New Shops in East Dulwich and Nearby - 2025 Edition

[Cyclemonkey]

Surely the main issue for Dulwich Village is their retail offer, like most of Dulwich Village,  is desperately dull and a bit basic.  Not really worth anyone from outside of Dulwich Village travelling for. 

[Angelina]

It would be incredible if the community supported small businesses rather than a chain (Gail's being a very large chain).

 

Sadly, consumers don't realise their power - as you can see also by the number of coffee cups etc that are still being bought and contribute to landfill - it' not hard to be responsible, just inconvenient.

[BrandNewGuy]

2 hours ago, Cyclemonkey said:

Surely the main issue for Dulwich Village is their retail offer, like most of Dulwich Village,  is desperately dull and a bit basic.  Not really worth anyone from outside of Dulwich Village travelling for. 

But people do travel there for non-retail reasons – it's attractive, leafy, it has the park and the gallery – and then fancy a coffee and a cake...

Re Romeo Jones, rising costs were the primary reason for closure, but the LTNs had created a situation where revenue has been noticeably down since they were introduced, making businesses vulnerable to any other blows.

[NewWave]

On 22/05/2025 at 12:08, BrandNewGuy said:

The Romeo Jones owner blames rising costs, but also the impact of the LTNs, which have significantly reduced footfall in the Village. It was a lovely, friendly place – a shame that it's only chains like Gail's that can afford to take rising costs on the chin.

I really like Romeo Jones, Sad its going.

I refuse to frequent Gails & Megans I cant bear the homogenisation of London.

Its become such a bland city now.

[ArchieCarlos]

Went to try Hausu this weekend, the restaurant which has replaced the Peckham Coal Rooms inside Peckham Rye Station after they closed down. 
 

We had a really good meal, served with very friendly staff. Trendy and creative modern British food in the same vibe as Levan, with an interesting selection of wines. The strawberry eclair for dessert was divine, I wish they would sell it as takeaway!

Only criticism is no coffee at the end of the meal as the coffee shop at the front is on a separate lease that still has a few months to run before they can take over. I wish them much success. 

[hellose5]

let's support local, especially when it's good

[Penguin68]

1 minute ago, hellose5 said:

let's support local, especially when it's good

I would say 'only when it's good'. It's not like a football team. 

[EDOldie]

On 22/05/2025 at 12:36, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

I much prefer Romeo Jones to >spit< Gail's, but I'm struggling to blame this on the LTN when nothing outside Romeo Jones has changed, the LTN came in 5 (!!!) years ago, and Gail's has queues out the door most days. It also is directly opposite Rocca (which serves coffee and has seating), next door to Porters (which serves coffee and has seating), a few doors along from Real Greek (which serves coffee and has seating), and diagonally across from Gail's (which serves coffee and sells baked goods and has seating). I'll be sorry to see Romeo Jones go (not least because I have a stack of stamped loyalty cards).

I don't want to criticise small business owners because it's a tough old racket, but DVillage never really seemed to find its niche either as a proper deli (like La Gastronomia or The Sicilian in West Dulwich) or as a coffee shop (which is difficult when you have Megan's and Redemption right next to you, and Au Ciel around the corner).

I think there are a couple of points worth making here. Gails, Megans The Real Greek and even Redemption (12 shops) are all chains. I don't want to state the bleeding obvious but, they have much greater buying power but can easily undercut smaller rivals. The object of competition being to put your competitors out of business. Well done mega corps!

Now, add to this extensive double yellow lines, many recently added, a huge reduction on the amount of free parking and extensive road works that seem to be going on forever and you can begin to understand just how tough a gig it has been since Covid in Dulwich Village.

To sum up you not only have corporate strangulation but a council that hates small business.

[teddyboy23]

Arapina now gone. Poundland is going to become a Tesco express.on council website

[Administrator]

I have split the Poundland -> Tesco Express discussion into another topic for easier reading. Feel free to continue the discussion about it there.

 

[zork]

Looks like owner of Persepolis is opening something late summer in what was The dulwich Beer Dispensary spot… 

Excited about that

 

[pikeyed]

2 hours ago, zork said:

Looks like owner of Persepolis is opening something late summer in what was The dulwich Beer Dispensary spot… 

Excited about that

 

That's too exciting!!!

[Spartacus]

4 hours ago, zork said:

Looks like owner of Persepolis is opening something late summer in what was The dulwich Beer Dispensary spot… 

Excited about that

 

That will be interesting if Sally does 

What a good use of what on paper looks like a good site 

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Spartacus said:

That will be interesting if Sally does 

What a good use of what on paper looks like a good site 

A good site?

In what way?

[bob]

On 30/05/2025 at 13:03, teddyboy23 said:

Arapina now gone. Poundland is going to become a Tesco express.on council website

Why did it go

Bob S 

[Eats Dulwich]

On 09/05/2025 at 22:34, zork said:

Free range chickens &/ organic whole chickens are around £15-20 retail these days… 

Given their credentials in hospitality etc I’d assume Norbert’s has sourced decent quality chicken, wholesale. The fact they aren’t saying anything about that on the menu or website seems strange…  if it were true it would help justify the price.

Chicken & 2 x Chips - would work out £10.50 a head between 4… not bad if it’s decent quality chicken and seasoned well with care & skill

We tried norbert's on Friday night. Of course there are cheaper places to eat chicken in SE22 and we overdid it on the sides because we wanted to try out their range of options. But it's very good quality chicken and two people could easily be satisfied sharing half a chicken and chips which would be £24 – £12 each. Here's my review: https://open.substack.com/pub/eatsdulwich/p/restaurant-review-norberts?r=8oe6m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

[Earl Aelfheah]

I finally tried Chilli & Garlic - really good and amazing value. Highly recommend.

[teddyboy23]

Builders in the  recently closed arapina .are saying it's going to be a beauty salon ?

[se22]

Not another one!

[teddyboy23]

1 hour ago, se22 said:

Not another one!

Lot of ugly people in east dulwich me included😉

[Moovart]

3 hours ago, teddyboy23 said:

Lot of ugly people in east dulwich me included😉

My uncle used to say you can only be an ugly person on the inside so, if he's right, the hairdresser won't be able to help! 😉

[ArchieCarlos]

Good news! After reports that it was not happening, the fruit & vegetable merchant Taylor's of Maltby Street will be opening in Dulwich Village after all. 

They announced this week that they were closing their Maltby St shop and working opening in the old Jigsaw show on the North parade asap. They've just created an instagram account for it https://www.instagram.com/taylorsofdulwichvillage/ It will be great to have an alternative to the expensive and average quality SimplyFresh in the village.

[mima08]

Not strictly a new place but new to me: stumbled across a fabulous cocktail bar at 210 Rye Lane - we loved the gorgeous, eclectic interior, they make any cocktail you can imagine and will be doing small plates. Think it's called XOTO? opposite the Tesco express at that end of Rye Lane.

[scarlettbanks]

Lai Rai ('new-school Vietnamese') has opened on Rye Lane (opposite Choumert Rd) and is very good. Sandwiches at lunch (small selection for now), or proper menu for dinner

[Eats Dulwich]

On 25/06/2025 at 14:18, scarlettbanks said:

Lai Rai ('new-school Vietnamese') has opened on Rye Lane (opposite Choumert Rd) and is very good. Sandwiches at lunch (small selection for now), or proper menu for dinner

Saw your comment and thought I'd better check it out! Here's my review: https://open.substack.com/pub/eatsdulwich/p/restaurant-review-lai-rai?r=8oe6m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false