Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I?ve just returned from the newly ?refurbished? Dulwich Picture Gallery cafe. It?s my sometime Wednesday morning haunt with my 18 month old son. Asked for our usual, 1 flat white, a pain au chocolat and a babycino. 7 quid. Queried with staff and this was correct apparently. 3 quid for the flat white, 3 quid for the pastry and a quid for a shot of lukewarm milk in an espresso mug. Even my 18 month old was taken aback. Daddy we paid only ?6.50 for the same only 3 weeks ago he said (spoken in gibberish but I knew what he meant). It got me thinking... have we finally hit the ?1 babycino? I remember this feeling about the ?5 pint that I now accept as the norm. What next? The 8 quid glass of Merlot? The 5 quid sourdough loaf? These days may already be upon us.


I?ve decided not to accept that price in future and luckily i still have the following options for the same order.

Gail?s ?5.60

Rocca ?4.40


A shame really as I?ve always liked the ambiance of the Picture Gallery Cafe - and may I also add the coffee was acceptable and staff perfectly friendly. A quick google of the operating company ?Gather and Gather? shows that they are based on Floor 12 of the Shard. High overheads I guess. And I believe the name refers to what they do with piles of cash at the end of each day.


Anyway just thought I?d post this as a warning to any avid babycino fans out there.... some of you may be happy with the quid babycino. Unfortunately it?s just a little too much for this dad.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/217971-babycino-inflation/
Share on other sites

Ed_pete... now you mention it am I a little surprised I paid that much to be honest with you. I guess my routine with a toddler of parks and cafes has normalised the ridiculous prices around here. It?s just taken for the prices to get to 7 quid for me to say ?no more?.


Why would one buy a Babycino? I?m all for anything that will keep a child occupied while I enjoy a coffee.... which when you put it like that it may be well worth the 1 pound!

RobWD Wrote:

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

>I?m all for anything that will keep a child occupied while I enjoy a

> coffee....


Rob, you could of course just choose to get yourself one of those now ubiquitous ?5 pints, therefore keeping yourself occupied instead of the child....

TheCat Wrote:

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

> RobWD Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> >I?m all for anything that will keep a child

> occupied while I enjoy a

> > coffee....

>

> Rob, you could of course just choose to get

> yourself one of those now ubiquitous ?5 pints,

> therefore keeping yourself occupied instead of the

> child....


?5 is normal now not special unless your in a spoons :)

EP212 Wrote:

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

> I went to Horniman Cafe and daughter wanted a

> snack so got a ginger biscuit and a raspberry

> lemonade, paid ?5. ?2.50 each, seriously ?2.50 for

> a tiny biscuit? It's crazy!!



To be fair, entry to most of the Horniman is free, so like many museums and galleries they probably depend on making money from food, drinks and gifts.

I ordered my toddler son a 'babylager' the other day....got some funny looks...probably because he was smoking a 'babyfag' at the time too...and shouting to the whole pub how the influx of new babies in the last 6 months have ruined the area, and how its not like it was back in the good old days in 2016 when babies could leave their prams unlocked...

TheCat Wrote:

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

> I ordered my toddler son a 'babylager' the other

> day....got some funny looks...probably because he

> was smoking a 'babyfag' at the time too...and

> shouting to the whole pub how the influx of new

> babies in the last 6 months have ruined the area,

> and how its not like it was back in the good old

> days in 2016 when babies could leave their prams

> unlocked...


Marvelous! Thanks. That was my thinking, too, the first time I heard "babyccino" in the cafe I manage. I had to figure out what to charge for these abominaccinos, and we have some good costing models, based on a decade of sales. So, here you go (assuming fully compostable stuff like we use)


Milk: 1.5p

Take away cup and lid: 10p

Straw: 1.5p

Barista's time: 30p - We base this on dividing the Barista's pay by the number of coffees made per year, and we make loads and loads, so for the gallery it's probably more like 40-45p


So, that's about 43p for your babyccino, without the markup that the cafe needs to make a profit. If they are charging you less than about ?1 then they are going out of business, and they have realised this, hence the price rise. Oh, and don't forget the 20% tax, paid on items sold, and income.


Then, there's the cleanup time it takes once the staff get access to the bombsite left behind (but that's a whole other thing. :-) )

Ours are a bit older than yours by the sounds of it RobWD, but a few years ago (2013/2014) there was no such thing as a decent babycino in all of ED - we had to explain what the beverage was. And half the time you'd still end up with a cup of scolding hot milk - not the cup full of froth we'd become used to Down Under. Sounds like at least the cafes have lifted their game on that front.


Still reeling from the ?5 pint a decade after the fact though.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • You implied he did a good job in your first paragraph when you said you would have hated to see Corbyn lead the country through Covid - the alternative being Johnson, presumably? With the results we all saw. Unite - you have a problem with unions? Who work hard to see that their members get a fair deal in their workplace? How exactly are these people and groups "all as bad as each other"? In what way? Labour "purging their party of the far-left" has given us a weak prime minister who has apparently deserted any "left" (aka caring for other people and having decent moral principles) leanings he ever had. Which is why people appear to be leaving Labour in droves and voting, or intending to vote, Green or Lib Dem. Starmer has shot himself in the foot, in my opinion. But what would I know.
    • I think you need to get a grip If it's who I am thinking of, she's a young black girl in her twenties, has braids with bright colours through them and - I suspect - works with her father. It's always the same man behind the wheel and he's older than her, always in the same van, so I'm assuming it's a father-daughter combo which, if it is, I think is rather sweet.  They hustle hard in a job that is poorly paid, has little prospects, is relentless and thankless. The fact that they have stuck it out since the pandemic says a lot about them.  I think she's a lovely girl, who's perhaps a little shy - but she'll smile or chat back if you make the effort with her. And I admire her for sticking with that job for so long. Perhaps she's just one of these people who's naturally a bit clumsy or bashes things, the same way some people are heavy on their feet when they walk. But I wouldn't dream of jeopardising her job because she closes the slams the gate and doesn't 'kiss' the ring doorbell with her fingers.  Perhaps she's being passive aggressive because you are. And perhaps she also wishes she got to spend her time worrying about potential damage to her letterbox or her gate.  As for your gate / letterbox - you're talking about hypotheticals. Has there been any damage? No. Then go and live your life and worry about it when it happens.  (apols we have the wrong person, but some of my points still stand). 
    • Greg did an amazing job! He built a cabinet in my living room and added shelving. A lovely guy and perfectionist who goes the extra mile. He really understands what you want and comes up with various options to meet your price range. Would highly recommend!
    • I love the fact that virtually everyone held their hands out when furlough payments were made yet can't equate massive debt with massive cash payments to keep the economy ticking over.   
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...