I stumbled upon Mama Shelter while I was making a 9.5 mile (that's 642 km, I think) pilgrimage from my Airbnb to ABBA Arena. Now you may wonder why I chose to walk so far, and that's a fair question. I've been trying to see as much of London as I can in the four days I've been here, and I was excited that the proposed route took me through parts of London I had not been to. It turns out, I had not been to this area of the city for good reason.
Mama Shelter feels like the first business that pops up in a community that causes locals to realize that their rent is about to double. As a foreigner, I don't feel like that's my job to weigh in on these local gentrification. What I will comment on is the £10 whiskey sour that I purchased. It was delicious for sure, but if it hadn't been at that price, I would have called the police.
My food was good. Slightly pricey, but not as eyebrow raising as the drinks. Both the arancini and the chicken schnitzel were good, but were missing a little something in terms of flavor. I may be nitpicking, but at the price-point I think that's fair.
The main reason I'm writing this review is to confess my sin: I nearly burned this fine establishment to the ground, completely by mistake! When I was finished looking at the menu, I rested it on the fake candle that sits on every table. I looked up several moments later to realize that the candles were in fact real! My menu had started to burn!
When the waiter came back to claim my menu, I handed him my singed menu and covered the burn mark with the drink menu. The perfect crime.
If you happen to get my burned menu in the future, now you know the tale. And if you choose to dine here in the future, keep in mind that every table comes equipped with an open flame. read more