Le Chandelier

[val162]

I'm sorry, and I know that they have somehow erased themselves from public criticism, but my last visit to Le Chandelier was a joke! Walked in and there were a few miserable cakes displayed on the counter (one of each - apparently there were more downstairs but the offer was so sad looking and made me feel like leaving immediately). The service was amazing, lovely fair haired waitress could not have been more helpful but the final straw came as at the end of the afternoon three or four mice darted from one side of the restaurant to the other. Other customers also noticed. We were all shocked. Apart from the scare factor (!) it really is not clean to have mice wandering around all over the shop floor. GOD knows what lurks behind the scenes. They should sort this out!

[Sue]

I think they are closing down?

[edcam]

They got it right for a bit, then it went downhill.

[snooks]

I have seen the property up for sale on the web ?150k...........its about time I must admit

[Sue]

There may have been other issues, but in my view they shot themselves in the foot when refusing to allow any comments about their establishment to be posted on here.

I can't remember the reasons or what they did (threatened to sue the forum if anything was published?) but sadly that just had the effect of ensuring that I never went there again. Not that they missed me, I'm sure :)

I had no particular views about it positively or negatively, but until that point it was quite a nice place to take visitors for tea.

[bob]

Bring back Sammy.

Bob S

[Penguin68]

What's on their menu frequently has no resemblance to what's actually in stock.

[Penguin68]

It's actually a shame that it has come to this - the cafe itself has a quirky charm which its miscellaneous mish-mash of crockery from its former antiques incarnation supports, its serving staff are generally very pleasant and helpful, its teas and coffees are fine and what is actually on the menu comes out well cooked and attractively presented (the mice aren't exactly a plus point, though).

But its overall direction is confused, and its display of a few individual cakes hardly lavish or encouraging. Is it a tea shop, a restaurant, a cafe, a bar (well it has a small poorly stocked one)?

As the lease appears to be up for sale it obviously will never now realise its potential - but considering the general upward trajectory of other establishments in that part of LL (and the general goodwill locally towards enterprise and offering good customer service) it does seem a shame and a waste.

[rabbitears]

I wish I had read this these before I went!

On the plus side, the wait staff were very friendly and tolerant of our child who was I admit being slightly annoying.

On the minus side, they only had Peroni beer (there are only two on the menu!), they got our order wrong and it took them half an hour to prepare our food, and only after hassling. Also, our order was eggs on toast (1 slice for almost 8 quid iirc!) and a burger - so nothing very complicated at a time when the were only a couple of people drinking tea. The snooty comment about not allowing punters to add hot water to their tea because the chef had already calibrated the right dose was a bit odd too! The decor seems to be tipping from shabby chic to just shabby...

Overall it seems like a wasted opportunity which is a shame because they were very nice.

[DulwichFox]

There are some very nice charming people out there who simply do not know what they are doing.

So many so called 'Cowboy' builders are actually genuine people who simply get out of their depth.

They need to stick to something they understand.

DulwichFox

[cordsm]

That is a shame. On the 2 or 3 occasions that I've had tea there, it's been excellent with a wide range of cakes and pastries laid out. So many, in fact, that it took us ages to choose.

Had no idea about mice.....

[Sue]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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

> So many so called 'Cowboy' builders are actually

> genuine people who simply get out of their depth.

Yes, I'd agree with that.

Sadly when they get out of their depth it seems to bring out the worst in them and they start blaming everybody but themselves instead of owning up and rectifying what's gone wrong.

In my experience.

Human nature I suppose, but not funny when you either have to grit your teeth and live with the results of their ineptitude or alternatively pay someone else possibly enormous amounts of money to put it right :(