I’ve always had a soft spot for local food, whether it’s the single pasta offering at a sweaty workers cafe in Italy, or a plate of meat and rice at a hut alongside a road in Vietnam, there’s a certain charm to unpretentious, cheap, easy-going meals. It’s easy to romanticise these things when you’re abroad, the sense of novelty and surprise is multiplied against the backdrop of unfamiliar surroundings. “How much is that in pounds? What’s ragù di maiale in English?” It’s a giddy and exciting experience I’ve always wanted to recreate at home. One person who I think has managed to really capture and advocate this feeling is @caffs_not_cafes . Getting sent his Instagram one morning by @laramelitamonro I could feel a similar sense of excitement as inspired in me by eating abroad, only this time fuelled by a sense of nostalgia and a fascination for the history of an establishment. The way that Isaac writes about caffs, not cafes really reignited my love for the humble caff and it’s something I’m incredibly grateful for. He describes the history and feeling of each place he visits so vividly and so poetically I can’t help but feel like I’m sat right there too. I get the same sense of intrigue and excitement sat in a caff, staring at the photos on the wall and listening to the passing conversation of the other visitors as I do when I’m on holiday, struggling to understand the menu and wondering if they’ve understood my attempt to order in their language. I sent Isaac a message and asked if he’d like to visit a caff with me and that’s how we ended up at Mary’s Café on Camberwell road. Isaac had a more traditional breakfast but there are few things more deeply satisfying to me than a egg and bacon roll with extra brown sauce and a tea. Isaac has a much better review of Mary’s on his Instagram than I could write but if there’s anything to take away from this ramble about food it’s that the shared experience of eating somewhere unique and somewhere exciting and somewhere cheap doesn’t have to be confined to somewhere foreign, it can be at your local caff, and it can be brilliant. Take a friend and share the experience of wood panelling and fixed seating together.