The Thousands

Lisping German tennis champ Boris Becker famously wrecked his marriage by impregnating a young woman in a restaurant broom cupboard, in all of five seconds – a misjudged bit of nookie that taught us that it’s best to avoid sex in confined but essentially public spaces.

And the aptly named Nookie, a café roughly the length of one foot stride on Cleveland Street, is just such a spot. But you’d be foolish to avoid this tiny jewel in the greasy kebab zone of the Chalmers/Cleveland street.**Nookie barista Tom Dando has been busy thinking up double entendres for the menu since buying the building with some mates eight months ago. On offer: Belgian brownies, organic sticky dates (you have to want to see that one) and some tasty muesli snacks called ‘healthy balls’.

“I like to do this,” says Tom inside the miniscule service area, whipping out a half a dozen of the balls from the freezer and dangling the sack in front of him: “There’s a healthy ball bag!”

The Café di Gabriel coffee is excellent too, particularly the espresso, which is incidentally how Boris likes his… forget it.