Clik here to view.
From a restaurant in a Victorian toilet block to a cafe in a converted train carriage, today's foodie hotspots have history
In pictures: odd buildings as restaurants
London's hottest new restaurant used to be a loo. Really. In its previous life, Story, near London Bridge, was a block of Victorian lavs. Now it is a swish glass and oak affair, serving chef Tom Sellers' modern British food. Unsurprisingly, there's not much trace of its lavatorial past. "We salvaged some stone from the original building, cleaned it up and re-used it around the kitchen. Apart from that it is built from scratch," says Sellers.
But by eradicating its former features, Story is going against the grain. Most restaurants in converted buildings now make a selling point of their past and incorporate original features into the design. "The fashion is definitely to nod to the building's past," says Simon Rawlings of the restaurant design firm David Collins.
Dan Einzig, the founder of the design agency Mystery, agrees: "Keeping original features in an interior scheme adds more depth to the character of the venue, making it surprising, clever or fun." Here are 10 more restaurants, bars and cafes with a past.
Malmaison Hotel and Brasserie, Oxford
Former life: prison
Malmaison was a Victorian prison, shut in the 90s due to chronic overcrowding and redeveloped into a hotel, with three cells each forming one bedroom. The brasserie was the prison workshop and still features an original iron staircase. In the summer, you can eat in the former exercise yard – press-ups not essential.
Shrimpy's, London
Former life: petrol station
Garage food usually means a Ginsters pasty and a Ribena, but not at Shrimpy's. Restaurateurs Pablo Flack and David Waddington turned a disused BP petrol station into an upscale diner, keeping the 60s canopy and forecourt but, funnily enough, not the Wild Bean Cafe. The shop is now the dining room.
The Refreshment Rooms, Carnforth
Former life: Britain's best-known waiting room
Brief Encounter was shot at Carnforth station, Lancashire, though the scenes where Ceila Johnson and Trevor Howard met at the station's buffet were filmed in a studio. Carnforth's actual refreshment room fell into disrepair in the 70s, but was restored in 2003 and is now The Refreshment Rooms restaurant. "It's all been made to look as then," says the owner Andrew Coates of the cafe, which looks identical to Brief Encounter's set, with its vintage till and 40s water boilers on the bar. As for the famous station clock, it was discovered in a garden shed in London and is now restored to its rightful place.
Pitcher and Piano, Nottingham
Former life: 19th-century church
This branch of the Pitcher and Piano chain certainly isn't Britain's only bar or cafe in a deconsecrated church, but it is one of the most spectacular. High Pavement Chapel was built in the 1870s and the Grade-II listed building still boasts its turn-of-the-century stained glass windows, church arches and pulpit.
The Wolseley, London
Former life: car showroom
One of London's best-known restaurants began life as a car showroom. Wolseley Motors commissioned the grand building on Piccadilly in 1921. Five years later Wolseley went bankrupt and the building became a Barclays bank. "The bank features were as important in our design as the car showroom," says Rawlings (David Collins designed The Wolseley and converted the bank manager's offices into its bar and salon). The marble floor remains, as do one of the bank's postboxes and a stamp machine.
The Paper Mill, Lasswade
Former life: Victorian paper mill
The Esk Valley was once filled with paper mills, including this one. "It's since been a garage, a restaurant, and was derelict when we bought it," says the gastropub's co-owner David Johnston. "The exterior and interior stonework and walls are original." There's also still a tunnel under the bar, where the water used to run through. "It felt important to tip our hat to the past," says Johnston, whose designers found vintage print blocks and trays to display in the bar.
The Library Restaurant, Norwich
Former life: library
Biblophiles will be hoping 2013 doesn't bring more library closures, but at least this one was put to good use. The Norfolk and Norwich Subscription Library closed in 1976 and the books were donated to a local school. The Grade II-listed building became an advice centre before being converted into a restaurant, which still features the original bookcases.
The Deptford Project Cafe, London
Former life: train carriage
OK, a train carriage isn't technically a building, but this cafe is a brilliant example of regenerating a disused space – in this case, a 60s commuter train. In 2008, the 35-tonne carriage was transported to Deptford from Essex at 2mph down the A11 in the middle of the night. Once in situ, the dated moquette seats were ripped out and the interior turned into a cafe, while the exterior was decorated with street art.
The Parcel Yard, London
Former life: sorting office
This gastropub was once the parcel offices at King's Cross station. The name isn't the only nod to this Grade I-listed part of the station – the brewery, Fuller's, worked with Network Rail and English Heritage to ensure the original flooring, door frames and panelling were refurbished and re-used, and its warren of sorting offices are now snugs.
The Tea Stop, various festivals
Former life: bus
Another non-bricks-and-mortar cafe. All those decommissioned Routemasters had to go somewhere, and The Tea Stop is one of the few that didn't end up bussing around wedding guests. The 1966 bus now has a kitchen downstairs with a hatch. Upstairs you can sit in the original seats, which the owner Daniel Organ has turned round and added some Formica tables, making things more sociable.