THE PLOT THICKENS
FEEDING YOUR customers means they stay longer. It is not just the big bookstores and cinema chains that have cottoned on to this fact. Independent stores, cinemas and theatres are doing it too. Foodie Michael Joseph’s vision went a bit further than coffee and cake. Joseph opened his eponymous book shop in Temple Fortune, north west London 22 years ago and added Café Also seven years afterwards: “I was always being asked by customers, who said: ‘if only we could get something to eat and a coffee here,’ but there wasn’t really room.”
When the boutique next door shut, he was on it like a barmitzvah guest on a canapé tray. “I’m not a restaurateur but found a Turkish-Cypriot couple who could run the café for me and Café Also was born. We catered events in here — music events featuring jazz and klezmer; Jewish studies events; debates, play and poetry readings, as well as author signings.”
But hi s ori gi nal vi s i on had been for a high-end café/brasserie and he returned to this later, when a friend introduced him to Gavroche-trained chef Ali Al-Sersy.
“He fell in love with the concept. I was too nervous to open in the evenings to start with but Ali persuaded me after a few months and now we serve food all day — like The Wolsey — you can eat anything from the menu at any time.”
Al-Sersy goes to the food markets a few times a week and evolves a menu around what he buys. Dishes, which are vegetarian or fish, may include buffalo mozzarella with a fig and goji berry salad; quinoa and chia seed financier with Jerusalem artichoke and creamed shallots or trout with spinach and sage butter, almond milk and smoked latke roulade.
Early visitors (the restaurant opens at 8.30am) might feast on cumin and red pepper-packed shakshuka with Ali’s home-made seeded bread, or a more restrained plate of poached eggs, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms, plus pastries. There are cakes and mezze salads for any-time eaters — and no shortage of reading material.
“Cafés in book shops are a very American thing — they just work,” says Amanda Segrue. She and her husband, David own Segrue Books, in Radlett, Hertfordshire.
Amanda chose an all-white design for the shop, with modern white chandeliers, wooden floors and monochrome furniture. “I wanted it to feel tranquil and inviting, with no pressure to purchase. If people want to buy, they’ll come back,” she says.
The menu comprises coffee from foodie favourite Monmouth; tea from Tea Pigs and home-made cakes, served on fashionably mismatched vintage china sourced from Alana Riedl, a local specialist.
“Our cakes are baked by a lovely lady based in Essex who delivers a couple of times a week. We do gluten-free and regular cakes — chocolate, banana, Victoria sponge, brownies and a glutenfree lemon drizzle that no one believes is gluten-free.”
Customers have requested a more extensive menu but, for now, Amanda wants to keep it simple.
Film-goers in need of a bite are well catered for at Crouch End’s Picture House cinema — which this month celebrates its first birthday and where a full-service restaurant was built in from the outset.
“We wanted to bring some added value to the experience and we also wanted people to come and enjoy the building when they’re not seeing a film,” says Ian Mantgani, the marketing manager.
Diners tend to be cinema-goers but Picture House is equally receptive to visitors who come just for the food.
“We welcome clientèle who just want to eat or drink and get lots of young parents coming in for long brunches on weekdays,” says Mantgani. “And we have one regular who comes in for dinner every night but rarely sees a film.”
The menu changes seasonally and has been curated by Alan Rosenthal, the chain’s food project manager. There is an all-day brunch at weekends and lunch and dinner on weekdays, with a whole lot more than Butterkist and cheesy nachos.
A recent lunch consisted of grilled halloumi, aubergine and spinach wraps — stuffed full and packed with flavour — served with a side of tiny, sweet pickled veg; sweet potato, butternut and chickpea burgers with tahina and a beetroot hummus served with glossily oiled and lavishly sesame-seeded flatbreads. Hearty and comforting.
At weekends, brunch dishes include Scotch pancakes with salted caramel bananas and toasted almonds; roasted mushrooms with truffled Parmesan polenta and fried duck egg. It might be difficult to drag yourself away from the table for your film.
AND OTHER STORIES EVERYMAN CINEMAS MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY, LONDON SE1
The restaurant in the former chocolate factory is aptly foodie, with lunch and dinner every day except Mondays. Among the options is grilled goat’scheese toastie with mustard mayo and fig and rocket salad, as well as pan-fried salmon with fennel, orange and pomegranate salad. There are also plenty of chocolatey puds.
HAMPSTEAD THEATRE, NW3
Open from morning until late on show nights, this café offers breakfast pastries, cakes, salads and quiches, sandwiches, a full bar and coffee/tea menu.
RADLETT THEATRE, HERTS
Called Teatro, the restaurant here offers a full breakfast menu, homemade cakes, soups, salads and a range of lunch and dinner options.
The foyer location is not exactly cosy but the cakes are satisfyingly squidgy and, between shows, it provides a quiet spot for a daytime coffee or brunch/ lunch.
PARK THEATRE, LONDON N4
Three years after opening, this is a shiny, smart venue with a sense of drama about the décor. The café/bar offers breakfast — hot and cold; lighter bites including soup, quiche and sandwiches and hot and cold drinks. Plenty to sustain you through the longest drama.
Bookshop cafés are an American thing. They just work’