Thought I'd add my small comment to the thread too - as a 20-something living in sydenham since the credit crunch I have definately been looking more locally for my evenings out rather than venuring into central london for a expensive night and having to pay for a cab home.
Its a shame sydenham doesn't have more on offer in the evenings- a nice restaurant or bar would be really good to meet up with friends. At the moment Crystal Palace has quite a few nice places when people want to go out more locally on the weekends and evenings - but it would be nice if there was some more place in Sydenham.
During these times I think local places get my custom more (rather than less)..
The old HSBC building - what to do...
Oh bensonby, you and I have been here a million times before!!!!bensonby wrote:I to am a 20something, and I've socialised in Sydenham for eons, I much prefer it to going into town, unless I'm going up to Clubland.
What's wrong with a nice night in the Dolphin or the Golden Lion? We are catered for...
a) Two venues does not equal "catered for"
b) A choice between two pubs does not equal "catered for", not everyone wants to go to a pub all the time
c) Just because there are two choices does not mean we should stick at two choices only and not try to get any more choices.
Please, can we not go down the route of this argument again?????
if a decent place opens up in sydenham i will support it and invite my friends around instead of blowing my cash and theirs in crystal palace/ balham/ clapham or dulwich. venues feed off each other....if someone goes to a restuarant they may pop in to the dolpin for a drink afterwards.
the high street needs a couple more hip venues to draw people to the street at night and make a night of it. the dolphin is a good start. we need another hip bar and a couple funky restaurants to get things going in the high street.
i support the dolphin sugarhill BM when i get the chance. everyone else if you dont make an effort with bringing your venue into the 21st century you can get stuffed and you will only ever encourage besonby types to sit in your pub or restaurant and spending 4 hours savouring his £2.50 pint of bitter
the high street needs a couple more hip venues to draw people to the street at night and make a night of it. the dolphin is a good start. we need another hip bar and a couple funky restaurants to get things going in the high street.
i support the dolphin sugarhill BM when i get the chance. everyone else if you dont make an effort with bringing your venue into the 21st century you can get stuffed and you will only ever encourage besonby types to sit in your pub or restaurant and spending 4 hours savouring his £2.50 pint of bitter
I can't think of anything more ghaslty than something "hip" or "funky". Soulless generic crap cannot and must not replace character.SMOKEIT wrote:if a decent place opens up in sydenham i will support it and invite my friends around instead of blowing my cash and theirs in crystal palace/ balham/ clapham or dulwich. venues feed off each other....if someone goes to a restuarant they may pop in to the dolpin for a drink afterwards.
the high street needs a couple more hip venues to draw people to the street at night and make a night of it. the dolphin is a good start. we need another hip bar and a couple funky restaurants to get things going in the high street.
i support the dolphin sugarhill BM when i get the chance. everyone else if you dont make an effort with bringing your venue into the 21st century you can get stuffed and you will only ever encourage besonby types to sit in your pub or restaurant and spending 4 hours savouring his £2.50 pint of bitter
I'm not entirely sure what a "Bensonby type" is, but I certainly don't take 4 hours to drink a pint of beer. One can put proper money into the economy without being ripped off. I have no objection to spending large amounts of money on food drink or entertainment. What I do have an objection to is paying over-the-odds for things....something that invariably comes along with "hip" or "funky" establishments. To give an example, there is one pub I am aware of on the Strand (not a JDW or the like) which sells beer at under £2 a pint; literally 2 doors away beer is sold at more than 50% more expensive. Both pubs (presumably) pay their staff, business rates, utility bills, duty and so on.....both pubs are in prominent west-end locations. I think it is merely reasonable, and not "cheap" to demand decent value and refuse to pay rip-off prices. I'll happily spend £30 in the pub, but I'd expect a decent return for my money.
Without wishing to be personal, you sound like a philistine. The greatest, most electic, best value, most cosmopolitan places to patronise of an evening is the traditional British pub. They have, do, and will change over the decades; to meet the needs of the communities they serve. And that is the point, they serve the community - they don't exist to serve pretentious morons who want to pose with a £8 g&t. Being int the 21st century (if that is a good hting) doesn't involve being "hip." If only we looked at the example set in the North West in terms of their pubs then we'd be in a far better position. Some of the most successful new venues in Manchester, for example, have based themselves squarely on the premise that the "public house" is central to their raison d'etre - a community facility, serving quality locally sourced food and drink, creating a warm, intimate and modern setting with old-fashioned comforts. I can't see anything wrong with that - and judging by their popularity the local population seems to agree...
Bensonby, you consistently fail to distinguish between holding an opinion on what you consider to be a good night out, and inflicting said opinion on everyone else by insisting that it must dictate the way of the world and in so doing denying the rest of us choice.
In your head there seem to be only 2 polar extremes - pretentious rip-off joints and the status quo. You refuse to understand what is being proposed. Please, do us all a favour and get off your high horse.
And as for your comment about smokeit: "Without wishing to be personal, you sound like a philistine"... well, I think that speaks for itself.
I am now backing out of this thread as my head is aching from the repeated banging against a brick wall.
In your head there seem to be only 2 polar extremes - pretentious rip-off joints and the status quo. You refuse to understand what is being proposed. Please, do us all a favour and get off your high horse.
And as for your comment about smokeit: "Without wishing to be personal, you sound like a philistine"... well, I think that speaks for itself.
I am now backing out of this thread as my head is aching from the repeated banging against a brick wall.
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blue&whitewizard1991
- Posts: 46
- Joined: 23 Jul 2008 18:32
- Location: Lawrie Park Road
Correct me if i'm wrong, but surely Bensonby you can still go for a pint in the Golden Lion and drink for £2.50 even if a 'hip' and 'trendy' joint opens up next door. The comment you makes in your earlier post about the two pubs next door to each other on the strand is a casing point. You still have the ability to exercise your choice and go to the cheaper boozer (Cheshire cheese perhaps?) despite there being an expensive one next door.
All other posters are asking for is a better retail mix, which is a valid arguement. they are not advocating that pubs like the Golden Lion are substituted for 'hip' 'trendy' joints.
As a number of posters have already stated by compelmenting the existing offer, existing businesses can stand to benefit, by making Sydenham more of a 'destination'.
All other posters are asking for is a better retail mix, which is a valid arguement. they are not advocating that pubs like the Golden Lion are substituted for 'hip' 'trendy' joints.
As a number of posters have already stated by compelmenting the existing offer, existing businesses can stand to benefit, by making Sydenham more of a 'destination'.
Agreed....sadly the high street is something of a shadow of its former self. Even a hip "nightspot" is preferable to that shoddy looking place that is where the photographers was....Ella wrote:I don't know what everyone is getting hot under the collar about because it doesn't seem that anyone hip or otherwise is interested in opening a pub / club / restaurant or decent shop in Sydenham.
Apologies for going off on one a bit - its just the traditional pub and beer is something rather close to the heart.
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catscratch
- Posts: 83
- Joined: 13 Jul 2008 12:44
- Location: se20
quote
"if someone goes to a restuarant they may pop in to the dolpin for a drink afterwards".
thats soooooo chav,
who on earth eats in a restaurant, presumably with wine, then tops it all off with beer????? 
Dont tell me, you order chateau white lightning and drink it from a can??
No wonder I have to go as as far as Knightsbridge (Papillon] for a half decent restaurant
I know, I`m a dreadful snob, but I eat well
"if someone goes to a restuarant they may pop in to the dolpin for a drink afterwards".
thats soooooo chav,
who on earth eats in a restaurant, presumably with wine, then tops it all off with beer????? Dont tell me, you order chateau white lightning and drink it from a can??
No wonder I have to go as as far as Knightsbridge (Papillon] for a half decent restaurant
I know, I`m a dreadful snob, but I eat well
catsarse... you seem to be missing the point
it could be a glass of dessert wine, liquer coffee or a single malt after dinner....or it could be an aperitief before dinner... maybe a sherry or a martini.
i do love the wine.... but if i went to belgo's for dinner i wouldnt necessary order a bottle of wine ....??? nor would i if i went for a quick burger at GB or fish and chips at the seacow..... this sydenham isnt knightsbridge darling
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it could be a glass of dessert wine, liquer coffee or a single malt after dinner....or it could be an aperitief before dinner... maybe a sherry or a martini.
i do love the wine.... but if i went to belgo's for dinner i wouldnt necessary order a bottle of wine ....??? nor would i if i went for a quick burger at GB or fish and chips at the seacow..... this sydenham isnt knightsbridge darling
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Raven Drone
- Posts: 31
- Joined: 10 Jul 2008 20:35
- Location: se26
Just thought I'd share a response that I recently got from Pizza Express when I emailed them suggesting they consider the old HSBC building.
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Thank you for your email regarding the opening of a new restaurant in
Sydenham.
We are looking to open more restaurants throughout the country and we are always interested in our customer's views regarding any potential new
sites.
We have a Head of Acquisitions, Marc Ward, and I have forwarded your letter onto him to make sure our acquisitions team look at these areas when they are reviewing new opportunities.
Regards
Louise Murphy
Customer Service
-------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your email regarding the opening of a new restaurant in
Sydenham.
We are looking to open more restaurants throughout the country and we are always interested in our customer's views regarding any potential new
sites.
We have a Head of Acquisitions, Marc Ward, and I have forwarded your letter onto him to make sure our acquisitions team look at these areas when they are reviewing new opportunities.
Regards
Louise Murphy
Customer Service
Oooh thanks Raven Drone for drawing this to our attention. Couldn't the Sydenham Soc do anything about raising Sydenham's profile and grabbing Pizza Express' attention our way?Raven Drone wrote:Just thought I'd share a response that I recently got from Pizza Express when I emailed them suggesting they consider the old HSBC building.
-------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your email regarding the opening of a new restaurant in
Sydenham.
We are looking to open more restaurants throughout the country and we are always interested in our customer's views regarding any potential new
sites.
We have a Head of Acquisitions, Marc Ward, and I have forwarded your letter onto him to make sure our acquisitions team look at these areas when they are reviewing new opportunities.
Regards
Louise Murphy
Customer Service
From http://www.sydenham.org.uk/shopshop/9003.html it is Kingsturge. You should be able to find them on web/phonebook. The TCM & Scott Hamilton may already know what you may want to know.
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