The new café in the recently renovated Clissold House has become the centre of a heated debate over whether it is affordable for local residents.
The café is run by the Hampstead based catering firm Company of Cooks and serves a meal for two for around £20. The menu offers high quality food including couscous, gnocchi and exotic salads.
This has prompted mixed reactions from locals. A survey run by a local website, stokenewingtonN16.com, found that out of 270 votes, 182 found it “too posh” and an action group has been set up on facebook to protest at the prices.
The Clissold Park Café Action Group said: “It is a sad day for those of us who lived in the area all our lives. Now those who moved in among us wish to turn the area into some kind of poor man’s Hampstead have won.
“Gone are the days when the cafe in the mansion would provide basic and hearty food at decent prices.”
Following the opening of the café on January 3, concerns were raised at a meeting of the Clissold Park User Group that the menu was too elaborate and overpriced.
The action group have since described the user group as: “mainly made up of wannabe Hampsteadonians”.
Green Party candidate Emma Dixon, told the Big Smoke blog that: “The council has failed in its duties to consider the equality implications of their actions. The elderly can’t afford to come here now, it’s all white, middle class people.”
Anya Pearson, 24, a local resident who attended nearby Stoke Newington Arts and Media School, says: “I remember going as a kid – you could get egg chips and beans for a couple of quid and mini milks for 20p. I used to hang out there with my friends as a teenager.
“It was used by all types of people and it was always really busy”.
Steve Campbell, 53, said: “The food prices seem OK considering its gone up market, but there’s nothing ordinary for kids. There’s no juice –just posh lemonade at £2.50”
The café has not been criticised by all its customers. On its first week it served 5000 people and if anything has been struggling to keep up with demand.
Sarah Punto-Duschinsky, 40, said: “It was very good value for money – much nicer quality than I would have expected in the park”
“But the queue is already bad – I’m not sure how they’re going to cope in the summer.”
Emily Darlington, 38, agrees: ”Service is a bit slow, but it’s nice to see the house open again”
Company of Cooks, who have a five-year contract with Hackney Council to run the café, have said they are “aware” that some people were unhappy.
They told the Hackney Gazette: “We’re listening to the many viewpoints about the type of food that people want to see available, and in no way do we see the opening menu as the final version.”
Don’t believe everything you read in the blogs! Come along and see it for yourself. The Clissold Park User Group, which I chair, which has been involved in the whole park and house restoration project for over twenty years and is delighted with the beautiful new house and park. The cafe is extremely popular with users, which is one of the reasons why it is a bit busy sometimes. It is still early days for this brand new business in a building that has been completely restored and altered since it last had a cafe in it.. We need to give the cafe some time to settle in and get to know their market. After all it is in their interests to get it right too. We (the park user group) have been working very closely with the Council throughout this major project and we will continue to do so to make sure that all park users’ views are taken on board. It is disappointing to see the amount of negative and in some cases highly inaccurate commentary that has been going on. The cafe has always made it clear – it is printed on their menu – that the current menu is the “opening menu” and that they expect to change it in response to users comments. As it happens the overwhelming majority of the feedback they have received from their customers has been extremely positive but they are planning very shortly to make some changes in response to the feedback. And if you do come to visit, don’t forget to take a walk around the fabulously restored park before you have your tea in the beautifully restored room of the house that is over 200 years old, looking over the 400 year old New River and the 500 year old church. Better still book in for a free guided tour of the house on a Saturday or Tuesday afternoon, find out a bit about the history of the house and park and you might even get a free cup of tea or coffee. You can find out more about the park user group on our website http://www.clissoldpark.com or our facebook page with the same name.
I should have said that the User Group is an informal and diverse group of park users who meet up for an hour every two months in the park. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come along. We also have around 350 people on our mailing list and a facebook page with 172 members. We don’t means test, ethnically monitor or ask the age of anyone who comes to our meetings or is on our mailing list or joins our facebook group. So I cannot tell you if they are “Wannabe Hampsteadonians” even if I knew what that meant. What we have in common is our love of the park but in terms of views and opinions we are very diverse. My job and the job of fellow elected officers is to reflect those diverse views back to the Council, which we do to the best of our abilities and have done for years with a fair degree of success.
I am a ‘poor’ oap ưho lives in a council flat and a grand ma of Stoke Newington kids!
I love the new cafe in all its glory – especially the table service, glass of wine and the soup and good bread too which is gorgeous at 3 pounds 95…
Your readers need to be aware that the CP Cafe action group seems to be a one man band. If you go to the site you will see it is run by a person unknown – who replies to comments he does not want in a very aggressive manner.
I am sick of the word ‘posh’ being bandied around – it is how certain people keep others stuck in their ‘class place’. this is a British disease….
On prices, I have written to the Cafe owners to say why not give a cup of tea or filter coffee for one pound – as a loss leader? And to drop the main course for 2 idea as so many of us are single or do not want to share the same dish… otherwise it is just wonderful and I hope it will be able to stay open late in summer,,,, Sandi Dunn
I can tell you, contrary to what Ms millar says the group is not wholly representative of the community’. The café needs to sort its act out.
Its a cafe- constructive criticism is welcome but not threats please!