The future of the greasy spoon: Use it or lose it

The British cafe, fondly known as a 'greasy spoon', has been a beloved fixture of the high street since the mid-20th century, serving up sizzling meals alongside mugs of steaming tea.

Born in the post-war years and often run by hardworking immigrant families, these no-frills spots offer comfort, conversation, and hearty fare like the iconic full English breakfast.

With their tiled walls and plastic chairs, cafes became a home-from-home for working people and a symbol of everyday British life.

As tastes shift and costs rise, the humble cafe faces new threats. Yet its charm and cultural importance continue to stir deep nostalgia.

How the cafe came to be ...

17th - 18th Century

The full English breakfast traces its roots to aristocratic tables in the 17th century, where lavish morning meals included meats, eggs, and fish. By the Victorian era, cookbooks like Mrs Beeton’s helped codify the hearty fried breakfast for the growing middle class.

Early 20th Century

The early 20th century saw the birth of the British “caff” - affordable, welcoming spaces serving tea and hot meals to the working class. WWII brought food rationing and state-run “British Restaurants,” but the ethos of nourishment and community endured.

1950s–1960s

Post-war optimism led to a boom in cafe culture, with greasy spoons flourishing. Italian immigrants, alongside Turkish, Greek, and Polish communities, took over many cafes.

1970s - 1980s

Cafes became essential parts of British daily life - serving everyone from cabbies to students. With cult classics like E. Pellicci and Regency Cafe gaining fame, the cafe was solidified as a space of comfort and routine.

1990s - 2010s

The rise of fast food, supermarket cafes, and changing consumer tastes began to erode traditional cafes. Gentrification and rent hikes pushed independents out. Meanwhile, health-conscious trends and social media transformed the culinary landscape.

2020s

Despite mounting operational costs, evolving diets, and closures - nostalgia and social media may come to the rescue of these iconic cafes.

A fry-up is loved all around the globe - but nowhere more than where they first began ...

The UK

However, don't expect the same fry up in Scotland as in Wales. Each nation has their own unique elements to their fry up.

Each of these breakfasts features unique ingredients and cooking styles that showcase the rich culinary traditions of their individual regions.

In England, a traditional Full English often includes sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, and toast.

A 2019 YouGov Poll revealed that bacon was the key component of a full English, with 89% of English people saying it would feature in their perfect Full English.

In Scotland, you will see additions to a fry up such as Lorne sausage, white pudding, tattie scones, and haggis.

Known as an "Ulster fry" in Northern Ireland, expect soda bread and potato bread.

And a fry-up in Wales will feature laverbread and cockles - an homage to Wales’ deep-rooted fishing heritage and coastal culinary culture.

Food writer and author of The Great British Food Tour Jenny Linford said: "What struck me in the research for my book was that British food does actually have regional differences and these differences are very much still alive.

"They stay, they're stubborn, they don’t go away easily.

"That’s one of the things that makes food so interesting, it allows people to express those differences."

Linford underscored the importance of traditional cafes in preserving the essence of British culinary heritage, both for locals and tourists alike.

She said: "I've seen a pride; a realisation that British food is good, that we have wonderful food producers, and we have great dishes.

"The Great British Breakfast is very much part of British culture and it is alive and well."

**Image Credit:** Jenny Linford

**Image Credit:** Jenny Linford

Community

Greasy spoon cafes, some serving communities for over 50 years, are among the UK's longest enduring third spaces - social hubs outside home and work which offer a sense of belonging.

Coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg, the term captures places that foster community connection, routine and informal interaction, such as cafes, libraries, pubs, leisure centres, and youth centres.

According to a 2023 Office for National Statistics (ONS) report, around a quarter (26%) of adults reported that they felt lonely "often".

Recent public spending cuts and the financial strain of COVID-19 have led to the decline of many of these vital third spaces.

The SE5 Forum for Camberwell runs initiatives such as food festivals and cooking classes aimed to celebrate both local and diverse cuisines.

Chef David Lessore, who is part of SE5 Forum for Camberwell, said: "I think an important thing you always see in every cafe is that you can spot the lonely old person, and there's usually more than one, and the cafe is important to them because it's their place.

"They might not be able to cook, or at least not be in the mood to, so that's their sustenance for the day.

"It's not just about the food, it's about being a community hub."

Image Credit: Poppy Pearce

Video Credit: Poppy Pearce

Operational Costs

According to data from the ONS, food prices rose by 30.6% between May 2021 and May 2024 — a surge which took just three years, compared to the 13 years it previously took for prices to rise by the same amount between January 2008 and May 2021.

In addition, the food and drink sector is now the UK’s biggest industrial user of gas, while the overall cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks has risen 25% between January 2022 and January 2024.

Combined with rising energy bills and high rents, many businesses are struggling to survive, forcing price increases that risk driving loyal customers away.

Image Credit: Poppy Pearce

Mario's cafe, established in 1989, has been called "Kentish Town's favourite choice for breakfast and lunch, English or Italian, for over half a century," by TimeOut.

It offers an example of the waves of Italian immigrants who came to run British cafes.

Though Mario Saggese's cafe has become an iconic spot in North London, there are still hardships to be faced.

Owner Saggese said: "The reason I'm still in business is because I own the freehold.

"I was lucky enough to buy it from my uncle many years ago. If I were to be paying rent, I probably would have closed down 15 years ago.

"Energy hikes are a real issue and food prices have definitely increased.

"I've had to raise prices. It's absolutely insane how everything seems to have doubled since Covid."

Changing diets

At the end of 2024, around 12% of the population - an estimated 6.4million people - were following a meat-free diet, according to a study this year by Finder.

That number is expected to rise sharply in 2025, with an additional 15% of Brits planning to go meat-free, potentially pushing the total to over 14 million by the end of the year.

Younger generations are leading the charge, with 50% of Gen Z and 36% of millennials plan to cut out meat in 2025, compared to just 10% of baby boomers.

But it’s not just plant-based eaters reshaping the food landscape, even those who do eat meat are becoming more conscious of where their meat comes from.

Ethical sourcing, animal welfare, and sustainability are increasingly important to diners, putting pressure on caffs to be more transparent and responsible about the ingredients they serve.

Mary ran Sula cafe in Bromley for four years before being forced to close down.

Sula diversified from the traditional greasy spoon meal options, yet hidden costs still crept up on the business.

Mary said: “I took over the cafe from a Turkish-run greasy spoon.

"I continued serving the full English breakfast and the bacon butties, but I made sure that it was good quality.

"I also had lots of salads, vegetarian foods and some Nigerian style dishes, so it was a real mixture.

"People could have the fry up, but they could also have healthy, vegetarian or vegan dishes."

Mary said although her cafe received great reviews and a five-star hygiene rating, she faced limited customer appreciation for eco-friendly practices and high-quality ingredients.

She said: "Even things like refuse collection and a music license were massive, hidden costs.

"We started getting regulars, but then a supermarket opened nearby and that was so much cheaper, so I was underpriced.

"After Covid, the work-from-home culture really impacted the cafe and it became an impossible struggle and I could see no way of building it up again.

"Everything is stacked against small business owners."

"I think cafes will struggle because people have less disposable income these days.

Image Credit: Sula Cafe

Social Media

Social media has become a powerful force in shaping the way people discover, share, and even consume meals.

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are now go-to sources for food inspiration - especially among younger audiences, with 70% of 16–24-year-olds turning to them for content, according to a recent Attest survey.

Influencers now play a central role in shaping dining trends.

A 2024 Snap Inc. and IPG Magna report found cooking is the most popular form of influencer content globally.

A single viral post can spark queues outside an eatery or turn an overlooked dish into the next must-try food, with their reviews and recipes directly influencing what, and where, millions of people choose to eat.

Think feta pasta, pesto eggs, whipped coffee, and Dubai chocolate, all of which went viral on TikTok.

James Dimitri is a London-based food blogger who has reviewed 97 greasy spoons, and is on a mission to review them all.

Dimitri said: "I've posted about greasy spoon cafes for around ten years now and I think they're more popular now than when I started.

"Social media probably has a lot to do with it. A lot of my greasy spoon posts end up performing a lot better in terms of likes and views than I thought they would.

"In recent years, there's actually been a move away from the small plates trend, and people want more simple, honest, affordable food."

Dimitri noted that in the ten years he has been posting about greasy spoon cafes, only two have closed down.

He said: "A lot of cafes I go to are thriving and it's hard to get a seat during peak hours - places like Terry’s, E Pelicci and Regency Cafe have queues coming out the doors most days.

"I love places that are trapped in time and greasy spoon cafes with their aging decor tick that box perfectly, so modernisation is the last thing I want to see.

"If they do avocado or pancakes on the menu, and the fry-up isn’t served on a white plate, I’m not really interested in going.

"If you look at two of the most popular cafes in London - E Pelicci and Regency Cafe, they haven't modernised at all.

"They look the way they’ve always looked and the menu has barely changed too - other than the prices."

As for James’ perfect fry-up? A good quality sausage, bacon a little crispy, a good amount of beans (never in a ramekin), golden brown mushrooms, a half-tomato, hash browns, and black pudding.

And his favourites? Regency Cafe in Pimlico, The Ritz Cafe in Hammersmith, and Beppe’s Cafe in Farringdon.

"The camera eats first"

In today’s digital world, food is as much about how it looks as how it tastes.

With over 540 million posts under #food on Instagram, the platform’s visual-first nature has fuelled the rise of 'foodstagramming', where users post their meals as a form of expression, often prioritising presentation.

The intertwined nature of food culture and social media means many restaurants and cafes have tried elevating the look of their dishes to appeal to scrolling thumbs as much as hungry mouths.

However, with meticulously polished and aesthetic dishes all over our social media feeds, are British cafes being left behind?

Image Credit: Mark Whitfield

Photographer Mark Whitfield, who hosted a photography exhibition in Tokyo entitled Full English Breakfast, doesn't think so.

Whitfield said: "Our parents and grandparents were grateful to get food and the display didn't matter, but everything these days is more about the look.

"I eat at a lot of greasy spoon cafes, and even the greasiest, cheapest ones are fastidious with how they display their dishes.

"Every single thing on a full English breakfast looks visually stunning - the bright colours, there's nothing like it.

"The white plates are like blank canvases, they make everything stand out.

"Greasy spoon cafes aren't in it to get Instagram followers, but they still put all the elements in their perfect place."

To modernise or not to modernise?

That is the question.

There have been innovative attempts at modernising these British institutions.

Norman's Cafe in North London was an example of a cafe serving traditional British food which was still simple, but slightly fancier - using free-range Clarence Court eggs and meat from sustainable butchers.

Perhaps their most revolutionary change to a traditional greasy spoon was their use of social media.

Some venues have tried to capitalise on aesthetic food content seen on social media and have generated visually-appealing profiles with high followings.

However, Norman's announced its closure last month, and Vicky’s - another example of a modernised British cafe - closed earlier in the year.