Arthur’s, London E8: ‘The beef stew stops me in my tracks. It tastes like the past’ – restaurant review | Marina O’Loughlin

True, the coffee isn’t the greatest, but then you’re not supposed to order coffee, but tea the colour of a Geordie lothario

It was the end of the Stockpot in Soho that led me to Arthur’s. Like many other nostalgics, I took to Twitter to weep at the death of this long-lived home of the cheap dinner, one of the few remaining bulwarks against Soho’s burgerification. (That it’s to be replaced with a branch of Patty & Bun is not without irony.) This prompted a message from Hanna Hanra, Dalstonite and editor of Beat magazine, asking, “Have you been to Arthur’s?” I had not.

Arthur’s exterior is as plain as his “plain English food”: khaki tiles and orange signage, the legend “Father, son and grandson Est. 1935” on the awning. Born on Christmas Day 1927, Arthur Woodham (the “son”) has been here since 1948. He may be hurtling towards 90, but he still works the floor of his cafe, with wife Eileen downstairs overseeing the food. Nothing is frozen, everything is freshly cooked. The excellent ham that comes with egg and chips is cooked on the premises, and those chips: crisp, golden, perfect, remind me of the ones my mother, herself of a cafe background, would make for our Saturday tea.

Related: Escocesa, London N16: ‘Some fine Scottish seafood, in a Spanish restaurant, in Stokey. Works for me’ – restaurant review