Charlie’s Sandwich & Cafe Bar

After reading the Unilocal reviews, I got curious about this little local place. Apparently, they have free wifi, but I didn’t try this time. Its quite a little lovely place. Doesn’t look like much from outside, but they do give a positive surprise. Unfortunately, the coffee doesn’t quite match my standards. This place gets three stars outside the coffee category. I had the salad di meze (or whatever it was called), which was a selection of six ingredients in a salad. To my surprise this was really good and fresh. Not a bad place for a local, simple lunch. Stay away from the coffee though.

Charlie’s is too legit to quit — it’s spots like this that we need to give some serious lovin!
A far cry from fancy or fashionable, this humble sandwich and coffee shop mainly serves the take-​away crowd, those who pop by in a hurry while rushing either to or from the Highbury & Islington tube station.
However, I ended up spending quite the enjoyable afternoon sipping tea, using their free wireless internet connection, and watching this family employed business greet regular after regular who came through the door… yet I also noticed that the numbers were probably far fewer than they need to keep their establishment, well, established.
Small but charming, from your initial impression you may categorize Charlie’s as a «fixer-​upper,» but upon closer inspection you’ll realize that Charlie is perfect *just* the way he is. Go and support your small local businesses!