Marie's Café (CLOSED)

Our second-favourite thing about Marie’s is the wicked retro green-painted shopfront, which has somehow remained unchanged for decades (eagle-eyed nit-pickers will notice the lack of an apostrophe in the name above the door). Our favourite thing, though, is the fact that jungle curries and pad thai are as popular as plates of fried eggs, chips and beans at this tiny caff near Waterloo station. By day, the Formica-heavy interior functions as a full-on greasy spoon serving gut-busting fry-ups; by night, it’s an informal Thai restaurant packed with nattering cabbies and spice-loving locals scoffing authentic food at bargain-basement prices – think chicken satay, sum tum salad, stir-fries, the aforementioned curries, noodles and desserts such as banana fritters. Marie’s is unlicensed but you can bring your own booze for a modest £1 corkage fee.