The story
Café Deco is a bar, restaurant and wine shop on Store Street in Bloomsbury, London. It is the work of chef Anna Tobias and the team behind the revered 40 Maltby Street, bringing the same discerning, ingredient-led approach to a more spacious setting. The restaurant has earned a Michelin Recommended distinction, a nod to the quiet confidence and precision of its cooking.
The menu at Café Deco changes every week, and shifts a little from day to day. This dynamic approach means the kitchen works with what is best at the moment, letting the ingredients speak. No two visits are the same, and the team posts the upcoming menu on Instagram each Sunday, so regulars can see what’s in store. The cooking is British contemporary—clean, seasonal, and deeply satisfying.
The wine list is curated with the same care. All wines come from independent, low-intervention producers whose values align with the restaurant’s. The selection changes regularly, and the by-the-glass offerings rotate daily. The team is happy to help you find a bottle you’ll enjoy, whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or a curious newcomer.
Café Deco is open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. The space is welcoming and unpretentious, with a bar for casual drinks and a restaurant for proper meals. There is also a private dining room for larger gatherings. The combination of thoughtful cooking, excellent wine, and genuine hospitality makes it a natural addition to the Bloomsbury dining scene.
Recognition
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History
Anna Tobias works to a formula of doing simple, straightforward dishes with appreciable panache. Menus at her crowd-pleasing Bloomsbury café change weekly, and the food retains the kind of deceptively domestic air that can all too easily fool punters into thinking that they could knock up something similar at home. Start with some nibbly fare, along the lines of charcuterie or mussels in escabeche. After that, salt cod fritters with aïoli bring on a great whack of punchy seasoning and resonating garlic, or you might consider bistro-style stalwarts such as artichoke vinaigrette or tuna, radish and winter tomato salad. Robustly proportioned main dishes aim for unabashed sustenance, ranging from a Spanish-style ranch stew of sausage, morcilla, bacon and beans to baked brill with potato and more aïoli. Come hungry, as they say. As this is nominally a café, there may well be cake to finish – chocolate and walnut, possibly – but also crema catalana or rhubarb ice cream for those who are watching their carbs. The largely European wine list features plenty of enterprising discernment, from a Tarragona Macabeu-Muscat blend to a cherry-ripe Sicilian Frappato.
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