tube station, but when we finally got there, I couldn't help but smile really widely when I saw the black building that stood proudly and seemingly separate from the rest of its neighbours (which were flower shops/ random shops): the cafe is also a bicycle and bicycle-repair shop, hence "Look Mum, No Hands!"
Going into the cafe cum workshop it is clear that the owners of the cafe have a dual passion for both bicycles and coffee. A good half of the cafe was filled with bicycles- there are basically bicycles everywhere! The furniture was electic and widely-spaced out, presumably because bicycle owners frequently stop by with their bikes for a cuppa before cycling off to their destinations- and we saw a number of cyclist-patrons whilst eating our lunch. The aroma of coffee was in the air the moment we stepped into the shop and I really looked forward to getting my dose of caffeine.
The food available did not seem that exciting at first (for some reason I did expect some bicycle themed menu; bicycle-shaped pies would have been quite funny). There were the usual offerings of pastries and muffins and sandwiches and there were pies as well but I found the pies to be a bit pricey (£6-8, £7.50ish with salad) so I ate a ham sandwich (which was priced at £4 for a very simple sandwich) and had a cappuccino- the coffee was excellent and I had a sip of Jean's mocha, which was very very good.
Jean, Chang Hong and Zhi Wei had a pie each- Jean had a chicken-chilli pie, Zhi Wei had a steak and ale pie while Chang Hong had a curry one. Zhi Wei and Chang Hong had their pies without salad but there was salad served anyway, while Jean's pie was served the last and she ordered it with salad- boy did it come with a lot of salad! I think everyone was quite happy with their pies, though Chang Hong said that his could have been more spicy (but to be fair, westerners do prefer their curry pies to be not Asian-ish spicy)
The chicken-curry pie
The steak and ale pie
The chicken-chili pie with a FULL-ON salad (it's nice that cous-cous and pasta salad were included with the greens)
Overall, Look Mum, No Hands! is one of the most unique cafes I've been to in a long, long time in terms of the idea of combining a bicycle shop cum workshop, with the concept of a cafe. The staff were quite friendly and most of them seemed to double up as cycling consultant-people, and people who specialised in coffee as well. There's a loyalty card and all but I don't think I will be popping by this area frequently enough to get a stamp on the card so that I can get a free drink on my 10th stamp (attractive feature though). I would come here if I was with 3-4 friends or with a big group of friends in general simply because of the space that is available for gatherings (if the weather is good one can sit outside and see just how many people with their bicycles stop by the cafe).
Going into the cafe cum workshop it is clear that the owners of the cafe have a dual passion for both bicycles and coffee. A good half of the cafe was filled with bicycles- there are basically bicycles everywhere! The furniture was electic and widely-spaced out, presumably because bicycle owners frequently stop by with their bikes for a cuppa before cycling off to their destinations- and we saw a number of cyclist-patrons whilst eating our lunch. The aroma of coffee was in the air the moment we stepped into the shop and I really looked forward to getting my dose of caffeine.
The food available did not seem that exciting at first (for some reason I did expect some bicycle themed menu; bicycle-shaped pies would have been quite funny). There were the usual offerings of pastries and muffins and sandwiches and there were pies as well but I found the pies to be a bit pricey (£6-8, £7.50ish with salad) so I ate a ham sandwich (which was priced at £4 for a very simple sandwich) and had a cappuccino- the coffee was excellent and I had a sip of Jean's mocha, which was very very good.
Jean, Chang Hong and Zhi Wei had a pie each- Jean had a chicken-chilli pie, Zhi Wei had a steak and ale pie while Chang Hong had a curry one. Zhi Wei and Chang Hong had their pies without salad but there was salad served anyway, while Jean's pie was served the last and she ordered it with salad- boy did it come with a lot of salad! I think everyone was quite happy with their pies, though Chang Hong said that his could have been more spicy (but to be fair, westerners do prefer their curry pies to be not Asian-ish spicy)
The chicken-curry pie
The steak and ale pie
The chicken-chili pie with a FULL-ON salad (it's nice that cous-cous and pasta salad were included with the greens)
Overall, Look Mum, No Hands! is one of the most unique cafes I've been to in a long, long time in terms of the idea of combining a bicycle shop cum workshop, with the concept of a cafe. The staff were quite friendly and most of them seemed to double up as cycling consultant-people, and people who specialised in coffee as well. There's a loyalty card and all but I don't think I will be popping by this area frequently enough to get a stamp on the card so that I can get a free drink on my 10th stamp (attractive feature though). I would come here if I was with 3-4 friends or with a big group of friends in general simply because of the space that is available for gatherings (if the weather is good one can sit outside and see just how many people with their bicycles stop by the cafe).