Sunday, August 21, 2022
The big hospitality news last month was the opening of a Greggs in Leicester Square. The buzz suggested nobody in central London had ever seen a sausage roll before, and was further hyped by the refusal of Westminster council to grant it a 24 hour licence. Initial publicity seemed to suggest this would be a flagship branch but inside it's actually quite cramped, just a single rack of baked goods and a counter for service, indeed the Greggs in your local high street is likely bigger. But I can confirm that this jumped-up hotplate is doing brisk business, indeed when I dropped by yesterday a queue of customers was wiggling out of the door.
I should say the crowds in this photo were actually watching three mediocre street dancers cavorting on the piazza, not queueing for a cup of caffeine and a margherita slice. But the line for Greggs was still longer than for the Lego Store opposite, and far in excess of any interest the Dark Lord was getting, so all bodes well for a pastry-based future with vegan alternatives. It's all in the timing, and a genuine budget option in the heart of the West End might be just be the catering lifeline a cash-strapped capital needs.
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