Alfies Antique Market was my destination for a Valentine’s shopping trip in 2016, although coffee was the first thing on my mind. I had come to Marylebone for a rooftop café hidden above an extraordinary collection of antique dealers. If I could find something for my girlfriend while I was there, even better.

From the Roberts London archive: this article accompanies the original video published on 13 February 2016. It records that visit, rather than today’s stock, menus or prices.

Church Street and the windows of Alfies Antique Market

I arrived at Marylebone station and made my way to Church Street. The market stalls were out, people were going about their shopping, and Alfies occupied a long stretch of the street. From the pavement, you could easily concentrate on the antique-filled windows and miss the fact that there was somewhere upstairs to sit with a coffee.

That contrast was part of the appeal. Church Street felt like a working local market, with independent shops and a bit of roughness around the edges. Inside Alfies, the arrangement was very different from a single shop with one counter. It was a maze of individual traders within one large antiques centre: the sort of place where browsing could lead you away from whatever you originally came to find.

I kept the camera fairly restrained indoors. There were no-photography signs, and I explained in the film that dealers could understandably be wary of people photographing their stock. The windows gave a flavour of what was inside, but the video was never going to be a complete tour of every stall.

There were small objects, jewellery, fashion, homeware and substantial pieces of furniture. That variety mattered more to me than a shopping list. I was looking for a gift with some character, and this seemed a much more promising place for that than another predictable purchase from the high street.

Coffee on the roof above the antiques

Before the serious browsing, I headed upstairs. The change from the crowded shop windows to the open roof terrace was lovely. There were colourful chairs and tables, brick rooftops beyond the railing and, on this particular winter day, blue sky broken by white clouds.

I had described the café as one of London’s hidden gems on the way in. What I liked was its position: you had to know there was something more above the antiques. Once upstairs, it felt like a destination in its own right. You could come for a drink and a look around, even if you had no intention of carrying a piece of furniture home.

The view was a different sort of London panorama. I could look over the surrounding roofs and spot the BT Tower, rather than stand at street level looking up at everything. In the film I lingered over that view before turning the camera back towards a more immediate attraction: coffee and a scone.

A black Americano and the jam-first question

I ordered a black Americano and a cream tea. In practice, the part I was most interested in explaining was the scone with strawberry jam and cream. The coffee stayed firmly in the picture, even if tea might have been the more conventional drink alongside it.

Cutting the scone did not go particularly elegantly. I more or less butchered it on camera, then invited the inevitable debate about how to pronounce “scone”. However, that was only the warm-up. The really divisive decision was what went on first.

For me, it was jam first. I spread the strawberry jam over the cut surface and followed it with a generous dollop of cream. I knew perfectly well that viewers who preferred cream first would have something to say about that. It was a small, cheerful argument to have on a sunny roof with a good coffee in front of me.

There was no elaborate tasting ceremony. The pleasure was the combination of the food, the outdoor table and the view. A clear winter day made the terrace feel particularly special, and I was in no rush to abandon it. Eventually, though, I still had a Valentine’s present to find.

A vintage cocktail shaker for Valentine’s Day

I went back down through the antiques and returned to the roof with another coffee and a wrapped purchase. My girlfriend loved cocktails, especially making them at home, so a cocktail shaker felt like a gift chosen for her rather than simply for the occasion.

The one I found had a distinctive jug-like shape, a handle and an interesting lid. I unwrapped it at the table and demonstrated the top, including the different ways of pouring or straining a drink. Those practical details were part of its charm. It was an object to pick up, examine and use.

I also made a point of explaining that it was EPNS—electroplated nickel silver—not sterling silver. I joked that I was not made of money. The appeal was not a claim about precious-metal value; it was the unusual design, its age and the thought of it being used for homemade cocktails.

That was exactly the sort of find I had hoped for at Alfies Antique Market. I had come without a fixed object in mind and left with something that made sense for the person receiving it. There was still some more conventional Valentine’s shopping to do, but the main present was sorted.

Paul A Young chocolates and a Cecil Court card

Next I popped into Soho for chocolates from Paul A Young. I wanted a bag rather than a box so that I could put the chocolates inside the cocktail shaker. It was a simple way to turn the antique into a complete present, with something sweet tucked into something useful.

The final part of the shopping took me along Cecil Court, past the antique and vintage bookshops. At Alice Through the Looking Glass, I found a card that appealed to me precisely because it was not a conventional Valentine’s card. I thought she would like something a little different.

Looking back, it was a very London way to put a present together: an antiques market in Marylebone, coffee above the rooftops, chocolates in Soho and a card from a specialist shop on Cecil Court. The stops gave the day its shape, and the gift came together along the way.

Watch the original Alfies visit

The film follows the whole trip, including the rooftop café, the scone debate and the cocktail-shaker reveal. If the original is unavailable in your region, the alternate worldwide version is also linked from the video.

Planning a visit now? Alfies lists its address as 13–25 Church Street, London NW8 8DT, and the Rooftop Kitchen on its top floor. Check the official Alfies visitor information and Rooftop Kitchen page for current details. The stock and other businesses shown in this film belong to the 2016 visit.

For more from the same London archive, join me for pizza and coffee at Pizza Pilgrims and Bar Italia, or take a look around Carnaby Street and Kingly Court.