Walking through central London often feels like you’re walking on a treadmill with your surroundings on repeat. Wait, didn’t we just pass Zara? Oh look, another Starbucks, another Subway, another generic pizza restaurant… and so on. Apparently people can’t cope with walking more than a few metres for their branded choice of tall, low fat extra hot latte with a pump of caramel syrup, so we see the same shops & restaurants again and again. Central London has become so homogenised that it really doesn’t feel like London at all. This is where Soho comes in. The neon lights, the sex shops, the patisseries and cafes… it’s a little oasis of ‘different’ in a very samey concrete jungle. This isn’t to say that it’s free of big brands and chain stores, but at least the streets are peppered with independants. One such shop, is my favourite little sandwich shop, Camisa. This old fashioned, wonderful little Italian deli sells the best sandwiches, antipasti and fresh pasta you’ll find in London. Bustling crowds fill the tiny hole-in-the-wall shop every lunch time, chirping away in Italian and sheltering from the rain (it’s so old school, they cover the floor in sawdust when it rains). It’s worth checking out if you fancy something a little different for lunch, or just picking up a few bits for supper.
This weekend, pop into 61 Old Compton Street and ask the gorgeous girls behind the counter to make you a sandwich. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a New York deli and you’ll never look at another Subway sandwich again. .
