Here is a chronological list of everything Strike and Robin drink or eat in The Cuckoo’s Calling.
Black coffee (P1 Ch3)
Strike asks Robin (who he calls Sandra) for a black coffee with two sugars during his first meeting with John Bristow. Robin gets the coffee from Mr Crowdy downstairs, impressing Strike.
Iced lemon squash (P1 Ch3)
Strike recalls Yvette Bristow giving him this at her house when he was a guest there with his school friend Charlie.
Chocolate biscuits (P1 Ch3-4)
As well as coffee, Robin brings Strike and Bristow some chocolate biscuits.
In Chapter 3:
“Strike’s mouth was watering at the sight of the chocolate biscuits, because he had eaten nothing for what felt like days; but he felt it would strike an unsympathetic note to start snacking while Bristow jiggled and sniffed and mopped his eyes.”
In Chapter 4:
“His self-restraint crumbling at last, Strike took a chocolate biscuit and crammed it, whole, into his mouth; he took an unused notepad from his desk drawer, flicked it open, reached for a pen and managed to swallow the biscuit in the time it took Bristow to resume his seat.”
Doom Bar (P1 Ch5)
Strike drinks Doom Bar in The Tottenham pub.
“The Cornish beer tasted of home, peace, and long-gone security.”
Ham roll and a chocolate bar (P1 Ch7)
Strike gets a ham roll and a chocolate bar from the University of London Union building (ULU) after showering. He also nicks some plastic cutlery.
Pot Noodle (P1 Ch7)
After breaking up with Charlotte, Strike is living in his office on Denmark Street, sleeping on a camp bed.
“His dinner was still in a Pot Noodle, which he had chosen because it reminded him of the fare he used to carry in his ration pack: some deep-rooted association between quickly heated and rehydrated food and makeshift dwelling places had made him reach automatically for the thing.”
Tea (P2 Ch5)
Robin makes their client Mrs Hook a cup of tea. Strike had bought some cheap cups and tea bags.
Sandwiches (P2 Ch5)
Strike waits for Mrs Hook to leave Denmark Street before going to fetch sandwiches for himself and Robin.
Water (bottle) (P2 Ch5)
Strike throws Robin’s empty water bottle in the bin and signs her time sheet. “‘Thanks for everything, Robin. Good luck with the job hunt.’” Strike leaves the office and Robin chases after him to arrange a private agreement for her to stay at the agency for another week or two.
Pie and mash (P2 Ch6)
Strike and Derrick Wilson both have pie and mash in the Phoenix Café in Brixton (which is no longer there). Strike later thinks back to the pie and mash with nostalgia after being served mint tea by Guy Somé’s assistant.
Mug of tea x2 (P2 Ch6)
Strike orders tea at the Phoenix Cafe during his interview with Derrick Wilson and Kieran Kolovas-Jones.
Beers (P2 Ch8)
Strike’s eyes are drawn to cans of beer in the supermarket as though accompanied by a spectre haunting him.
Pot Noodles (P2 Ch8)S
Strike buys more Pot Noodles from the supermarket.
Wong Kei meal (Singapore noodles?) (P2 Ch8)
It is not mentioned what Strike eats from Wong Kei on this occasion, but his favourite seems to be Singapore noodles.
Lager (P2 Ch8)
“Midnight found Strike drinking a can of lager and reading about the posthumous controversy that Bristow had mentioned …”
Tea x2 (P2 Ch10)
After a stroll around the streets in the vicinity of the Barrack nightclub, Strike sits himself down in a cafe and orders tea.
Bacon roll (P2 Ch10)
Strike also orders a bacon roll in the cafe mentioned above and reads an abandoned copy of the Daily Mail. Robin calls him to say Alison Creswell has called the office.
Doom Bar x3 (P2 Ch10)
Strike drinks three pints of Doom Bar in The Feathers pub when he meets Eric Wardle to discuss the Lula Landry case.
Pork scratchings (P2 Ch10)
Strike gets pork scratchings in The Feathers, but, to his irritation is served in a small white ramekin.
Puntarelle with anchovies (P2 Ch11)
Strike eats this in Cipriani during his interview with Tansy Bestigui. He tries not to look as though he is enjoying it.
Coffee (P2 Ch11)
Tansy, Ursula and John order coffee in Cipriani.
Sticky toffee pudding (P2 Ch11)
In Cipriani, Strike is the only one of the group to order a pudding.
Fish and chips (P3 Ch1)
Strike is eating fish and chips from a small polystyrene tray in his lap while watching the London evening news when the Lula Landry case files arrive from Wardle.
Lager (P3 Ch2)
At Jack’s birthday party, Lucy hands Strike a lager.
Jelly and ice cream (P3 Ch2)
Served at his nephew Jack’s seventh birthday party. We don’t know if Strike had any himself, but it seems unlikely that he would pass on an opportunity for free food if available.
Tennent’s (P3 Ch3)
A Scottish lager Strike drinks one evening in the office.
Doom Bar (P3 Ch5)
Strike has a Doom Bar in the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen in Hyde Park, where he encounters Tony Landry for the first time.
Singapore noodles (P3 Ch 7)
Strike eats Singapore noodles in Wong Kei, Chinatown, whilst hunched over Lula Landry’s flowery pink laptop.
Strike meets Spanner in Wong Kei to hand over Lula’s laptop. Spanner orders a Wontun soup.
Beer (P3 Ch7)
Strike has a beer in Wong Kei. “… he examined Lula Landry’s laptop, beside his beer. The dark pink computer casing was patterned with cherry blossom.”
Tea (P3 Ch8)
Robin arrives at the office and wakes Strike up by rapping on the door to the inner office. “‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Robin called through the door. ‘Yeah – yeah, that’d be great. I’ll come out there for it.” She makes Strike a cup of tea and when Strike emerges gives him the news that she’s found Rochelle Onifade. “‘You genius, you bloody genius…'” He slops tea over his hand and puts the mug down on her desk.
Extra Strong Mints (P3 Ch8)
Strike buys himself some Extra Strong Mints at a station kiosk before boarding the train to go and try and catch Rochelle Onifade at St Thomas’ hospital. He sucks four mints simultaneously, trying to conceal the fact he had not had time to clean his teeth.
Coffee and cookies (P3 Ch8)
In McDonald’s, Strike buys two coffees and two large cookies for himself and Rochelle.
Big Mac meal (P3 Ch8)
Trying to get her to talk to him longer, Strike buys Rochelle Onifade a Big Mac meal. He is afraid she might leave while he is at the counter (which is what happens in the TV adaptation).
Sandwiches (P3 Ch10)
After meeting Lucy in the office, Robin goes out to buy sandwiches for herself and Strike for lunch, not in any hurry to go back to the office because “she had noticed, though Lucy had seemed oblivious, how unhappy Strike had been to find them in conversation.” When she returns to the office she doesn’t know if she’s imagining the cahrged atmosphere. Strike thanks her for the sandwiches.
Salt and vinegar crisps (P3 Ch10)
As well as the sandwiches Robin buys for herself and Strike, she selects two packets of salt and vinegar crisps at random and heads for the counter.
Mint Tea and wafer thin biscuits (P4 Ch1)
Served by Trudie at Guy Some’s studio in Chiswick. “She laid upon the desk a black lacquered tray, on which was a pale green steaming concoction with wilted leaves floating in it. There was also a plate of wafer-thin biscuits that looked as thought they might be made of charcoal.”
Double decaff latte for Robin (P4 Ch2)
Strike makes a trip to Starbucks and brings a double decaff latte for Robin.
Double espresso for Strike (P4 Ch2)
Strike orders himself a double espresso from Starbucks. When he returns to the office, Spanner is there with Lula Landry’s laptop.
Doom Bar x11 (P4 Ch5)
After finding out Charlotte Campbell is engaged to Jago Ross, Strike drinks eleven pints of Doom Bar in The Tottenham.
Half-lager (P4 Ch5)
When Robin finds Strike drunk in The Tottenham she orders herself a half-lager.
Kebab (P4 Ch5)
To sober Strike up, Robin encourages Strike to eat a kebab from the kebab shop at the end of Denmark Street.
Water with Alka-Seltzer (P4 Ch6)
After his 11 pints of Doom Bar in The Tottenham the previous night, Robin leaves him water and some Alka-Seltzer outside the office door.
Water x2 (P4 Ch6)
Strike drinks more water after waking up hungover.
Dairy Milk (family sized) (P4 Ch6)
To combat the symptoms of his hangover, Strike eats a family-sized bar of Dairy Milk chocolate.
Water (P4 Ch7)
Strike drinks more water the day he is hungover.
Pizza (P4 Ch7)
Strike consumes a few slices of pizza that had been ordered by an exhausted stylist’s assistant while he is waiting to interview Ciara Porter.
Water (P4 Ch8)
In the Uzi nightclub, Strike orders himself a water. Ciara Porter has a Boozy-Uzi cocktail, which smells strongly of Pernod. He meets Evan Duffield.
Tea (P4 Ch9)
Strike asks Robin if she wants a cup of tea but she refuses. He makes them both one anyway. He sits down on the old sofa and apologises to Robin for the night before last when she had found him drunk in The Tottenham.
Cheese and pickle sandwich (P4 Ch9)
Strike has a cheese and pickle sandwich. “… half a cheese and pickle sandwich in twelve hours: he felt hollowed-out, exhausted.” (P4 Ch10)
Egg mayonnaise sandwich (P4 Ch9)
At random, Robin selects the egg mayonnaise sandwich offered to her by Strike. “Her new hypothesis about Strike’s overnight whereabouts had eclipsed even her excitement over the progress of the case.”
Machine-made Coffee (P4 Ch10)
“… a small interrogation room, with a cup of machine-made coffee given to him by Wardle. He is questioned by Wardle and Carver about Rochelle Onifade after they find his card on her body.
Two Big Macs, large fries, McFlurry (P4 Ch11)
Even after learning that Rochelle Onifade’s last meal was the McDonald’s Strike bought her, it doesn’t put him off ordering two Big Macs, large fries and a McFlurry.
Tea and biscuits (P4 Ch13)
Strike and Robin are enjoying tea and biscuits and discussing the latest death threat from Brian Mathers when Eric Wardle calls the office to tell Strike that he has been in touch with Deeby Macc to find out about what items of clothing Guy Some left him.
Coffee (P4 Ch14)
When visiting Lady Bristow, Strike accepts a coffee. “… he was transported back two and a half decades, to Charlie Bristow’s sunlit garden, and the gracious blonde mother, and the iced lemonade.”
Chocolate bourbons (P4 Ch14)
Yvette Bristow’s nurse Mary returns with a tray bearing Strike’s coffee and a plate of chocolate bourbons.
Water (P5 Ch1)
After leaving Yvette Bristow’s, Strike falls down the six stairs, injuring his leg. Back at the office, Robin fetches Strike water and paracetamol.
Tea (P5 Ch1)
Strike dismisses Robin from the office and manages to make himself a cup of tea. He drinks it sitting in Robin’s chair.
Digestives (P5 Ch1)
Sitting in Robin’s chair, along with his cup of tea, Strike eats half a packet of digestives, “spending most of the time in contemplation of the face of Jonah Agyeman. The paracetamol had barely touched the pain in his leg.” Eventually, John Bristow arrives at the office (P5 Ch 2).
