The fluctuating fortunes of the Harringay Green Lanes station cafe

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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on August 22, 2011 at 16:55

A few words about Rania here.

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Permalink Reply by rosyrose on August 22, 2011 at 17:49

Oh dear, I really must do a search before I post a new thread...

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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on August 22, 2011 at 17:50

Wot, and do something we fail to do! ;o)

Searching before posting is great, but better to post away rather than be put off by having to do a search!

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Permalink Reply by linka on August 22, 2011 at 18:40

 Never mind, the speculation about the last place hooks me in.  Going by:

 

- the bargainous price of the caipirinhas

- the amount of delicious food provided for not-very-much cash

- the cheapo non-refurbishment of the premises

- the lack of people dining there whenever I was there

 

I'd say they sadly went bust. Which was distressing, as their Brazilian stroganoff was promising to become my new official comfort food. The refurb with a new, welcoming facade and a clear name that Rania's have done was essential (and hopefully may change their fortunes, otherwise this may happen, in a Harringay kind of way: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/nyregion/04restaurant.html

However if the presence of an Iranian chef at the new place means there'll be Persian stews, I'll be very, very cheered up.

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Permalink Reply by rosyrose on August 22, 2011 at 20:08

The attrition rate for restaurants is so high, it's nothing short of miraculous how many Turkish restaurants seem to thrive on our small strip. I guess it's a combination of reliably good food, a fiercely loyal customer base, being an all-London locus for a particular cuisine and reasonable pricing. But given the number of staff they seem to have (whatever they're working for), it's hard to believe the operating costs aren't high. Is there a lot of family-owned freehold I wonder?

Bring on the ghormeh sabzi!

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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on August 22, 2011 at 21:07

Certainly none of us objected to the battalions of chefs, sous-chefs, maitres d', waiters, garcons, hangers-on and family jewellers & hairdressers armed to the teeth a fortnight ago.

I hear that the tented interior of the Rania is just an elaborately covert home-from-home for Muammar Q'adhafi, due in Q'arrinq'ay this weekend.

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