Ace Cafe-whose been?

Kev Nemo

Kev Nemo

Honda Hacker
I'll be in London on holiday in a few weeks and wanted to know if anyone had been? I'm staying in the Hyde Park area and it's accessible by tube.

PS: I've been saving for this trip and have put off buying new k70's until after. I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it ;D
 
I'm most likely going next July. We'll be busy (on tour with band) but I'll make it a point to swing by there.
 
I've been, and I really dig the place. Just check their website for listing of events to find a good one to go to.

But yea... if I lived nearby, i'd be there all the time.
 
I have! It's a very short walk from a station... Passed a german sheppard eating trash on the way there. Haha. Was told it's a rough area, but seemed alright.
You can see the fences with Cafe Racers on them on the way.

AceCafe-SunDec3-0623.jpg
 
Check the walls boys, you will see a bunch of black n white 8x10 glossies from the 60's, we sent them those back when they were first reopening their doors...my dad practically grew up in the original Ace b4 it went down. I'll show u some pics in a diff thread if anyone is interested.
 
I didn't make it. From my hotel @ Marble Arch, I would've had to take a cab to get there (no tube/bus), so we passed. Honestly did not see much bike related stuff in town, and I went ALL over London. People I did see on bikes had brass bollocks the size of grapefruit-I would probably get killed pretty quickly in city traffic. It's not just the reversed direction-there are no real lane markers I could make out and roads would narrow/turn/end without warning. I guess you just get used to it. I also hunted for a copy of Sideburn, a dirttrack mag http://www.sideburnmagazine.com/latest%20issue.html
printed over there to no avail (couldn't find any Dice mags either). Good trip none the less.
 
Kev Nemo said:
I'll be in London on holiday in a few weeks and wanted to know if anyone had been? I'm staying in the Hyde Park area and it's accessible by tube.

PS: I've been saving for this trip and have put off buying new k70's until after. I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it ;D
Click to expand...
Ive been 6 times in the last 3 months kool place only problem i have is there new staff on the desk and cafe are from poland and dont give a shit about bikes(not bashing polish people) i think it's because possibly cheaper to hire them .check upstairs at washroom lots of old black and white pics of the day. owner mark/ and his sister are kool dudes,carpy (english guy now living and building cb750 cafe's in cali) was there one time i was there kool guy. there is also a lot happening at night, rocker night,50's car clubs etc,etc, worth the visit.
taxi from airport 25 pounds expensive as it's not that far away but a hassle being london north circular area

jimmy O
 
I know that this is an older thread but I'm a new member here and I recently visited the Ace Cafe back in November '09.. What a wonderful experience to visit the Holy Grail of Cafe Racers!! Went there on Ton Up Day too and all of the English Ton Up clubs had representatives in attendance.. AMAZING bikes all around! Also saw Stonehenge and the Thruxton raceway in the same day.. What a trip!

Ride on Y'all!

~Trae Buckner
 
I've been...................... in 1962,'63,'64,'65,'66.

Mostly on Tribsas, but occassionally on a very quick ex. Bob MacIntyre Thruxton Constellation.

Gold Star, Dommies, Manx/Gold Star, Manx, inter Norton, 500 Bullet and an assortment of bikes that would become project donors. I even went there on a couple of ex. race sidecar outfits.

Let's get one myth straight. Now it is a manufactured pastiche of what it wasn't - and successful for that.

In the day it was a dark and dismal "greasy spoon" transport Caff. If it was like that today - you wouldn't bother.

We mainly used it as a meeting place to ride out to the "country" caffs - The Blinking Owl, The Salt Box, Ted's, Bob's, even the Busy Bee.

That said - all power to the people behind the ressurrection - they've certainly raised the profile of biking and bikers in a positive way.
 
I was there last September. Not a lot going on, then, but I will give the place tons of credit for atmosphere. We need some places like that around here!
 
beachcomber said:
I've been...................... in 1962,'63,'64,'65,'66.

Mostly on Tribsas, but occassionally on a very quick ex. Bob MacIntyre Thruxton Constellation.

Gold Star, Dommies, Manx/Gold Star, Manx, inter Norton, 500 Bullet and an assortment of bikes that would become project donors. I even went there on a couple of ex. race sidecar outfits.

Let's get one myth straight. Now it is a manufactured pastiche of what it wasn't - and successful for that.

In the day it was a dark and dismal "greasy spoon" transport Caff. If it was like that today - you wouldn't bother.

We mainly used it as a meeting place to ride out to the "country" caffs - The Blinking Owl, The Salt Box, Ted's, Bob's, even the Busy Bee.

That said - all power to the people behind the ressurrection - they've certainly raised the profile of biking and bikers in a positive way.
Click to expand...


Well said! You really wouldn't wanna go back to that, would you!! :p

I've never been there, but Druro brought me back a t-shirt when he was there!! Thanks again, bud!! 8)

I'd love to get there myself, but I doubt I ever will. Too bad! :)
 
I'm not knocking the present set up - like I said what they've created [ NOT re-created ] is a haven for like minded people to go to share their passion.

Like most Icons, you cannot re-create them - they just happen.

Pretty much like "what is a Cafe Racer" ??????????????????? [ NOT the front cover of "Cafe Racer" magazine ! ]

I'll post what I think [ as an original from the day ] under Loungin' at the club in the next few days.
 
I think it's funny people make a pilgrimage to this place. It's just a place. Like Disneyland or Vegas...or Sturgis.

--Chris
 
I don't think anyone is really making a pilgrimage (at least that is not what I would call my short stop off there). A pilgrimage would make visting the Ace the sole reason for the trip, rather than a stop off while in town. I don't think anyone is planning a trip to London for the sole reason of visiting one average bar. I think the Ace is representative (perhaps even more so as the new place) of what we all like in our bikes. It is a pretty cool moto theme bar with a history. That is what makes it, and what makes it worth stopping at. It is certainly not for the swell part of town where it is located!

And, plenty of people like to go to "places", too :D
 
I went there while traveling through Europe. The way I see it, if I travel 5,000 miles to another country I'm seeing everything I can fit in the time allotted that is of interest to me. I realize it's not as important as the British Museum or Stone Henge but I wanted to see it with my own eyes. The wife and I took a train out there while we were site seeing around London, it took about 3 hours out of our day. I got a picture and a shirt then left.
DSCN1051.jpg
 
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