What: A south-east London sandwich joint that turns into a dive bar in the evening offering bar snacks and small plates. On Camberwell’s Peckham Road, CAFE MONDO follows the success of pub residency outfit Mondo Sando which continues to trade from Camberwell’s Grove House Tavern.
Who: Mondo Sando is the creation of Jack Macrae and Viggo Blegvad. The pair started out at The White Horse in Peckham during the pandemic and have acquired cult status with their high-quality, creative and generously-filled sandwiches. The pair launched a crowdfund to get their debut bricks-and-mortar site off the ground last year raising £34,950 from 400 backers.
The food: By day, CAFE MONDO majors on said sandwiches with options including the Mondo Frango (peri-peri chicken thigh, pea salsa verde, matchstick fries, shredded iceberg); and the Mondo BMT (fennel and picante salami, mortadella, pecorino, ajvar relish, sport peppers, and shredded iceberg). The evening menu draws on ‘deli and cafe classics’. Think chicken schnitzel; patty melt; aubergine fritti; and deep-fried treacle tart.
To drink: Billed as anything but ordinary, the drinks lineup includes slushies, beers and ‘fun’ wines. In the evening a small cocktail list is available that includes a micro-sized MSG Martini.
The vibe: CAFE MONDO’s look is inspired by cafes, diners and dive bars. Most recently a Lebanese grill restaurant, the 30-cover space has an open kitchen with counter seating. A further 30 covers can be seated to the front of the venue and a 50-cover backyard area will launch this summer.
And another thing: CAFE MONDO is also home to the Museum of Stones which displays finds that are ‘entirely natural, unaltered by human hand, and strictly of no scientific or monetary value’. Key pieces in what surely must be the capital’s smallest museum include a stone from Maine that (sort of) looks like Maine and another that ‘bears an uncanny resemblance to the curator’s thumb’.
42 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
