North London resident Emma Dixon tells Big Smoke about a recent culinary experience not to die for;
“Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. That’s not what .. design is. .. It’s not just what it looks .. like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs, 2003
I’ve lived near Clissold Park, on the Hackney/Islington borders, for fifteen years. Visitors from out of town often comment on the grubbiness of the area or make ill-informed remarks about local crime levels. I’ll admit, our area might not always look beautiful on the surface. But I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
If you live around here, it’s likely that your top priority isn’t how things look on the surface – those seeking a pretty veneer are probably living in Barnes, or Hampstead. We live here because we love the area and all it has to offer, from the Arcola theatre to the Screen on the Green, from the Spence Bakery to the gorgeous local parks.
The new Clissold Park cafe run by multi-million pound business the Company of Cooks looks very pretty indeed, but it doesn’t work for local residents – young mums, dads and carers bringing their kids in from the cold of the playground for something quick, cheap and hot to eat.
For example, on a recent visit I ordered beans on toast for my kids. When it (finally) arrived, it was not beans on toast … but toast on beans: a ramekin of beans with two pieces of unbuttered toast balanced on top, together with a, fridge-cold pat of butter.
It looked pretty, but (for obvious reasons) it didn’t work. Style had been given precedence over substance.
‘Designer’ beans on toast? Steve Jobs would have been unimpressed.
If you have been affected by the issues covered in this story email our help line at editorial@bigsmoke.org.uk
62 Comments
Steve would most likely have been unimpressed by the presence of butter at all.
When he saw Mitch Kapor (founder of Lotus) putting butter on his toast, he asked him if he had ever heard of serum cholesterol. Mitch said “I’ll make you a deal. You stay away from commenting on my dietary habits, and I will stay away from the subject of your personality.”
I am sorry to say that I do agree that the cafe is not what a lot of local people would have hoped for and expected. It is what a lot of more recently located local people might like, but affordable and appealing to the wider population it is not and I think might well add to the sense of alienation that is just what Hackney doesn’t need. It is just too posh. What about running a ‘two tier’ cafe menu – ‘proper’ sandwiches and a decent cup of tea and ‘proper’ beans on toast on one side and the designer lot on the other. The only tea I have had there so far is my last I am afraid – £1.85 for an earl grey tea bag in a tiny metal teapot that leaked all over the table and no possibility of a hot water top up….no thanks!
Please tweet your suggestions for great local places to eat near Clissold Park using the hashtag #Toastofhackney – or leave them as comments here. Thanks!
I totally agree with you.
I paid my first visit to “The House” yesterday since its reincarnation and what came to mind about the place was one of my Grandmother’s favourite sayings……
“It’s all fur coat and no knickers” :)
What a shame Emma that you didn’t enjoy the trip to the new Clissold House cafe. I am a local resident too, I can see the duck ponds out of my bedroom window and I have lived here for 25 years and brought up my 3 children using the park for regular visits. Thy are now teenagers and use it themselves with friends. I also walk my dog there every day. I have seen a lot of reincarnations of the cafe in that time none of them very satisfactory and usually overpriced for what was on offer. Until now. The price of a cup of tea in the new cafe is the same as Costa and 6p more than Burger King. But an infinitely nicer experience. The waiters are lovely and the food is fabulous. The homemade soup is a fantastic meal for children and comes with an enormous piece of really high quality bread. On Sunday the place was absolutely packed with families and I think that will remain the same every weekend if they keep up the quality of the food. I’d much rather have decent quality at reasonable prices than ‘quick and cheap’.
Thanks Karen – it’s great to have both sides of the argument put here. Hope you and your kids continue to enjoy it. Best wishes.
The other problem when I went there yesterday (and you can call me a grumpy old man if you like) is that the minute I walked into the dining area, i thought i was in the local post-natal ward. As in the old place, there were screaming sprogs everywhere I looked. It’s a pity they don’t have a child-free area for adults to sit quietly and talk.
I do realise that Tarquin needs to express himself but not at my expense.
I’m thinking it could be good to have two areas – a slightly quieter, more refined one with table service, serving lavender cake etc, and a playground caff with egg on toast, chips and so on. There’s plenty of room now the house has been restored, and that approach works successfully elsewhere (I’m thinking of places like Somerset House).
Your comment on design as function rather than aesthetic goes too far the other way. Design should be both. A beautiful looking environment also has a function – it makes you enjoy being there.
Clearly the toast on beans was a silly idea, but they’ve been open less than two weeks and are bound to be in a stage where they’re trying out new ideas. Did you feed back to them then and there? I’m sure they’d welcome your comments.
Personally I think they’ve done a great job, the prices are fine (and indeed I’m happy to pay if it helps fund the park in some way), the food was quick and indeed hot. I don’t see how it doesn’t work for local residents, myself included. Generally the layout is fine – there’s quite a bit of space between tables for pushchairs, for example, and there are lots of different rooms (three?) to sit in all with great views. It’s possible they’ll have problems with space and prams in the downstairs area servery, but it is a historic building never designed to house multitudes of parents with prams.
So give it another chance, and support what is a great asset for the local community.
Hi Kat,
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to comment on the article. Dealing with some of your points:
1. I’d be very surprised if the price you pay goes to help the local park; the takings go to the Company of Cooks, a multi-million pound business which is not local to Hackney and which runs the catering at Kenwood & elsewhere.
2. No, I didn’t have the chance to feed back there and then, because of a series of other problems with service and food on my particular visit. I won’t bore you with those – they may well have been down to teething problems. But I have written to the Company of Cooks in detail about my concerns (which obviously don’t centre on whether the toast is on top of the beans or underneath!!) The heart of the problem is that this should be, but currently is not, a cafe serving the whole local community rather than a monied subsection of it.
3. And I will most definitely be back to see whether they have taken my concerns on board and, more generally, how they are managing to adapt to their new surroundings in Hackney instead of Hampstead!
Please do keep commenting and encourage others to do so too!
Emma
No problem – always happy to have a healthy debate!
In reply:
1. I assume Company of Cooks have to pay a lease thought, which is a contribution towards the park, or at least I hope they do! (aren’t they subcontracted through GLL or am I confused on this?)
2. Hopefully any feedback will be constructive and treated as such. I disagree that it’s currently only serving a ‘monied subsection’ of the community – its not expensive at all. Sandwiches for £3-£4 including table service, a nice environment and view is pretty good value.
Glad you’ll go back though, as will I. I’m sure it will continue to improve if they have the right people in place.
They don’t actually sell sandwiches….It’s either focaccia or baps.
The other thing is the only two veggie options were cous cous and curry. Despite the beliefs of a lot of caterers, not all vegetarians like curry, so you’re down to a choice of one item.
Something else to point out. I went there yesterday with my disabled mother who is in a wheelchair. The only entrance for wheelchairs is through the ‘take away’ section in the basement but this is partially blocked by a large table, right smack bang in the centre of the entrance. We had to maneuver around the table, which wasn’t too bad yesterday but come the summer when there are queues, this will cause access/egress issues.
Company of Cooks has a contract with the Council to run the cafe and the catering in the house. Community groups can bring in their own light refreshments for meetings etc. GLL have an eighteen month contract to run the house – in the sense of day-to-day management of the house as a venue. The new Park Manager post has overall responsibility for managing the park and the house. And there will also be another new post which will be focussed on education, heritage, getting more people to use the park in different ways etc. and running the education centre in the old bowling pavilion. This project is about a very great deal more than just setting up a new cafe!
Thanks all – this has been a v interesting discussion.
Prices as the same as Costa?!
You *do* realise Costa is called the same for a reason! The point of the park an amenities is that it is supposed to be accessible – and affordable for all.
Further, if they must charge Costa prices, they damn sure better have Costa quality.
BTW, if past performance is any indication of Hackney Council’s approach to this lease, it’s likely to have been granted for a number of years at a very reasonable premium and rent.
Very.
They’re on a five-year lease. Don’t know the terms.
I chair the park user group so it is great to get all this feedback. The cafe has only been open for ten days in the first week they served almost 5000 people so there must be something about it that local people like. I agree we do really need to give them a chance to settle in and get to know their market which I am sure everyone here will agree is a very specific (and maybe fairly demanding?) one. There will be comment cards on all the tables very soon so you can feed back directly to them and from what I have seen so far they are likely to be very responsive – after all it is in their interests as well as ours. Just a few points of info – their takings will be audited and their is an arrangement whereby Hackney gets more money the more they turn over. The rent from the cafe (which is substantial as you would expect for such a prestigous site) is going to be helping to pay for the maintenance of the house and help to ensure that the rooms for hire can be offered at very reasonable rates to community groups (£15 to £25 per hour) depending on the day of the week and the size of the room. The Council is very keen to get local people to use the house as a resource and there are already lots of bookings from local groups as well as plenty of private bookings coming in which will be charged at the higher commercial rates. The user group and the Council are jointly organising various events for the coming months. The downstairs cafe terrace (the new one) will probably be the cafe of choice for families once the weather gets a bit warmer and there will be lots of tables out there. At the moment the menu there is limited but the plan is that it will serve exactly the same menu as the upper cafe. On the subject of kids, I can vouch for the fact that the cafe has always been full of noisy children, it is in a park after all – that is certainly nothing new but the cafe is planning an outpost for the playground area. One of the key elements of the new arrangements has been to make the house more accessible. Wheelchair and buggy access is not through the servery on the end of the house but via the “back” door in the middle of the side of the house that faces the river. This takes you straight to the new lift which serves all floors. It is great that so many people have come to visit the house this week but I’d like to ask people to be a little patient. There is a great, new and enthusiastic team working in the house as a whole (not just Company of Cooks and GLL but also a new (interim) overall Manager with overall resposibility for both the house and the park which is something we have never had) who are really committed to getting it to work well. Sure, there are lots of things to sort out around signage, menus, toilets, access etc but please believe that we are all aware of these issues and working flat out to get them sorted. As always in the park, we have to strike a compromise between the different and sometimes conflicting needs and tastes of different people. And there can’t be many new cafes that have to open to such an overwhelmingly high level of demand and interest. Please keep coming, keep commenting but just give everyone a little time!
I still think a lot more care should have been taken to make the cafe inclusive. It just isn’t. The prices and the snob effect I’m afraid is offputting to a lot of people who can’t afford it, now feel excluded by it or just object to the fact that it is not run by a local small business but a corporation and appeals to a set of the middle class who will feel a sense of entitlement to this cafe.
Sorry I meant to say level access to the lift is via the back door facing the church (not the river!)
Mary, thank you for expressing what I was trying to say but rather more succinctly & politely!
It would be interesting to know how the User Group was constituted. What, for example, is the spread of income, ethnicity and social/rented housing to homeowners in the group? If lower income, BME, disabled, socially excluded people are under-represented, what steps have been taken to seek their views on what they want from the cafe? It’s a genuine question, not a gripe, and if anyone can direct me to material answering it I’d be very grateful. Presumably Hackney Council did an equalities impact assessment in relation to the refurbishment of the park, so that might be one source of information. Thanks all!
Look at the website if you want to know more about the user group – and join our email list if you want. http://www.clissoldpark.com
I’ve been a member of the User’s group on Facebook for the last few years and visited the park hundreds of times. There have been countless opportunities to voice opinions and take an active role in shaping the future of the park and it’s services, including reviewing the plans and filling out questionnaires.
Caroline and her fellow park enthusiasts have liaised with the council at every stage of the process and answered every query raised by the users, and no doubt will continue to do so even though the same themes and questions arise time and time again.
We have a remarkable resource at our disposal, all the beans and tea bags stuff will sort itself out provided people feed back directly to CofC, GLL and the users group. They’ve made an excellent start and will no doubt improve. In my opinion it’s braver to make your complaint at the time, and to the appropriate people. Then you can write an article on big-smoke saying how great the customer service was and what they said they would do to improve?
Thanks very much indeed Alex – please keep sharing and adding views.
Emma
PS I’ve emailed the Company of Cooks three times now about my visit but have yet to have a reply. That is in addition to raising concerns on the day with the staff.
Emma, I agree wholeheartedly. I’m afraid that while it looks pretty it doesn’t work for ordinary locals who visit day in, day out, whether they’re elderly or with babies or young kids themselves.
It’s a great destination cafe for floaty weekenders but for someone like me, who works from home with a young baby (and who has many friends in the same position) it’s laughable. This is Hackney, people, not Dulwich Picture House.
Issues include:
* Overpriced food, especially in the ‘takeaway’ area where in theory it should be cheap and cheerful, no?
* Not enough choice for everyday consumption – ordinary sandwiches, baked potatoes, fruit, biscuits to dip in a cuppa. The children’s menu is crazy – nearly £4 for a macaroni cheese? Planning to serve the same as in the upper cafe is a mistake, in my opinion. Squid casserole? Not on a Monday afternoon, thanks
* Not enough highchairs. When we visited at the weekend the guy in the takeaway section was too busy to find one for us. He suggested we look upstairs but when carting numerous bags and buggies it’s just not practical o the temptation is to bugger off somewhere else.
* Not enough chairs and tables, full stop. People were leaving because there was nowhere to sit. This applies in the enclosed takeaway section and above the slope – we need way more outside seating.
* Table service is all well and good but how about having menus easily available and the food properly displayed, for practical purposes not for effect. Sandwiches and cakes are laid out artfully enough, but unlabelled and upriced. Result: confusion and slow service where the staff have to deal with everyone asking ‘what’s this?’ ‘what’s that?’ etc
* Sort out the queuing system – get a proper counter with food in it, properly displayed, not a table in the middle of the room that people have to cluster around to see what’s on offer before returning to the doorway to queue and order
* It’s all well and good restoring the slope to its original glory but that was one of the loveliest places to sit and enjoy the sunshine – I take it there will be no more tables in that area in the summer? Such a shame: there need to be
That’s all I can think of for now. I just hope they take note of locals’ views. I’ve overheard many people saying exactly the same thing. They need to take a leaf out of the Sparks caff’s book, in Springfield Park – an extensive and accessible menu with plenty of seating, snacks on the counter for starving kids when the queues are long, and table service without the pretension.
Though I waited two and half hours to be served lunch in Springfield Park last time I went
I meant to comment on this before – two and a half hours?!?!? Is that from arriving to seeing your food arrive? I’d be far too annoyed to eat!
My own view is that we’re lucky to have such a great cafe in such a beautiful location, and there’s no reason that Hackney residents shouldn’t be offered something just as fancy as Hampstead residents get. However, when summer comes and the paddling pool is open, where are parents going to take their dripping kids?
If we have an expensive cake and coffee place, we should also have somewhere that sells decent food at sensible prices, like the trailer in the car park used to. I’m worried that Company of Cooks’ contract may include an understanding that they will be the sole suppliers of food and drink in the park, and that really isn’t fair on people that don’t have a lot to spend.
Re the paddling pool and the playground – the cafe is considering having “outposts” in both locations where you can get drinks and snacks. This will mean parents and kids don’t have to schlep over to the house and it will also take some pressure off the house. What sort of food/drinks would people like to see there?
That would be brilliant. I’d say ice lollies and drinks would go down well, plus simple things like sandwiches/wraps and pies. And chips of course. Got to have chips. Also, it’s worth considering how much packaging comes with the food, because the bins get very full on busy days.
Yes, concessions WOULD be great: that would solve a big part of the problem… but they need to be rain AND shine. Today, the ‘takeaway’ bit of the cafe was closed and there were no tables outside… there are plenty of us who would happily venture down whatever the weather just to get a baby off to sleep in the fresh air. We can wrap up warm and enjoy a cuppa even if it is a bit drizzly!
As for food in the concessions, I guess lollies and ice-creams aren’t necessary if the ice cream vans are still permitted, but basic sandwiches, baked potatoes, fruit, yoghurts, biscuits, chips, teas, coffees, hot choc and cold drinks would all be very welcome.
Another little point: could we have decaf and fruit teas in the house and in any concessions. Loads of b/feeding and preggo mums around who are on decaf only… The former ‘meals on wheels’ temp cafe had all of those and more besides.
More to read here…..
https://www.facebook.com/thehouseinclissoldpark
I think this facebook page makes a few unpleasant assumptions about CPUG. I sat in on their last meeting and pretty much everyone was complaining about the high prices in the cafe.
…and yet more comments here!
http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2012/01/03/clissold-park-cafe-re-opens/comment-page-6/#comment-96860
Emma’s piece is spot on.
The new cafe is ridiculous and laughably inappropriate for both its setting and its clientele.
Yes, it’s great to see the old building restored, but as a cafe it is the heart of the park, the hub where everyone meets up or gravitates to when they’re cold or tired.
People are not looking to walk into the pages of a lifestyle magazine, but rather to find somewhere warm and friendly, where they can relax with a hot drink (a cup of tea for around a pound shouldn’t be too much to ask) or some decent, reasonably-priced food. People don’t go to Clissold Park for a dining experience – they can get that in spades on Church St. The park cafe has a very different role and that is what the new venture has failed to understand. Even in posher places – Parliament Hill Fields or Golders Hill Park, for example – the cafes serve normal, affordable food and drink, which works for teenagers hanging out with their friends, old people stringing out a cup of tea and a bun, or harassed parents with kids. These happen to be the very people who most use the park and they will be the cafe’s most loyal customers if it caters to their needs.
But perhaps in reinventing itself so radically these are just the kind of people that the new cafe wants to discourage?
I agree with your 110%, Katie.
Those living in the areas you mention, have nothing to prove, whereas the nouveau riche do.
They should get their heads out of their backsides.
Totally agree Kate. Popped in for breakfast this morning after running the Finsbury Park Parkrun (5k) for something warm to eat and a hot drink. Felt very out of place in my running gear and bobble hat, and kept getting stares from the impeccably-dressed clientele.
Could perhaps understand that in Blue Legume, but this is a park cafe, so you’re going to get park users using it surely? It’s totally unrepresentative of the area as a whole (designer moustaches, elbow patches, designer clothes, Bugaboo prams etc.) Seems like a place where people go to ‘Check-in’ on Facebook and tweet Instagram photos of the food/drinks.
The whole place needs to lighten up and stop taking itself so seriously. It’s a park cafe in Hackney! One of the (admittedly very nice) waiters bowed when I walked past, for example!
People just want somewhere friendly where they can meet up, have something to eat and give their kids a nice experience.
Hi Laurence, Doug, all. If you could stay away from making personal comments about each other and about people involved in the project that would be much appreciated!
A heated debate is one thing but insults are quite another….
Cheers.
sorry miss
(he started it)
Thanks Doug! :)
I agree Emma and I have already written to Editorial here to have Doug’s highly offensive comments removed.
And here I am!
Disagreeing with each other is fine and can be really productive and interesting but name calling and downright rudeness is unnecessary. No one wants to read that stuff.
Although the contact us has a bit on comments I’ll knock up a clearer comments policy with its own page which will go up later today so everyone is clear where they stand.
Just as newspapers aren’t obliged to print every letter they are sent I don’t see why this site should feel obliged to allow slanging matches or unpleasantness for the sake of it – particularly on an article about how we can improve our communities! :)
Thank you Jim
Thanks Jim!
We now have an email address to which you can send your comments about the cafe: daniel.stevens@hackney.org.uk. I will be sending him a copy of this blog plus comments, but personal comments have a lot more impact so please do email him yourselves if you possibly can. Many thanks.
PS minutes of the user group here:
http://www.lordshipn16.com/2012/01/report-from-clissold-park-users-group.html
Sorry guys! The email address I got from the blog was wrong. Try any of these:
1. local councillor Danny Stevens – daniel.stevens@hackney.gov.uk
2. GLL ‘venue manager’ emma.finch@gll.org
3. company of cooks clissoldhouse@companyofcooks.com.
There is not doubting that the house has been renovated at great cost and restored to its former splendour. There is also no question that the food and drink offered there is of quality.
The issue here is that Clissold Park is a hub for the entire community of Stoke Newington, an area which is unusual in the width and breadth of its diversity – social, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, sexuality. The problem with the magnificence of the cafe is that its appeal is centred on the more affluent, or perhaps the most self-conscious of the middle class, who perhaps see it as a branch of the nicer cafes that exist nearby on Church Street. As such, it can be offputting to a large section of the residents who are not happy to pay the prices or might feel daunted by the surroundings and the predominantly more showy clientele.
I made a visit a few days ago and was struck at how exclusive it felt. The pastries were very nice and the coffee excellent but these can be had in similar places on Church Street. I can’t see that it will appeal to the teenagers that go to park, single mothers on benefits who don’t have the buggaboos or whatever they are called nor the ready cash to splash out on cakes and coffee neither they nor their children would eat. I think large sections of the community are being covertly excluded from the park cafe and its magnificent surroundings and it is a shame that the less sharp elbowed or advantaged cannot feel comfortable in one of their parks’ main facilities.
In the past, the cafe food may not have been high class but it was acceptable to the majority, it was cheerful and both adults and children could afford it. That’s not the case now and I’m afraid that is a symbol of how the new breed of moneyed residents are increasingly catered for above anyone else. This sense of entitlement is as wrong as their belief that their children can run loose around public buildings.
I object to the fact that local businesses were not permitted to pitch for the management. Offering tenders to £1m plus turnover companies reveals how shamelessly local small businesses were ignored to increase the profitability of existing corporations. This beautiful house is now a constant reminder during this time of austerity for many that the already advantaged profit most, either financially or in terms of access to nice places.
The House is so posh. Greeted at the door by a bowing Maitre D’. Nice coffee at £2.10 (not bad). Not for Mums or dog walkers though.
Wish I had worn a frock. Definitely a cafe/restuarant not a caff as before – therefore prices reflect this. Beautiful inside.
Lunch is pricey for a park. The special was £12 – but many other places nearby to choose from. You don’t have to wipe your feet on the way out like you used to.
Not child, dog or wheelchair friendly, therefore excluding a majority of park users. Service overbearing. Confusion of where to order just for a quick coffee. Almost felt obliged to order a meal.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the summer i.e. ice creams for the little ones etc
I guess if I earned the sort of money a partner in a consultancy company earns, as well as being a consultant for this and a non-executive director for that, i also wouldn’t think twice about spending seven pounds on a bowl of soup and some (fresh) bread…but i don’t. I have to watch every penny, as do many other people who used to be able to use the cafe in the park. Seven pounds for a full meal and a large mug of tea is one thing but seven pounds on a starter would be out of the question…..let alone three pounds just for a glass of wine.
I think some people are living in their own little twilight zone and are totally unaware of how some of the indigenous residents have to struggle just to keep their head above water.
http://www.facebook.com/thehouseinclissoldpark
This is now the official page of the Clissold Park Cafe Action Group.
Our email address is cafeaction@yahoo.co.uk
Please click ‘Like’ on this page and join us to help return the Cafe in Clissold Park, to all the people of Stoke Newington.
THE TAKEOVER STOPS HERE.
Link here to the Telegraph’s take on it … Think they’ve been reading this blog!! http://tgr.ph/waWQgj
Proud to announce that we now have the full backing of the Hackney Green Party.
Please also make your views known on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thehouseinclissoldpark
Perhaps ‘full backing’ is a bit too emphatic! We do however have our concerns about the cafe which we expressed before the contract was awarded, and will add our voice to campaigns that aim to support local people and enable them to enjoy local services at affordable prices.
Those are exactly our aims. No more. No less.
I too feel that the park cafe should cater for all residents, not just the high earners who are well catered for on Church Street already.
On the day I visited, apart from the clientele being distinctly different to to the previous cafe, the first thing I noticed was the special, apart from a panini the only hot food on offer, at £12.75! It was gnocchi, mushrooms and a creamy Parmesan sauce. So, cheesy mash and mushrooms for nearly thirteen quid.
That is exclusive in my book.
I agree it has become too exclusive in terms of price. A park cafe should be accessible to all users who who want a cheap meal or snack. If we compare it to the cafes on Hampstead Heath, yes there is the upmarket Kenwood House (also run by Company of Cooks) which people can go to for a treat after a long walk but actually the cafe on Parliament Hill Fields is still cheap and cheerful. It underwent a makeover a few years ago and people feared it would be ‘poshed up’. In fact it continues to serve good food at low prices and is very well used by the park users. I think it’s a good example of what a park cafe should be (and so was the one in Springfield Park when I last went). For people with children (not me, though I cannot afford CoC prices either!) a park cafe needs to be a place they can go with their kids very often and not for the occasional treat. In that way, in a public space, it should be different from the cafes on Church Street and it was a mistake for the council to award lease only to those businesses with over £1 millions turnover.
A two-tier solution could work, but it would be a shame to have the building reserved for the wealthier users and those who can’t afford it stuck outside! (if catering vans were used)
Ok here are my thoughts after visit last Sunday.
Nice to see the house- or should that be Le Maison?) done up of course etc etc. After 9 million, too damn right!
But after a month, the cafe enterprise still seems to be like a rabbit caught in the headlights. The menu aside (I usually just want coffee and a chat) service certainly is an BIG issue. It may be inexperience although it’s not like the contractors are exactly beginners. The staff I think are doing their best, despite evident stress, all rather give the feeling this is not what they signed up for
They all seem to be young, smart and foreign (cheap?) and despite there being a lot of them scurrying about, they’re really struggling.
The place gives off a strong sense that it would work fine if it wasnt for all the customers. Did they not try a ‘soft’ opening? Were they forced to open before they were ready?
(On the opening day, one of the manager-types, sweet mild chap, expressed his shock at how busy it was. “Is it always like this?” He asked. Fine Autumn Day. 18 months closed. 9 million- did nobody _think_?)
As we sat down, one very serious young woman came and carefully straightened out the gap between the adjacent table and ours then said she couldnt take orders. Somebody then came to take our order assuming we wanted lunch. We ordered coffee. “So you wont want a menu…?” He misheard our order but was already moving away. Nothing happened. A third came to see if we were being served. After 10-15 minutes a fourth brought the coffees. Which weren’t what we’d ordered (nothing to do with what had been misheard). And tepid.
Some of that might be teething problems perhaps, in that line management might improve (or change) but there are also fundamental design issues. The space gives the impression its been designed to look good in a style magazine or brochure rather than for people to serve and be served. Nothing flows.
The downstairs coffee ‘point’ is a mystery. Is it a coffee shop? Is it a corridor? Where are people meant to wait exactly? Especially as it will be quite some time before their coffee arrives. And given that everything from there is served in cardboard or paper why is there only one bin outside, which always seems to be full to overflowing?
Bins can always be emptied but why has pride of place been given to a large un-ergonomic (& unhygenic?) slab of marble both downstairs and in the large reception upstairs? Meanwhile there seems to be not enough space in the side rooms- certainly not when a Stokey all-terrain mobile nursery trike gets parked up beside the door. Not to mention a huge surf board sled. (Oh, you Stokey parents! Is there nothing left in the house for us to burgle?)
And what’s happened to the accoustics. They are are PAINFULLY unfriendly.
Relaxing it ain’t.
In the old place, during term time in the summer I used to go and work in the big back room by a window. Barring the odd invasion of wailing nugget throwers- the wheel of life- it was bliss. Shan’t be doing that any more, I doubt.
I think a lot of people are mystified because whatever the starting point for the planning process was, there is a strong sense that it didn’t start with examining what the character of Clissold Park is and who its users are. And if it did start there, how did we end up with what we’ve got?
Too much vision perhaps and not enough looking?
arty
Vote here on a Stoke Newington poll on the cafe! http://www.stokenewington16.com
The council may have intended to further develop the reputation of Church Street, which has over the years become a hub of younger, affluent and creative people, by giving the Clissold cafe to the Company of Cooks. However, being creative, young or affluent in the area doesn’t mean you have money to throw away. There is a wide demographic and social strata in Church Street with various social classes. In its current format the cafe doesn’t cater for most of the local population, simply because people cannot really afford it and may feel intimidated to be in an environment that is out of their comfort zone. It is not just a criticism of the food, as there is no reason to turn the cafe to Planet Organic, or Wholefood Market since people will go there if they fancy it anyway. It seems like they are doing some sort of social engineering by trying to exclude some segments of society. In addition, they have spend £8.9 million for the revamp in the park. In this current economic crisis, when Hackney’s council tax is one of the highest in the country, they somehow find the need to spend so much money on a park, which was completely fine. It seems like they are telling people, “we would rather throw money than to help those in need”. I would have liked to know from which party the councillors who made this decision are, because they ARE NOT getting my vote next time.
It’s a Labour council – but money spent on a park is not necessarily bad for the poor – after all it is a place you can go for free – which can be in short supply.
Anyway, the latest Big Smoke piece on this is here; http://www.bigsmoke.org.uk/?p=39951
‘…local residents – young mums, dads and carers bringing their kids in from the cold of the playground…’ It’s this kind of narrow definition of a Stoke Newington resident that makes the rest of us groan. I passed a poster a couple of months ago calling residents to a meeting to discuss ‘how we can make Stoke Newington more child friendly’. I nearly fell over. The only way to make Stoke Newington more child friendly would be to appoint an all-child council and introduce scooter lanes. As a non-parent resident (yes- we do exist) of ten years I was no less than thrilled by the decidedly un-creche-like character of the new cafe in the park. There is so much for families in N16 – the fabulous new play area in the park and the great facilities at the leisure centre to name two – and that is as it should be, but, surely, there has to be a balance.
John: “The only way to make Stoke Newington more child friendly would be to appoint an all-child council and introduce scooter lanes.”
Can I just say… I love this comment!