New business on LL

[Jeremy]

I actually think that the cheap little place (is it called Cafe Noodle or something?) does better food then chopsticks or Mr Liu! That's not saying much though.

As for Wagamama - it's not the best, plenty of places do nicer Japanese style noodles - such as Edo in Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood (or whatever that place is called).

[Huguenot]

Hmmm, well, in the broader scheme of things noodles are the food of the devil.

And you wear more than you could possibly eat.

BUT did have them for tea last night.... ;-)

And I slightly blame their insubstantial nature for the crashing hangover I'm sporting today like a well feathered hat. Deeply sorry Mockney ::o

Incidentally, does anyone remember 'Borderline' by Madonna? It's on the radio at the moment, and I'm trying to work out if I ever fancied her... [Don't think so, but callow youth and that]

[Huguenot]

Yep, I know it was off topic, but fug it, go with the flow and such....

[Polly D]

"Borderline ... feels like I'm going to lose my mind ... you just keep on pushing my love over the borderline ... "

I'm sure you did Huguenot, I even had a small crush on her myself! In a girly way of course, wearing lace in my hair circa 1980s and the Desperately Seeking Susan era

[Huguenot]

Hurrah! Do you remember what a twerp Sean Penn was?

[mockney piers]

Some of us are at work with our crashing hangovers.

God let this day end, pleeeeease.

Yes a twerp, but superb in more than a film or two. Carlito's Way and Thin Red Line being notable examples.

[CrystalClear]

what are you planing on doing tonight mockney? :)-D

[Huguenot]

Agreed, but even Carlito's Way was 93, best part of seven years after he used to embarass himself with Madonnita http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091934/

[mockney piers]

Are you suggesting I'm going to the pub?

Oh poo, yes indeed. photoing too!!

[Kat]

I'm thinking of setting up a Vietnamese restaurant in LL. Do you think there will be demand for Vietnamese cuisine?

[mockney piers]

I love Vietnamese food, eat Lunch at least once a week in my favourite Camden one

[Jeremy]

There are two types of Vietnamese restaurants in London, in my experience. Those which sell Vietnamese food, and those which sell sweet & sour pork. If your resaurant is the former, it may have sufficient demand! I think any restaurant along LL will do well as long as the food is good, and the environment is pleasant.

[bald marauder]

If it's a really good, authentic Vietnamese I think it will do very well (to be honest even it's average it will probably do OK - but would be much better if it's the real deal - Paris generally does Vietnamese food much better than London does...)

[Kat]

Yes I tend to agreed that Paris does very good Vietnamese food.

Yes, it will be authentic Vietnamese using fresh ingredients. The only problem is finding a suitable A3 (Restaurant use)property in LL, there are no shops available.

[monica]

The only good italian resturant within the 2 mile radius is in crystal palace.Pizza express and bella pasta are not even italian,only very poor clones.Im a bona fide italian and i worked in my uncles italian ristorante for years in camberwell.La bella italia.My uncle would serenade the customers with his amazing tenor voice and sweet guitar,while customers nibbled on their saltimbocca or tagliatelle al diavolo.Now thats a authentic italian resturant,complete with breadsticks and winebottles used as candles.la nostalgia per la vita passata.

[SimonM]

I remember "La Bella Italia" - over the road from the "Father Red Cap"? - and your uncle and the breadsticks and the candles in wine bottles...! >:D< Oh for a decent Osso Buco or Saltimbocca alla Romana...But Luigi's at the foot of Gypsy Hill also used to be good, if hideously pricey!

[spadetownboy]

la bella italia is that the one up the walworth road on the right hand side(city bound).

[Ant]

No, that's La Dolce Vita.

 

[Domitianus]

Curious to know. When does a group of shops become a 'chain'? Apparently Strada is ok because there are only about 10 of them. If there were 11 would that tip the balance in making them the unacceptable face of corporate, global, satanic, world-dominating, environment devastating, indigenous-people oppressing, neo-Fascist capitalist pigs? Or would they have to get to 12 shops first?

[Huguenot]

I don't think we've ever resolved this one Dominatrix (disappointed to discover that's not an Asterix character)...

There was an interesting angle some months ago that suggested that GBK was the devil's spawn because it had centralised its production of burgers, not because of the number of outlets. I note it now has 22 locations.

This suggests that at somepoint there's a conditional that comes into play that involves some of the following criteria:

Number of outlets

Buying

Production

Distribution

Delegated authority

Funding

Ownership

Local tailoring and innovation

Hence it seems to be possible to overcome a high number of outlets on the 'b*st@rd' scale if a business supports decentralised management and local innovation.

One could probably get a namecheck in a national paper if one could devise a plausible equation to come out with a percentage and a compartmentalised scale.

This should tie in with the current Tescos debate of course, and both name check the EDF and say something disparaging about the french just for me :)

[louisiana]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I don't think we've ever resolved this one

> Dominatrix (disappointed to discover that's not an

> Asterix character)...

>

> There was an interesting angle some months ago

> that suggested that GBK was the devil's spawn

> because it had centralised its production of

> burgers, not because of the number of outlets. I

> note it now has 22 locations.

>

> This suggests that at somepoint there's a

> conditional that comes into play that involves

> some of the following criteria:

>

> Number of outlets

> Buying

> Production

> Distribution

> Delegated authority

> Funding

> Ownership

> Local tailoring and innovation

I think it's when they adopt wholesale Adam Smith's philosophy, and treat the whole enterprise as a pin factory.

Louisiana

[Huguenot]

Ah.

How are we to know when that point has been reached?

[Ultraconsultancy]

There's an oft quoted rule that says the critical numbers of outlets that drive culture change in companies are 7 and 27.

I've never found them to be untrue; in fact I have seen the 8th and 28th units bring about downfall on several occasions!

In reality the main issue is local managerial delegation; those who do it will adapt, those who don't will wither on the vine.

The public synergise into this narrative often in a subconcsious mindset, too.

You feel manipulated in cookie cutter businesses because [even osmotically] you know you are.

Ultra

[bald marauder]

Are there any 'chains' that buck this trend - ie where you don't feel manipulated, where people still engage with you on a human level, where you can feel some kind of 'osmotic' (nice word, Ultra!) connection to the people who actually run the business?

Given its scale, I think that Pret a Manger does pretty well on these counts - though I'm sure there are plenty of people who would disagree...

[katietatie]

Leaping back to the Italian thing, what do people make of Mozarella & Pomodoro in Camberwell? I've read some reasonable reviews but thought it distinctly mediocre when i visited. Did i just happen to dine with them on a bad day or is that a fair assessment?