Astral Gate

Hearty Italian food, a tendency to accompany everything with chips, colossal portions: what’s not to like? Café Astral isn’t a coffeehouse, it’s more a diner serving huge portions of Italian food and the odd curry to local construction workers and cab drivers. Service is friendly and quick and prices decent too. Certainly worth checking out.

Astral Gate is just a stone’s throw from the famous Regency Café on Regency Street/​Page Street. It does not compete, in real terms, with the Regency but does a respectable brisk trade in its own right and is a much smaller establishment.
Since about the start of 2009 (or earlier, I am unable to recall clearly), the Astral began opening long hours and became a cabbies’ favourite. It now opens 7 days I think and when it is open, it would be for long hours like until 10pm at night (could be later but I have honestly not checked up on this personally). As the Astral is directly opposite the «iron lung» — some quirky place on the Horseferry Road where there is parking for half a dozen taxis, an old fashioned iron «pissoir» (hence the «iron lung» I think) and a coin operated toilet. I guess this is where cabbies come to for a «comfort break» as well as something to eat and drink, hence Astral’s brisk trade in servicing them.
The people who run the Astral are Madeiran Portugese and are lovely, friendly people. Their food is geared towards the «big boys» i.e. hearty, heavy dishes which feature a lot of meat e.g. meat balls, meat curries, lasagna etc and of course a fry up breakfast is de riguer (although I think the Regency scores better on that count). Hey, it is servicing a need and total respect for that!