Coffee is ubiquitous in our contemporary society and we all know whose fault that is. In an age when branding is king, it is refreshing to find one coffee bar that isn’t part of a chain. In fact The Coffee Cup in Hampstead is one of the oldest coffee lounges in London.

The Venue
The Coffee Cup opened in 1951 and in the ensuing years it has seen le tout Hampstead passing through its doors. Hampstead is awash with celebrities of all hues – artists, actors, politicians, philosophers – and at some time or other they all end up at The Coffee Cup, from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore to Paul McCartney and Sting, from Betty Grable to Emma Thompson and from Michael Foot to Tom Conti. What is good is that the place hasn’t changed in all that time. This must be very satisfying for the locals who enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner here, as it gives them a sense of continuity with the past.

The Atmosphere
The traditional wood-panelled interior with its alcoves and stools is exactly the same as it was when the Cup opened in the ’50s, giving the room a cosy and welcome lived-in feeling of warmth, which may account for its longevity. Only the menu has been expanded and the Cup now has a licence to serve alcohol. It’s the kind of place that attracts a clientele of all ages and there are not too many cafes that do that in London. If it is a throwback to another age, then it’s all the better for it.

The Food
Breakfast offers the usual items: the full Special or a vegetarian option, plus scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, kippers and a variety of other choices on toast, or, if you like, just Muesli. For lunch there are sandwiches including toasted, baguettes and ciabattas with fillings of mozzarella, Parma ham, steak, chicken and tuna, with salad, and other toasties, all at around £3.90. Hot and cold starters are goulash soup, chicken or minestrone, cured beef, grilled goat’s cheese on crouton, baked potatoes and deep-fried squid (£2.90 - £5). Main course meat and fish dishes include veal with spaghetti, chicken paillard, entrecote steak, calves’ liver and mash, fish options and some pasta dishes: all quite enterprising for a smallish coffee lounge that offers all things from all menus.

The special breakfast (£6.90) is the full Monty of egg, bacon, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes with toast, a very good and filling plateful. The cheese omelette (£6) was a good example of its kind and comes with chips, salad or toast. For dessert the carrot cake with ice cream proves that Hampstead can still retain one of its oldest inhabitants when all around has changed beyond recognition.

The Drink
Tea is only £1.50 a cup and you can get a good coffee to your liking for £2.10. Other hot and cold drinks and iced tea and coffee or chocolate, shakes and smoothies are also reasonably priced. House wines are from £2.95 a glass or £10 a bottle, with a further range of wines up to around the £18 mark. It also serves Italian beer and the usual spirits.

The Last Word
You can just picture the type of clientele that must have passed through the doors, or in good weather sat outside The Coffee Cup. Since 1951 life has speeded up more than somewhat, but if Hampstead is now a bustling thoroughfare of busy restaurants, bars and coffee shops, it’s sobering to think that the one calm oasis among the rest of the noisy commerce that makes up Hampstead High Street, is still the dear old Coffee Cup. Long may it stay unaltered by fad or fashion.

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