The Empire Cafe @ Hackney Central
@alexpink and I popped along to an opening for the Hackney Empire cafe (although it’s been open for 3 months)Meantime ale cupcakes cheese pork pies and lots of lampshades”
@alexpink and I popped along to an opening for the Hackney Empire cafe (although it’s been open for 3 months)Meantime ale cupcakes cheese pork pies and lots of lampshades”
janice
Oh, I forgot to post a photo when I went for afternoon tea. It’s a great deal for anyone considering it. There’s the usual suspects – sandwiches, cakes, scones and then chocolates! Lots of tea. And tea for two is less than most West end places charge for one. Do try it!
david
Sounds interesting. I will pop in there one day with a few work colleagues
mattyc
Having now ‘hard launched’ I thought I’d give the cafe another go. My professional judgement is that the muffins are gooood, but the coffee is still baaaad. Feels very expensive for the area, but the lampshades are definitely awesome…
alexpink
@mattyc Do you know what coffee they serve? First impressions for me weren’t great. It felt very West London in there. Perhaps that’s a sign of the way things are going, especially with the new wine shop opening on Wilton Way. At least they have cool lampshades 🙂
mattyc
Hey @alexpink, they’re serving Taylors. The cafe is definitely attracting some passing trade, and the staff are very friendly, but I can’t see it lasting if the prices etc remain as they are. £2.80 for jelly babies!
Think of the lampshades…
alexpink
£2.80 for jelly beans whhhhhhaaaaaaat!
janice
Went to the Empire yesterday for a capp. Their prices have gone way down. I think they got a feel for the neighbourhood finally! The tea is still 13.50 a couple but definitely worth it since it measures up against tea for one in the west end easily. However, breakfast sandwiches and panini were 1.50 and hot dishes (didn’t see any to check out the quality) at 3.50. They also had a (not too inspiring) salad bar in the centre.
One thing – someone needs to clean up the place. It looked grubby and littered – considering how new it is, that was shocking. Anyway, well done Empire for lowering prices.
mattyc
Following @Janice‘s post I went back for lunch today. The prices have indeed dropped, and are good value according to portions. The fresh made sandwiches are hearty and tasty, better than any other along that stretch of Mare Street. The jacket potatoes also looked good, and reasonable at £3-3.50.
But… the staff are still fairly chaotic, and the coffee is average-at-best. Also not a jellybean in sight. I’ll definitely try the high tea though, following the commendations here!
ewebber
The Empire Cafe is now no more. There is a new post on Feed the new cafe over here: http://www.yeahhackney.com/new-cafe-at-hackney-empire-feed/“