Joined in 2023 
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The customers: Stand-up comedian Dave Gorman, taxi drivers, market traders, half the cast of EastEnders. London still has working men cafes, but nothing beats the experience Alfredo’s gave. You can find more info about it at http://www.classiccafes.co.uk. When it was quieter I’d start preparing for the next day. I loved to go to the meat market (at Spitalfields) as the chaps made a fuss of me. There was no nastiness. I used to drive down and then had to give a two and six tip*. I was 17 when I took my driving test, and only 18 when I drove my mother to Italy. My dad had such confidence in me.” Here she laughs, adding, “To be truthful there wasn’t the traffic. Driving was great fun – once a week I used to drive Mum to the West End, park the car, and we’d go shopping!” The customers: Media types, insomniacs, actor Rupert Everett (occasionally), members of the Bar Italia scooter club.
Once it was safe to come home to Islington Nina went to school at St John’s the Evangelist in Duncan Terrace. “I loved it,” she says. “I wanted to go to the school my brothers were at, Brompton Oratory, but mother said it was too far for a girl. What could I do? It’s not like now. You had to do what your parents said.” The result was secondary at St Aloysius near Euston. And then on to work at the café full time.
WHY NOT TREAT YOUR HOME TO THE SCENTS OF SPAIN EVERY MONTH WITH A CLASSIC CANDLE SUBSCRIPTION
I had wonderful parents,” says Nina with a big smile. “My mother was a very friendly lady. Within minutes she knew your life history. I think Daddy tended to spoil me – at 21 he bought me a brand new red mini!” But her early years were tough – the youngsters (Nina’s the third child in a family of four, and all the rest are boys) were evacuated during the war to Tamworth, Staffordshire. “We were all near but not together,” remembers Nina. “My parents did it for safety, they stayed in London. But I had a wonderful five years as the people (I stayed with) looked after me like a princess – I stayed in touch until they died. There were no animals, but there was a lovely big field to play in. You’d hear doodle bugs pass over. I think they were heading to Birmingham. And we had bomb shelters – it’s where I learnt to knit and do jigsaw puzzles.” The customers: Camden Passage trendies and the occasional celeb (actor, Toby Stephens and Little Britain's David Walliams among others). Vanilla ice cream/gelato– Alfonzo had a place over the road where he kept his ice cream making equipment. My favourite customers were the builders – as long as you gave them a big plate they were happy,” she says. Nina still remembers where comedian and singer Harry Secombe sat when he tipped her after a fried breakfast. “The Kray brothers used to go there too,” Nina adds more warily. “When you read the terrible things they did it’s a surprise. They were charming – you wouldn’t think butter would melt.”
After I married I moved to Barnet with my husband, Elio. We ran a café in the High Street next to the Mitre pub. It used to be called The Terminus, because that’s where the trams turned around. But now it’s called Georges.” Reader’s Choice Scranton Times Winner 2023 – Best Square Pizza Reader’s Choice Scranton Times Winner 2023 – Best Kid Friendly RestaurantBut Alfredo’s biggest claim to fame is featuring in the classic cult ‘70s movie Quadrophenia. The café starred as the Mods’ London hangout. “The scenes had to be shot at night so the café could stay open as normal (from 6am-6pm six days a week),” says Nina. Closed and boarded up for two years, Alfredo's caff (a north London institution since the 1920s), looked like a gonner. Then it was bought by the Sausage & Mash micro chain and after a meticulous restoration was born again - complete with Alfredo-style cafe decor (steel-trimmed blue laminate tables, bent-wood chairs, original Vitrolite signs, white china mugs, glass-globe lamps), and classic British comfort food. It's posher and pricier than the average greasy spoon but it has the classic hallmarks (ketchup, mushy peas, crumble and custard), plus proper mash, gourmet sausages, and pinot grigio.
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