19th January 2007
Ace cafe is... Ace!
I love a greasy spoon - especially if it's a well known bikers haunt that doesn't skimp on the portions and serves the best nachos in town.
The Ace Cafe is full of history - it was originally built in 1938 to serve as a road side cafe stop for truckers using the new North Circular Road. It was open 24 hours a day - and being on one of the fastest roads in the country - bikers soon started to appear. It was bombed during the war then rebuilt in 1949 - it was the heart of the Mods and Rockers war - it was the home of Rock 'n' Roll and it owned the 50s. If you ride a bike the Ace Cafe was and still is THE place to meet.
Unfortunately the cafe closed it's doors in 1969 and has been a bookies, a filling station and more recently a tyre depot - but importantly the building itself didn't change. Then in 2001 Mark Wilsmore re-opened the Ace as a bikers cafe again - after years of work getting it off the ground.
After such a rich history The Ace Cafe does not disappoint. The food is stunning, big portions, cheap, plenty of booze, or soft drinks / tea / coffee if you're riding. Basic meals - every breakfast under the sun, sausage, chips, beans, egg, gammon, steak, beef burger - and then the odd surprise on the specials board - Curry, stew, steamed pudding - all leave you full and bursting at the seems with the good quality and good serving.
The staff are helpful and polite, nothing seems too much trouble and it's one of the few places I can just go on my own and know within 10 mins someone I've never met will pull up a chair and we'll talk bikes.
It's not just bikers that visit the cafe these days - there's always the odd tourist buying from the small onsite shop - an Ace badge, or flag (they're normally Japanese) - there's car nights, scooter nights (the rockers have forgiven the mods), and any given weekend there's always at least one event, at least one band in the night, and at least one ride out.
SO have fun, throw your leg over your saddle and pull up at the Ace Cafe.
Loading...
View comments (3)
Post to facebook
