By Deborah Talbot
One of the interesting things about Walthamstow is that it is home to cultural communities that aren’t normally constituted as such. One of these is the Scandinavian community, which actually has their own Facebook page local to E17. It was simply a matter of time before this community formed itself into a café, and, after a successful Scandinavian pop-up café in the town centre stormed people’s imaginations for three weeks, Bygga Bo opened only months later. It is situated somewhat annoyingly behind the bus stop in Bell Corner so that it seems slightly invisible, but it has benefitted from, and added to, the regeneration of the locale prompted by the renovation of the nearby William Morris Gallery and Bell Pub.
The outside is inauspicious. It is a basic shopfront of the sort done on the cheap when it was de rigueur to rip out Victorian features (like much of Walthamstow). They have made the best of it, however, by cleaning the window regularly, having friendly hand-written notices on the door, and by having an airy interior, which you can see from the street.
Inside, as one might expect, are lightweight pine tables and chairs, and a shop that sells, yes, Scandinavian products. They make good if pricey gifts, no great affront given that Walthamstow is a bit short of shops to buy inoffensive presents—y’know, the sort of presents you give to people when you don’t know them well but want to make a good impression. There is a terrace at the back, and a summer house/family room that has a few toys in it as well as art exhibitions—and there is room for development in this respect. This room also houses parent groups, such as a Swedish toddler singalong group on a Friday morning (welcome to Walthamstow’s ‘Swedish subculture’, I was told). It looked fun.
The food is made on-site or locally sourced, and consists of open sandwiches, pastries, tea, coffee and Scandinavian drinks such as rhubarb cordial, and during the summer I had a great quinoa, pumpkin and pomegranate-seed salad for £4.50.
Overall, while it’s a pleasant and welcoming place for families, I don’t see it being able to keep the attention of a lively preschooler, like most cafés in fact. A few colouring materials wouldn’t go amiss. However, it seems a brilliant and calm place for mums and babies, and I often go and work or have meetings there; indeed, during the week all you can see is a row of laptops. I often feel guilty about using cafés to work—the working-in-a-leisure-space problem (although it is essential when your kids are at home). However, the owners don’t seem to mind, and always greet you with a friendly smile and a very, very good cup of coffee.
Bygga Bo’s address is Bell Corner, 8 Chingford Road, E17 4PJ. If you’re heading there in your car, there isn’t much parking (it’s on a busy junction), but you can park next to the William Morris Gallery or in Winns Terrace. For more information, visit Bygga Bo’s website.
