The Imperial Café is practically an institution on S[lott Road. Joe, the owner, has been serving the community with eat-in meals and takeaways for nearly twenty years.
In a lot of ways the café, a sedate medium sized establishment, looks like it could be an extension of the doctors waiting room next door, or a scene from Cocoon before the geriatric cast became strangely invigorated... it's essentially a place where people of mature years go to while away their morning, and so there are a fair amount of hazy, glazed eyes staring blankly out of the window. That's not to say that it doesn't attract younger clientele as well, it's just that the OAP's of Splott patronise the place in their numbers.
I'm not sure if the pensioners get some kind of special discount here, as they do in several fish and chip shops across the city, but the prices are pretty amazing anyway, so I guess that this is what makes the café so popular. There's also quite a few items on the menu that will appeal to the older generations, like faggots, homemade corned beef pie and gammon, as well as various forms of the time honoured favourite, fish and chips, including scampi, plaice and cod. Joe makes a good selection of homemade pies, and manages to put a roast dinner together for less than a fiver... no wonder he's so popular! read more