Name:
Blue Brick Café
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Thursday, 29 September 2016, 11.15am-3pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes
 
How Busy?
Initially very quiet, but it got busier at lunch time and then quieter again around 2.30pm.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Very friendly. When I ordered cake I said 'If I'm spending so much time here I should order more', and the server said 'Oh, don't even worry about that!'

Noise Level:
The coffee machine and the music on the radio were somewhat distracting at times, but I won't complain too much about BBC Radio 6. The chatter in the café, although part of the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, could also be distracting at busy times.

Seating:
Mostly wooden, rustic-looking chairs and tables (seating 2, 3 or 6), which are very cosy and comfortable. Some outside seating as well, although even including those seats the café's capacity is only about 30 people. The 2-seater table I used was the only spot I could see with a power socket.

Food/Drink Price:
Fairly competitive for the area, especially some of the breakfast options and their daily soup. Their starter salads are £6 each and lunch main courses are £9 each, which is still pricey for me, though. I had a £3 glass of fresh grapefruit juice, a £9 spicy chickpea stew and a £3 slice of pistachio and spinach cake.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
Delicious, creative, homemade vegetarian food. Full disclosure: I've eaten here many times over the past year, although this was my first time working here. I adore their Fullest Vegan breakfast, which includes homemade beans, sourdough toast, mushrooms and spinach, roasted tomato, vegetarian sausage, and bubble and squeek.

As for this visit, my grapefruit juice was fresh, as advertised, and very tasty. The stew was rich and hearty, not too spicy for my wimpy taste, and served with brown rice, 2 vegetarian sausages and green salad, helping to justify the £9 price tag. The cake was also just lovely, with a pleasantly chewy sponge and a light mascarpone icing that had just enough sweetness to it.

Would I Work Here Again?
Yes, ideally during weekdays at non-peak meal times, but even when it was busy I found I was able to work. There was never any pressure for me to spend more money or free up the table, and the staff are attentive without being overbearing, making Blue Brick a good occasional alternative to working from home.
 
Overall Ranking:
 8/10

And another thing…
In case you couldn't tell, I love this place. It should reek of pretension, especially in this neighbourhood, but instead it's a welcoming little place that quietly makes very good food and is happy for people to sit with a coffee and a laptop for hours. Blue Brick Café may very well be the standard by which I judge all other cafés.

Name:
Café G Artisan Kitchen & Coffee House
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Monday, 8 August 2016, 3.30-4.45pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes, with no password required
 
How Busy?
Fairly busy. Most of the tables outside were full, but the café is quite spacious and there were half a dozen free tables inside.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Friendly, although my needs were few and my interaction with them was pretty minimal.

Noise Level:
I sat near the back, and there was a Gymboree kids' play group in an adjoining room that I could hear clearly for about half an hour. After that one of the staff turned on the radio. First two songs: Karma Police by Radiohead and Island in the Sun by Weezer, which I enjoyed but found distracting. The café patrons were pretty quiet, give or take the occasional baby crying.

Seating:
Wooden-top tables and plastic chairs or booths. I sat on a booth seat that was very comfortable. The table was just big enough for my laptop, tea and snack.

Food/Drink Price:
Fairly pricey for my money, although competitive for East Dulwich: A large yogurt-topped raspberry flapjack was £2.75, and a pot of Earl Grey tea was £2.15.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
The flapjack was very sweet, probably too sweet for some peoples' tastes, but I loved it. The tea was a little on the bitter side for me, which I often find with Earl Grey in coffee shops, but still just about drinkable and passes the Starbucks test (Ugh, Starbucks Earl Grey is the worst.) The café has a good selection of breads, cakes, coffee, tea, milkshakes and smoothies, although the menu info is on a few different chalkboards on the walls around the cash area and it's a little hard to see all the options.

Would I Work Here Again?
Probably not, although I may occasionally drop by for a cake with one of my friends who has kids.
 
Overall Ranking:
 5/10

And another thing…
G Café sits comfortably in a niche of child-friendly cafés, which is a smart move in Yummy Mummy central. One of East Dulwich's defining features is its abundance of affluent (and predominantly white) young families, and on weekdays the streets, pubs and shops are full of moms with prams.

This café is exactly what they're after. Moms with cash won't bat an eyelash at a £2.15 price tag for a pot of tea, their babies can exhibit normal baby behaviour without drawing tsk-tsks and head shakes, and their strollers can easily navigate the wide spaces between tables. I willingly surrender the place to them and will choose to work elsewhere.

Name:
The Great Exhibition
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Tuesday, 12 July 2016, 12.15-2pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes
 
How Busy?
On a weekday at lunchtime it was very quiet, with only a handful of customers.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Pleasant, but not overly friendly. They had no problem with me working there.

Noise Level:
The music on the radio was somewhat distracting, but at least the tunes were good and it didn't stop me from getting my work done.

Seating:
Wooden tables and chairs that were comfortable to sit at for a couple of hours. Not enough room for my laptop and a plate of food on the table at the same time, so work paused while I ate.

Food/Drink Price:
Weekday lunch sandwiches £6 each; main menu is more varied and more expensive.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
Small selection of sanwiches at the £6 price during lunch hours, including a couple of vegetarian options. I had a smoked salmon and red onion baguette with (too much) mustard and a ginger beer.

Would I Work Here Again?
Nothing in particular is drawing me back, but I might give it another shot.
 
Overall Ranking:
 6/10

And another thing…
I like food. I don’t like coffee. One of the unique features of these reviews that I forgot to mention in my intro post is that I’ll have quite a lot to say about food, tea and other drinks, and nothing at all to say about coffee. Sorry, java snobs.

I also like choice. A limited menu with only one or two options that interest me is fine for a one-off but isn’t enough to keep me coming back again and again, especially with so many pubs and restaurants in the area to choose from. I'm not the type to visit the same café every day and order 'the usual' each time, and while I might have my favourite places and dishes I get bored without variety.

I understand The Great Exhibition’s strategy in making the sandwich menu limited so that customers will look to the bigger (and pricier) main menu for more options, but if nothing on the cheaper menu tempts me I'd honestly rather go home and make my own sandwich. And even in a trendy part of London where I'm not likely to find a cheaper sandwich, I don't think £6 for a ‘lunch specials’ baguette or bloomer is anything to write home about.