Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Cafe Moka: they liked it so much they changed the script
Another coup for Kevin and Cafe Moka, it seems! Just weeks after notching up its alcohol licence, Kevin's Harringay Cafe attracted the attention of TV home show star Sarah Beeny and her crew.
Some of the Beeny team stopped by at Moka a few weeks back on their way to making a programme in Crouch End for Beeny's new series. (In the new show, Double Your House for Half the Money, Beeny sets out to prove that following her rules people can double their space for half the cost of trading up to that big new house beyond their means).
So impressed were the two crew members, it seems, that they rang Kevin the next day and booked a lunch for thirteen, including Beeny herself. Kevin said. "I had no idea that Sarah Beeny was coming. I recognised her straight away, but it took me a moment to place her!"
Apparently lunch went well. The TV star was so taken with Moka and what Kevin has created out of a long vacant shop, that she decided to change the script and include Moka in the programme rather than the planned Crouch End cafe.
The couple at the centre of the Crouch End episode were at Moka with Beeny and crew on Tuesday and commented, "We love this place. We've lived round here for years and never knew it was here. There's just nowhere like this in Crouch End".
Congratulations, Kevin. But you're in danger of becoming an untrammelled entrepreneurial success story. Could we have a bit of colour please - maybe just a soupçon of screw-up or a dash of PR disaster?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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I'm just worried it will get like all the popular places in CE - booked out at weekends.
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Permalink Reply by empyrean_aisles on
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Kevin & his staff are so lovely, and they are infinitely patient when we come in with rambunctious toddlers (don't be afraid, regular patrons -- we take them out the back or get coffee to go if they are really wriggly) - they deserve success, and I'm glad they'll have this extra publicity. But not too much, as Maddy says - we don't want it to get too popular!
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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people can double their space for half the cost of trading up
Is Beeny suggesting that Kevin installs a loft to cope with the Crouchie influx, or just that he extends northwards to take over my newsagents'?
Winkworths will soon be advertising their Crouch End property as 'Greater Harringay just a short walk from tropical Mauritius'.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Show some ambition - a hop, skip and a jump from Bondi.
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Yes, Kev is nice guy, and yes he's done very well but is nobody going to mention the big, stolid elephant in the room that is the Really Bad Coffee?! I'm as seduced by chichi decor, exposed brickwork, artisan bread and free-range eggs as the next person, but the coffee is just inexcusable. When you look at the kind of people it attracts and the prices etc, you kind of expect a nice cup of Square Mile or Monmouth or something. I just don't know why this isn't more of a priority. And I also find it weird that if I go in to order a ham and cheese croissant, even if it's really quiet, it takes a really long time. It completely disincentivises you to nip in before your commute. But otherwise lovely, especially with the kids at the weekend because they have space to run about outside and the sausages are nice. And then it doesn't matter if there's a bit of a wait.
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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Im amazed at these two responses. The pastries and coffee are great. I guess its just a matter if taste. Can i suggest you bit tell kevin in person. Im sure he'd want to know.
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Yes Jessica, very articulately put, and it's in this spirit that I left my comments. I don't want to personally go in there and criticize the coffee and tap my watch every time I order a filled croissant (but half an hour? REALLY??!), as it would alienate him and I'd never be able to go in there again. Equallly as Stan says these things are easily tweaked and I really think Moka could be pretty great and I want Kevin to do well and I don't think he should get complacent. Objectively, the coffee is bad, and everyone I know personally agrees with me. For a bit of extra money Kevin and his crew could go on a tasting course and a coffee making workshop - I don't know, whatever it takes - and then that would really put Moka on the map. At the moment it makes more sense to go to any cafe on GL for a take out coffee and it's a lot cheaper.
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I just think it is cruel to so publicly criticise such a small business that is so reliant on local trade when a little word in the owners ear would do. But each to their own I suppose.
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Of course. Its a good place and deserving of praise both publicly and privately. Come on folks cheer up. You'll be gutted if it goes.
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Tunbridge Wells I take your point but actually I don't think it's going any time soon, because it's doing really well and has a really faithful client base. If these things were going to stop people going in there, then they they would have done because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's experienced them. These are things that are easily tweaked. I don't have the time or money to sit in and eat breakfast very often, but an affordable luxury is a really good cup of coffee. I don't see why people shouldn't be rewarded if they're willing to spend the money. As I've said I think that otherwise Moka is really good and has the potential to be a destination cafe, but good coffee in a place like that should be a given because it's not cheap. I don't see why it's mean of me to be honest when I'm a paying customer who appreciates a decent shot of caffeine.
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I love the place but constructive criticism is always good. Also there is a bit of hypocracy here. If someone criticised one of the Turkish restaurants on Green Lanes, would there be the same reaction? Check out some of the older posts on places like Devran and Flame.
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