You might know this phrase as the beginning of a joke: “A man walks into a London bar….” In this case, the line isn’t a joke. It’s simply a description. “A man walks into a bar…and orders a pint without saying a sound.” Watch:
Cafés, coffee shops, bars, and other places that employ individuals who use sign to communicate can be found in lots of places. One of those places was featured in a story by Victoria Hollins on BBC 15 July 2025. This is her lede from “The train carriage cafe where sign language is used”:
On the edge of a 1960s council estate in east London, just a stone’s throw from Stratford station and in the shadow of a concrete tower block, a train carriage has been turned into a café.
The Dialogue Express Café on the Carpenter’s Estate in Newham is run by deaf and hard of hearing staff.
They are being trained by a local social enterprise called Dialogue Hub which aims to increase opportunity and visibility for the deaf community.
Its founder Hakan Elbir told BBC London: “We train them and then we invite Londoners to get in touch and communicate with them in their language.” The language Hakan Elbir is talking about is British Sign Language (BSL).
Additional stories about Dialogue Express Café have appeared elsewhere:
One by Vaishnavi Pandey appeared 15 July 2025 in the Secret Club and was entitled “This East London Cafe Inside A Vintage Train Car Is Run By Deaf Baristas – And You Can Learn How To Order Your Coffee In British Sign Language: Operated and staffed by d/deaf* and hard of hearing baristas, the cafe is run in partnership with Dialogue Hub, a local social enterprise dedicated to increasing opportunity and visibility for the deaf community.”
Another was posted 24 September 2025 to GoodGoodGood: At this café run entirely by deaf baristas, you must order in sign language. (Don’t worry; they’ll teach you).
The Dialogue Café in London is one of many such businesses. See Le Café Signes in Paris, Pallet Cafe in Nairobi, Congming Teahouse in Hong Kong, and others.
1 Starbucks began supporting signing in 2016, opening a store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In an article that the company published on 25 September 2025, it celebrated the opening of that store in Kuala Lumpur, and and another in Penang… and stores in China, Japan, and Korea,
In 2018, according to Deaf24 Starbucks opened a store in the USA. In an article dated 19 August 2025 and headed “Starbucks Opens First American Sign Language Café,” Deaf24 begin it’s story in this way:
On October 23, 2018, Starbucks made history in the United States by opening its first café where staff communicate primarily in American Sign Language (ASL). Located in Washington, D.C., this unique café aims to provide a welcoming space for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, inspired by a successful concept in Malaysia. The initiative reflects Starbucks’ ongoing efforts to promote inclusivity and accessibility in everyday experiences.
Starbucks didn’t rest on its laurels, though. A newer store in Washington, DC, was built with accessibility as a goal. Read Starbucks’s story about the store: “What’s inside a more accessible and inclusive Starbucks store? Starbucks new Washington, D.C., store is the first built using new Inclusive Spaces Framework.” The story has videos embedded in it, and I’m linking to one of them here:
InclusiveStores-Roll-Up-Power-Doors-Clip
This is good news, no? Even though I am not someone with substantial loyalty to Starbucks, I’ll be looking for stores in places I visit. And I’ll use those tourist resources to locate other cafés where I can order in sign language.
Therefore, I better work on my signing. I could probably get by with finger spelling, though I’m slow and error prone. So, I’ll spend a little time with videos (such as this one that helps one learn cafe and restaurant signs in ASL) to expand my signing vocabulary. Of course, if I go abroad, I may need to work on my accent…
Footnote
There’s a pretty cool map showing Deaf-operated and Deaf-owned cafés, bars, and restaurants around the world. Some of those I saw are now maybe out of business, but there are lots of alternatives. It’s cleverly called Signs of Good Food.
I've been to the Sign Language Cafe. It's on H Street NE, kind of near Gallaudet University.