Growing up in Sunderland: From Louis to Notarianni's - the Sunderland cafes you loved from the old days
Who’s for a warming cuppa and a slice of cake?
Now that the cooler weather and dark nights have arrived, it’s the perfect excuse to cosy up in one of your favourite cafes. But which Sunderland eatery do you remember most fondly from the city’s past?
We asked members of our Wearside Echoes group on Facebook to nominate their favourites and we were inundated with dozens of comments shouting out the best cafes – plus, revealing their orders.
So get ready for a cappucino to die for or a chocolate milkshake. It’s time for elevenses! Here are some of your top choices for the Wearside cafes you would love to visit once more.
Remember the cheese flan?
Vicki Redmond: “Louis for their quiche and frothy coffee.”
Lynn Pearson: “Louis with my bestest friend Clare - a hot chocolate after our driving lessons!”
Ian Beuster: “Louis for a bacon bun.”
Sarah Jane O’Neill: “Louis with my nana.”
Jane Davison Whitfield: “Louis Park Lane, quiche and coffee, and Oxo in market square. My mam took me in an ice cream place near BHS and Littlewoods, can’t remember the name I always got an ice cream float.”
Denise Morrow: “Louis for cheese flan and Notarianni’s for the currant iced bun with fresh cream.”
Debbie Hickman: “Louis for their cheese flan, Harvey’s for their burgers and sweetcorn relish.”
Lesley Orbison: “Louis cafe, Park Lane. Lovely prawn sandwich with a cake. And a cappuccino. His cappuccino was to die for. I used to love sitting by the window watching the world go by.”
Malcolm Russell: “There were some great family-run cafés in Sunderland.There some lovely new places operating today. Remember a lot of the venues mentioned but Notarianni's & Louis were definitely on everyone's lists. My wife, her sisters, cousins and friends all worked at Louis, as well as my two sisters. In its heyday, it was a proper family-ran business. My wife loved working there.”
‘The best ice cream I ever tasted’
Michele Atkinson: “Notarianni’s, loved their Russian salad buns.”
Alison Jayne Webb: “Notarianni’s on [the] high street for the ice cream sundae.”
Jill Robson: “I was born in Southwick, most of my relatives lived in Roker, and we moved down south when I was three but I spent most summers with family in Roker. Notarianni’s was the best ice cream I ever tasted and still now. Even the lovely U.S. ice cream where I live now is not a patch on Notarianni’s.”
Michael Carver: “Elizabeth's. 'Please depress the handle' is still one of the most bizarre and funny notices I have ever seen on any door anywhere. Loved this place. Once ordered red wine and the lovely woman serving us said she would see what they had in the fridge. Happy days.”
Carol Hope: “Elizabeth's that was one of the best restaurants, food always first class.”
Your favourites
Veronica Knowles: “Woolies milk bar, glass of milk standing.”
Sarah Millie: “My grandad used to take me to Roker cafe when I was little, used to be next to the Salvation Army near McDonald’s at Roker. The best sausage and chips ever.”
Neil Jackson: “The train station cafe – pie, chips, gravy.”
David Curtis: “Pyrgi’s with the Funghi Mama Mia soup.”
Mel Wilson: “Ricky’s Cafe on the corner of Fulwell Road/Sandringham Road, opposite the old Redby School. The best ever sausage, chips and gravy!”
Colin Duddin: “I worked in Parkers cafe and we never stopped – always busy.”
Ann Marie Harding: “Maison D'Elegance, tea with friends after school and courted in there.”
Kayleigh Carr: “The cafe in Joplings for a hot chocolate deluxe.”
Jean Shaw: “Binns, the small one on the other side, for pancakes with my Mam as a treat.”
Sarah Davis: “Ooh a few. The chippy opposite the leisure centre, the upstairs one near Park Lane, any of the Wimpys, and the Italian one that was there before McDonald's.”