Cafe Mish (Bar)

Top 10 things to know about Cafe Mish:

1) On the appropriately-named Shepherd Market in Mayfair, is Cafe Mish the black sheep, or the prized stallion, amongst the plethora of restaurants in the village square?

2) Plots of land on this thoroughfare don’t come cheap. Cafe Mish only manages to fit in 6 stools in a confined space. Think takeaway unless you like to play musical chairs.

3) Only independents are allowed to set up shop in this neighbourhood; no giant conglomerates, only family-run businesses like Le Boudin Blanc and restaurant of the year 2015, Kitty Fisher's.

4) Compared to their illustrious neighbours, Cafe Mish's prices are nominal. Ten pounds might not get you much from other traders, but here you will get a main and a side.

5) "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others," is a case in point here. They have chicken, lamb and salmon, but what do the majority of buyers purchase? Beef, of course, and in particular the salt beef sandwich.

6) The meat is succulent. The breeding is ideal coming from Henson's, but has this cattle been mislabeled? Salt beef with minimal taste of salt; even your toothpaste might be more salty. Nevertheless, the sweet pickle gherkins, dijonnaise and caraway bloomer are market-fresh.

7) Like the oddly-shaped cast-off vegetables in the market, the mish chips - using sweet and savoury potatoes - come in a variety of shapes and sizes probably to highlight the fact they are hand cut. Halen Môn spiced salt helps with the taste, but a lack of crispiness is the last thing you might be looking for in chips.

8) Equally lightweight options apply to the beverage options. Don't Shepherds expect something stronger than cider, Peroni or Harry Bromptons? I guess salt-lite sandwiches require matching alcohol-lite beverages.

9) If you are heading back out to the farm for labour-intensive work, they have small, medium and large sizes for their sandwiches, so the all-action men of the village can opt to go big. A rocky road dessert for the journey home too?

10) Cafe Mish does have the finest of breeds in the bazaar, but they are too attuned with the modern men; a little frying, salt and alcohol can't be of harm all the time....read more