Paddington Bear Cafe, London Paddington Station
A Very Rare Sort of Cafe
It was a huge honour for Avocado Sweets to be selected to design Paddington’s first ever café in the heart of Paddington Station. With a brief to create a welcoming environment with wide appeal to fans and commuters alike, the café needed to carefully combine a range of Paddington™️ touches in an effortlessly contemporary space for all. In short - a cafe everyone’s favourite bear would have enjoyed and approved of!
The curated look and feel brings in visual cues from Paddington Bear’s long career. From the original 1958 Peggy Fortnam illustration, faithfully reproduced as a piece of mural art, through to a life-size statue of the animated bear from the modern day films and TV series. The iconic felt hat is reimagined as pendant lighting while a large orange ‘marmalade’ tree and a live green wall evoke his Peruvian jungle heritage.
Bear-y good
The café is split into distinct zones with a range of seating within the food and beverage space including comfortable booths, chilled out benches and quick-bite table and chairs, alongside a vibrant retail space.
Sitting quietly on a station bench in the corner, a hand-crafted staue of Paddington™️ surveys the cafe, marmalade sandwich in his hand. Always accommodating to strangers, he’s happy for fans to join him for a rest and a selfie.
Nearby a large orange tree appears to grow out of the apothecary-style merchandise table to create an enticing space to pick up his iconic plush toys and gifts.
Calm and Care
Like Paddington™️ himself, weary travellers can kick-back in the comfortable booth seating area complete with wood-panelled walls, an old-fashion luggage rack of vintage suitcases and of course the illuminated ‘Lost and Found’ sign from the station where he first found the Browns and his name.
Nearby, a natural green wall evokes Paddington’s Peruvian origins while helping to create a sense of calm and care in the café’s chilled-out bench seating area. Small playful touches embody Paddington’s sense of fun, including his iconic silhouette head carefully branded into each table top by hand and luggage tag themed way-finding.
All storage solutions within the café have been custom-designed to fit the overall aesthetic and give a seamless customer experience, creating hidden spaces behind a heritage-inspired exterior. The result? A haven of peace and tranquility to recharge, remember your manners and spread a little kindness Paddington-style.
