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Topic: Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue
Posted by: Darren Halford
Date/Time: 20/12/10 14:26:00

I went on Saturday. A couple of observations:

The patisserie section looked great. If they are all hand-made on site that is impressive.

The croissants looked like those you get in Sainsbury. Don't know if they are made on site or bought in frozen.

The coffee was a little insipid. Asked for a double shot latte but in comparison to Munson's or Cafe Freddo the flavour didn't come through. I find time and again shops and cafes selling coffee spend little or no time researching coffee and educating the staff to barista standard. Very good beans cost little more than rubbish ones but make a massive difference in the flavour. I won't be going back for the coffee.

There was a chef making something on the stove in the kitchen area. I would have liked to have seen what it was. There is a blackboard with the prices of drinks and patisserie but I got the impression there was more available.

The coffee is cheap. Too cheap in my opinion. The owners are missing a trick here. I don't mind paying £2.20-50 for a good cup of coffee. But it has to be good.

The floor is white tiles which, as you can imagine, got very wet and dirty in the snow. The manager used a rag of some kind underfoot to mop the floor. Didn't look great. The interior decor doesn't match the quality of the exterior. It looks a little stark. Maybe more effort could be made to create a more unique experience. I'm sure this is a cost/vision thing.

The manager was polite and pleasant but needs to move with more confidence and vigour. My order of a latte was laboriously written down and then handed to someone who had to make it, then passed back to the manager who then very slowly and nervously walked over to my table with it. This took too long. I don't like the big chains but their serving process is always quicker. As is Munson's. Maybe I'm impatient but I hate sitting at a table waiting for a coffee to come.

To sum up, I would go for the patisserie. I had a great strudel, but there isn't anything else that would make me go out of my way to visit and that's a shame because the staff seem nice and the exterior looks very welcoming. Best of luck to them.


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue07/12/10 10:30:00 Cassie Blake
   Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue07/12/10 10:34:00 Cassie Blake
      Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue07/12/10 11:01:00 Diane Gill
         Re:Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue09/12/10 13:40:00 JULEY HARDING
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue11/12/10 15:20:00 Sara Nathan
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue11/12/10 20:27:00 Anne Pugh
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue14/12/10 19:40:00 Cassie Blake
   Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue13/12/10 20:40:00 Alex Weel
      Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue15/12/10 21:12:00 Darren Halford
   Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue20/12/10 10:55:00 Niall Connolly
      Re:Re:Papillon Cafe Northfield Avenue20/12/10 14:26:00 Darren Halford

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