Pret A Manger coming to East Dulwich! (Now open)

[JohnL]

Not only did the staff in Pret Holborn give me regular free coffee but they also waved at me as they brought sandwiches into the building I then worked in.

I know its probably corporate policy to be nice to your regular customers but they did seem to make an effort.

[KateFord]

Absolutely agree. I?d often get a free drink from Pret too. As I said in my earlier post, if a lot of independents upped their game and didn?t charge the earth for a tiny cup size I?d be more supportive. Why can?t a lot of them get normal(12oz)cup sizes? That?s my frustration with them. ?3+ for an 8oz coffee or hot chocolate? No thanks!

[Brideshead]

The ?3 for a microscopic cup? I agree

Know the cups you mean they really are absolutely minuscule(🙄).

Maybe, like the Mayfair-hotel-on-steroids prices in Cherry Tree ?Gastro Pub? (🤣), they also think, ?well East Dulwich, well-to-do locals are all filthy rich, they can afford it, so proceed to fleece to the max? rich fools soon parted with their money? etc etc

Totally wrongly of course

Even ?3.25 for a NORMAL cup is on the toppy side INMHO, but at least you get a normal size!

Sometimes SOME NOT ALL independents are their own worst enemy? when prets will do a normal size latt? for around ?2, how will they be able to justify charging ?3 for a drink half the size???

[Brideshead]

Feel sorry for the Marks & Sparks opposite

They do a lot of sandwich / lunch trade

But can?t offer nice place to sit & relax like prets literally opposite can

😔😔😔

[jazzer]

But remember M&S is a Supermarket not a coffeeshop, I doubt they'll care,

[tfwsoll]

It has very little to do with independent coffee shops 'upping their game' to compete. A lot of independent coffee shops buy their coffee from roasters who support small, independent growers who use sustainable farming methods. That's why their coffee will cost more.

[KateFord]

Apparently it?s due to open this Tuesday.

[Brideshead]

?Sustainable farmers?

?Small independent growers?

Lol

You enjoy throwing your money away on that then? sounds like you MAY have ended up with too much anyway!

🤣

[Brideshead]

Sorry, was a bit rude in my post 😜

[Ruskin]

I'm in no way associated with 'Poached' a few doors away, but the coffee there is way superior than Pret's watery/milky nonsense.

[NewWave]

tfwsoll Wrote:

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

> It has very little to do with independent coffee

> shops 'upping their game' to compete. A lot of

> independent coffee shops buy their coffee from

> roasters who support small, independent growers

> who use sustainable farming methods. That's why

> their coffee will cost more.

But so much tastier...Long live the independendents.

We need more individuality and less of the cookie-cutter blandness that most high streets seem to house these days.

[KateFord]

My original point on this one is not all independents in ED are amazing with the exception of Kanella and Bon (and maybe I?ve missed one or two). Old Spike in Peckham good too. And I still maintain some take the mick with minuscule cups, sub-par barista skills and stale pastries. That was my point about some of them upping their game.

Some think a coffee shop is just a license to print money and haven?t even got the basics right. I?d love to name them but it isn?t fair. Agree, not every drink from different Prets will be perfect either. But at least they have decent cup sizes, fresh pastries and are happy to re-do your drink if you think it?s too hot/not right. I just don?t think ALL independents in ED automatically warrant loyalty for those reasons, that?s all.

[CPR Dave]

They don't but the coffee I have had from luca's, blackbird, poached, blue Mountain (rip), rise and bloom and even Rye books have all been better than any coffee I've ever had at a Pret.

ToastEd also used to do very good very strong coffee

[tomskip]

I just can't get excited about a Pret in East Dulwich - they are the most ubiquitous chain in London and I'm fairly sure I will never go in that branch. I know I'll never want a Pret sandwich on my way home from town, and if I want one on my way in I can buy it fresher (and without the worry of missing my train) from the eleventy billion branches that already exist in London. The idea of Pret out in the suburbs because people don't work in the centre any more makes me sad.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Pret's coffee is milky shite, their pastries are soggy, and their sandwiches have gone to pot.

They'll be a smash

[Azalea]

Are Pret open?

[NewWave]

Dogkennelhillbilly Wrote:

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> Pret's coffee is milky shite, their pastries are

> soggy, and their sandwiches have gone to pot.

>

> They'll be a smash

Amen to this!

Edited to add: their salad offerings are rubbish too.

[KateFord]

Now open!

[hammerman]

Found out from another poster on the forum that Pret have gone cashless! How absurd! Surely if you're going to pay for one of their sandwiches, coffees, etc. you might want to pay with cash with a fiver, a tenner or a score?

Another reason to make your own.

[sweetgirl]

These guys won?t be seeing my money???

Cashless is not for me!

[hammerman]

I've found that when going into a lot of shops in the South East London area the assistants don't seem to know what is going on when I give them some cash and there's a big kerfluffle at the till! It's sad really.

[Nigello]

Yes - I can see that such basic skills as taking money and giving the (correct) change could easily get lost. Next step, automated shopkeepers (who at least won't be on the phone)...

[hammerman]

You're right Nigello. I was in a shop at the weekend and after handing over some cash the young lady couldn't work out what change to give. Times are changing I suppose.

[heartblock]

Maybe they will exchange a sandwich for a goat, a suck of ham and an offer to wattle and daub their outhouse?

[hammerman]

It's not like we are living in the dark ages but I see what you're getting at.

Cash is king and when it's gone, it's gone.