This takeaway near St James’s Park is cheap but not very cheerful.

The Venue
Stiles is a takeaway bakery and sandwich shop on Sutton Ground, a few minutes’ walk from St James’s Park. There’s no real décor to speak of, just a large window and a counter behind which staff bustle around warming up paninis. Brightly coloured cakes, pastries and pre-made paninis decorate every inch of the counter and the window, meaning that people often stop to have a look before deciding on what they want to order, which can jam up traffic a bit.

The Atmosphere
As Stiles has no seating it’s a very in and out kind of place. There’s a bit of green space across the street from the nearby New Scotland Yard, which is nice on a sunny day, and of course you can always walk up to St James’s Park. The prices are incredibly cheap so you’re not really paying much for the service, which is brusque and to the point. Queues can get long during workdays (there’s even a sign telling you where to stand to queue) so make sure you know what you want before you join it. Confusingly, though, there are signs proclaiming prices for food they don’t serve, so the sign high up at the window is the one you want to keep your eye out for. Either that or just point to what you want.

The Food
There are loads of different sandwiches of all sorts of varieties, and paninis seem to be the order of the day. Even though they’re pre-made, there’s pretty much any variety of the standard meat-and-condiments combo you can image. The Cornish pasty (strangely referred to by the staff as a Cornish panini) is refreshingly hot, even though it’s been sitting under the counter, and is full of a salty, savoury mixture of beef and potatoes with a crisp, doughy crust. Best of all though is the fact that it’s only £1 – in fact, pretty much anything on the menu is under £2. Brightly coloured cakes, glossy pastries and big muffins are also available for just a few pounds.

The Drink
An assortment of juices and sodas are on offer for a few pounds as well. Again, there’s nothing too exciting, but there’s a big variety and if you’re just after a quick lunch the choices should be more than adequate.

The Last Word
Stiles is good for grabbing a sandwich if you’re in the area and need a cheap lunch, but if you’re looking to linger, look elsewhere.

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