I invited the lovely Battenburg Belle round for dinner on a school night this week so I needed something fairly speedy to make. I fancied chicken so I had a quick scan through the recipes in the Murder, She Wrote Cookalong list to see what was on offer chook-wise. This was the first one I looked at and it seemed perfect for a quickish weeknight dinner. It was delicious!

BB made me laugh about the idea that we have this with pasta as specified in the recipe, pretending to be a difficult dinner guest and declining the spaghetti. To us Brits, the idea of serving breaded chicken on pasta just seems weird so I was totally in agreement. BB had brought ciabatta, (always lovely to have a bosom buddy who works in a bakery) so we decided to have that with the chicken instead. I cooked a tiny bit of spaghetti “for the food photo” but actually, when we sat down to eat, I really liked pasta with the chicken. As the Americans might say, “who knew?”

In the back of my mind, there was a dish on the menu of the much-missed New Piccadilly Cafe on Denman Street…

…that involved pasta with something very unlikely. I wish I could remember what it was, and who once ordered it. I am sure it will come back to me.

Oooh, actually, is that it there on the menu, steak with spaghetti and chips? And was it the lovely Gary Chapman who ordered that once? I am going to email and ask him.
Ahhh, the New Piccadilly Cafe.

I think this was also the spot where Heather’s friend Dan flew into a rage when his peas turned up with mint on them. Thus inspiring a phrase I’d forgotten that Heather used to use when something annoyed someone, “that really minted his peas.”

Also, we used to love referring to something annoying being a “pea minter”. I am going to try and bring that phrase into common parlance.

If you want to know more about the New Picadilly Cafe, all the pix of it in this post are from this very lovely article which brings back lots of fabulous memories…

I even remember that waiter! I used to love their white uniforms. It was a bit like being on an ocean liner eating there… As
If you haven’t yet signed up for the Murder, She Wrote Cookalong, do skip over there by clicking below to see what recipes are still available, there are plenty to choose from and there’s lots of time available to cook your dish.
Here’s Dick’s recipe, totes recommended.


Yes it was me that ate the spaghetti steak and chips – oh my such lovely memories of the New Piccadilly Cafe – what a fab place that was and the food lush. And, I have to tell you, that breaded chicken or crumbed chicken and spaghetti is a classic!
Ahhh, so glad it was you. The New Piccadilly Cafe was legendary. When I stumbled upon this it did indeed bring back some lovely memories. Spaghetti steak and chips – YUM!
This looks great, very similar to Chicken Francaise. I love making Chicken Piccatta/Lemon Chicken and serving it over couscous.
Ooooh that’s a lovely idea SueG – I hardly ever make couscous but I enjoy it when I do…
How did I miss this one ! What great photos of the New Piccadilly, how I miss that place . Never had the Steak and Spaghetti myself, but i used to have chips and rice with my mousakka in the equally missed Stockpot restaurant on Panton St. I used to like the Cow Pie, chips and peas, but they weren’t minted so it may not have been there you’re thinking of . Not fond of minted peas either but I would not go ‘full minty’ about it if they did ! I often would go there for tea on the way home having an omelette or ham egg and chips, food of the gods indeed and sometimes I would have tomato soup as a starter as I’m sure it was Heinz and came with squares of cheddar and Jacob crackers. Mr Pointon was keen on the Weiner Schnitzel . The only thing I had there that I didn’t really like was The Tunny Salad I had one time, just because I liked the fact they called it ‘Tunny Salad’ but the tinned tuna was not great and it was a bit watery . Ah well, I tried to go there the night it closed but the queue was huge . How I wish I could have installed the interior in my flat ! I have some photos somewhere myself I will try and did them out . Ah, such memories I can’t walk down that street without thinking of it .
Ahhh Mark, you are bringing back happy memories. I loved the Stockpot too, every time I went there I would MARVEL at how cheap the food was compared to everything else in Soho! I wish I could remember what I used to have there. I have boxes of old diaries so I wonder if I ever wrote down what I ate. Wasn’t such a foodie in my youth so maybe not! Tunny Salad – brilliant! Jxx