Arthur’s was the best cafe and sandwich shop in London*. It closed in 2018 in a sad and surprising way, but Arthur’s legend lives on in memories of the many regulars that loved it.

I think this bag was in use from mid to late 2000s and I never quite got to the bottom of who designed it / picked the colour. I always had a feeling that artist Ian Wright had something to do with it, but looking closer at the bag all these years later, I think it's just a default bag that some chose from a catalogue. Still though, who chose it, and the green ink, and those fonts? Wonder if this was a creative act of Arthur even? Or his nephew James, who used to make the sandwiches.

I walked past late one night and took some pics. It was a proper old London cafe. No pretence...

This is where James worked. His sandwich station...

It was more like a speed tack in a cocktail bar though, the way he worked, and the speed at which he made sandwiches. One time I decided to document his technique. If it was a big order, you had to be smart / helpful with way your ordered. Clear enough that he could catch what number of baps and white and brown bread you wanted, so he could line it all up...

Then he'd smash out the fillings, only occasionally checking for details (usually a sign that you didn't help with ordering clearly enough, not that he was ever rude though. Too busy and productive to be rude)...

Then he'd top them off, wrap them up and stack them in bags. In the good old days, these orange ones, then when they ran out, the plain white version. Usually we'd toddle back to the studio and eat there. Packed, fresh, crispy and clean. So simple but better than any sandwich I've ever had at a Pret or wherever. I think the beetroot was key to the magic for me. A pro sandwich filling...

Other times we'd sit in the cafe, but then usually to have the hot food, which Arthur took the orders for. His trick, like James, was taking the order without taking notes and (so long as you were clear) not getting it wrong. It felt a bit like magic, having this 80 something Hackney legend taking your order and serving your lunch.

I had to go at least once a week, but a lot of folk went ever day. This caused problems in August then they'd take most of (or was it all of) the month off. A lot of the serious regulars were a bit lost for that month. Trying alternate options and establishments and being thoroughly disappointed for four weeks. Come September though, at some point, they'd reopen, and the good news would get around. Sometimes, even on badges!

*The best in London? Yeah, says me and a lot of the other people that went there. Nowhere else comes close to doing what it did best.