Tarnished Tableau

Fun use of old silver cutlery - wall display at the French Kitchen in Holborn

Department of Coffee & Social Affairs

Almost every new cafe - this is the Department of Coffee & Social Affairs in Leather Lane - has no plaster on the walls and a cool,quirky name.  Utility is the name of the game with even the safe doubling up as a table.

Their short movie of how they started is well-made and honest http://www.departmentofcoffee.co.uk/

Kiddie Shaped Hard Sell

Fruit Shoot, the supposedly kid-friendly sugared drink, may sponsor this display but the colour, shape, lighting and display gets your (or your kid's) attention.









Benugo's straight-laced kids unit at the Science Museum, although a much healthier and better quality food offer

Three Hundred Years of Meeting Daily

The HQ and museum of St John's Ambulance in St John's Gate throws up some interesting history - the Latin may have changed but coffee endures.  

Irrelevant detail from Wikipedia: The first coffee house in England was set up in Oxford in 1652.  By 1675, England had 3,000 coffee shops.  

Tempus Fugit   Time Flies

Your Favourite Cup

Prufrock Cafe in Leather Lane, off High Holborn, has been running a 'what is your favourite cup' survey for its customers.  The current winners - pictured below - are its current stock to the staff's surprise and the owner's delight.

They have lots of good ideas, from their filter coffee section and equipment, to their magazines-on-a-table and cake display.   They offer London BRAT - Barista Resource & Training http://www.prufrockcoffee.com/prufrock-the-london-brat/

Bakers at Work

Paul's multideck chiller roller blind has just the right message

The Best Thing since Sliced Bread

   

EAT have come up with three flavours of toast:

Marmalade

Cheese & Marmite

Cinnamon & Sugar

Another clever use of the panini grill - see previous blog post 

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-take-on-toast.html

St ALi of Melbourne & Clerkenwell

St ALi is a cafe and roastery all the way from South Melbourne and now in the north of the City of London.  All sorts of goodies - living wall, great sandwiches, bags of coffee and free water in old-fashioned milk bottles.

Disciplined Deli

Benugo in Clerkenwell - highly disciplined approach to deli sandwiches with all protein pre-portioned and the favourites pre-prepared for fast service.

Unique to Brighton?

Redroaster may still be Brighton-based but just see what has happened to  Taylor Street Baristas http://www.taylor-st.com/index.html who are now taking the City of London (and Canary Wharf) by storm.  Interesting eats.

Staff Appeal

Staff uniforms are important because the staff are so visual - right there in front of the customer and moving about all the time.

Paul is clever with their all-white bakers outfits.  Let's not kid ourselves they do any baking but they look the part and add hugely to the suggestion of a bakery cafe.

Smiling by the Sea

Humour and quirkiness abound in Brighton's cafes - Cafe Tic Toc has this quote from Napolean Bonaparte above the door plus cutlery in a lego box and odd cloakroom message  .... oh, yes and good cakes.

Carluccios - Expanding & Displaying

Carluccios get their display spot on and manage to give many of the independent cafes a run for their money.

Sandwich and cake display is a definite strong point and they are frequently quoted by our clients as a 'role model' operation.

Naked, Secret & On-line

Naked Tea & Coffee are tucked away in Brighton's Lanes and perhaps we know why they remain Brighton's best-kept secret.  No web page and just a brief mention on Facebook.

Contrast their lack of web and social media presence with Brighton's The Manor cafe http://themanorbrighton.co.uk/ and their popular on-line High Tea offer and award-winning vegetarian cafe Idyea's daily menus on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iydea/130698363025

If you are not using social media yet, give it a go.  We are, and as this blog demonstrates, it can grow fast.  It's free, fun and gets you noticed in a mightily competitive marketplace.

When You Know You Need Help

Kit Kats and other confectionary in your cafe?  You need serious help!
Low price points (or ripoff pricing) plus low margin make this a Nestle salesperson's dream but a caterer's nightmare.

I know our consultancy visit will more than pay for itself when a Kit Kat is found lurking on the counter.

Simple Signage

Neat signage at Cafe Coho, Brighton using a roll of brown paper hanging from the wall.  Breakfast, cakes and coffee all good too.

Treats in Store

 

Aubaine's bistro at Selfridges in the heart of the shoe department - dig the coloured stones that look like meringues

Pretzels, cake and Annabel Karmel childrens' menu in the Food Garden Cafe 

Keeping It Simple

Coffee@33 in Brighton shows simple presentation works - no expensive counters, chiller cabinets or fancy stainless steel and glass productions here.

Whatever Next - Cupcakes from China

Set amongst the clothing, and in a most unlikely location, Next have chocolate cupcakes with a 9-month shelf life and produced in China as part of their Cupcake Kisses range.  £4 for 2.

Cupcakery

 

Angel Food Bakery is located in Brighton's Lanes and truly deserves its cupcakery designation.

Giant cupcakes at £21.95, Baby cupcakes, Gluten-free cupcakes and every sort of cupcake course and class.

Just wait until you see tomorrow's blog and compare!