Pacific Social Club is self-described on its Facebook page as a “coffee shop/social club/analogue recording library/drop-out centre/mixtape factory” that serves “nice coffee, ice coffee, ice tea, self help books, exotic sandwiches, coconuts, Nigerian soft drinks, cake … and healthy breakfasts.” It's a sweet little place on a rough little road where an inexpensive lunch can be had and the only downside that Londonist noticed during our Monday midday meal is PSC's own apparent success; this fairly new eatery seems to be as popular as it is tiny, and grabbing a seat may prove difficult.
During our visit, a “Venezuelan sandwich” written up on the chalkboard menu caught our attention pretty quickly. £5 for a morcilla, chorizo, bean, avocado and cheese sarnie on toasted crusty bread sounded like a winner. We ordered in anticipation and scooted into the one free booth available. Getting sucked into an article in one of the newspapers stacked at our table, we were soon hit with a bummer of a nevermind. The last two Venezuelan's had been ordered just before ours, and there weren't enough ingredients to make another. However, the friendly dude sharing the bad news suggested he could whip something similar up just for us.
A large portioned melty manchego and pimiento mash up of our original request and some other chalkboard options later had us thinking that next time we pop in (and we definitely plan to pop in again soon), we might just ask the PSC folks to make us a sandwich with whatever's fresh without even taking a glance at what's on the menu.
Our lunch was followed by a stellar Americano (£1.70 and sans any coffee snob hyperbole), giving us some time to absorb PSC's lovely retro bric-a-brac clutter…with just enough tongue-in-cheek edge to the décor to keep the vibe from becoming too kitsch (the Cramps being piped through as background music toned down any twee tendencies as well). We also noticed some especially tasty looking cakes being served to an adjacent table...another reason for a repeat vist.
Offering one of the best lunches we've reviewed for some time, Pacific Social Club is located at 8 Clarence Road, E5 8HB. Check out their Facebook page and Twitter account for more info.
Photo/Chris Osburn
