Street Burger & Burrito - Phase 2

ajl2503 · June 2015

I'd like to address a few comments that I have read on this forum about Street Burger & Burrito on Clifton Terrace. It's very disheartening and frustrating to read that some have had a negative experience at the restaurant, which I'll get to, but even more frustrating to read people's negative comments even though they haven't had an experience at all!! Let me explain a few things about Street. We are a fully fledged independent start up company. We had a limited budget of which to get the project completed, no other sites to train staff and we have no corporate support or structure. Essentially it is just us, a few guys and gals that are looking to make an honest living by serving good fresh food and by giving great service, but of course, this takes time to perfect. I can see that a lot are big fans of Pasta Remoli, I am too. Stefano and the team are lovely people and deserve to do well. But let me explain they had triple our budget, they have a tried and tested offering from their Westfield site and also used those premises to train staff long before they opened in Finsbury Park. They have much advantage over us in these and many other departments. Moving forward. We are tweaking the menu to suit what is selling and what is being asked for, ie pork burritos and pulled pork burgers, vast improvements to the chicken and including take away menus and offering delivery through Deliveroo very soon. We will be introducing a very good coffee offering from July from the guys at Extract Coffee, I can guarantee you'll very probably not find better coffee in the area. Tables and chairs out front for those looking to sit in the summer sun. And we have done some work with the ambience inside. We have also just started a lunch deal which wont break the bank. I saw one comment about us not having all the beer on the menu. Sadly this is down to one brewery that we use, Beavertown. They have over stretched themselves and are now not able to cope with demand, so I will be removing the beers that are seldom available from our menu so as not to disappoint. But most importantly, the staffing issues we have had have been fully rectified. Unfortunately Finsbury Park didn't exactly offer us up a platter of talent from which to pick originally, so we had a few weak members of staff which have now been weeded out and replaced by experienced waitresses who are being complimented on a daily basis. It's very easy to have a bad experience, grumble about it online and never go back.... Lord knows I do it myself. But It's much harder to do the decent thing, realise we are a real company, not a corporate machine and give us the chance that we have worked so very hard for. I hope the people of Finsbury Park get behind us. We are still learning and tweaking as we go so the customer experience will get better and better. This is how the little people like us survive. Starbucks started with 1 coffee shop, McDonalds started with 1 restaurant. They did not open and set the world on fire in an instant, start ups rarely do. We hope to see you all very soon. Please feel free to ask any questions. Tony & Georgia

ajl2503 · June 2015

Would also like to add we will be doing some major tweaking to the cocktail menu. We will be veering away from small and strong and going more down the line of long cocktails. This way it will feel like you are getting much better value for money.

saasha · June 2015

well i for one am looking forward to trying it out! assuming you have a veggie burrito? best of luck x

ajl2503 · June 2015

We do indeed Sasha. And thank you very much for the kind words

fabruce · June 2015

Hi guys,<div><br></div><div>my girlfriend and I visited some time ago and we did really enjoy the food to be honest.</div><div><br></div><div>We definitely noticed the unexpressed potential of the place, but also realized that it might take some time to set everything up from scratch.</div><div><br></div><div>We will definitely go back, and i personally wish you the best of luck, knowing how difficult it is to start something independent.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

ajl2503 · June 2015

Thank you so much, we'll see you soon

Jackson · June 2015

<br>Good on you for posting this. New restaurants have teething problems - shouldn't come as a shock really.<br><br>Frankly I'm just made up that smart, independent places like yours, the pasta bar and the new little cafe are opening up along that street. It's been transformed in the 2-3 years we've lived in SG.<br><br>I reckon your place looks great and I'm looking forward to calling in for some pulled pork soon<br><br><br><br><br>

miss annie · June 2015

Hello, I walk past your bar every day on my walk to and from the tube. I'm sure you have an enormous list of things you would like to do once the cash starts rolling in but I have a couple of suggestions. The vinyl across the lower part of the window at Remoli hides a multitude of things. Approaching Street you see cleaning bric a brac, bins, and empty space immediately behind the glass. At Remoli the vinyl distracts from all of that and you focus on the enticing food and pasta making action that you can see above. I wouldn't say the vinyl is very beautiful but I'd rather see that. The lighting at Street is really dark. I get that you're going for the industrial Brooklyn thing but I think you might benefit from a very slightly warmer light at the bar/entrance area. It's hard to judge what sort of place it is as you glance in from the street as it's so dark and grey. A change of bulbs would do the trick. Remoli looks warm and inviting at the front, I think they could do with being slightly more dim at the back. Even massive church candles in plain hurricane jars (£20 for jars in John Lewis) on the end of bar would look more inviting from outside. Strategic fairy lights? Don't scoff - I've seen them used beautifully in the most high hipster places and they'd be a good counterpoint to the heavy industrial warehouse style you have. It took me a minute or two to locate the menu from outside and the print is tiny. I know you have a massive neon sign to tell people what you're about but the streets of N4 aren't paved with gold and people like to get an idea of what is on offer and how much it costs. I'm sure that you will get lots of locals but quite a bit of your business could come from the theatre crowd who don't live locally. They'll make a decision about where to eat prettily speedily as they are pre theatre and needing to get in or post and needing last tube. They'll go somewhere that looks immediately welcoming from outside. If Street was my bar I'd consider a slight change of colour scheme too but that is completely subjective. Eventually you might think of doing the counter each side thing, it works at Remoli as it closes in the space, shows you what's on offer and means you don't walk through a big blank space. Anyway, very good luck with it all. My best advice is have a good old stare at your place from the outside, I think that's where your problems are. If you're confident about your offering inside you just need to entice the people to step in off the street.

Eliz · June 2015

Completely agree with Miss Annie about the problem being with first impressions from the outside, having blue kitchen rolls on show isn't a great look and the menu definitely needs to be more prominent and easier to read. <br><br>Could you try having a very good introductory deal to get people through the door for the first time? Best of luck with everything, the promise of good coffee is very tempting. <br>

gardener-joe · June 2015

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ajl2503 · June 2015

All good comments. Some of which I have thought about before. The double counter thing is not possible as our door is to one side but everything else is on the discussion agenda. Thank you x

GRGNTN · June 2015

Good to see a local business taking on board comments. <div><br></div><div>Here is my 2 cents. I wouldn't be overly fussed about comments on this site, there are a fair few internet warriors and curtain twitchers (Some are obviously your customers however). I've not been in as of but have been tempted, the options for BBQ / Mexicana / Craft Beer in FP aren't exactly great at the moment. Rub / Brisket must be in it's 5th confused incarnation in the past 18 months and still manage to miss the mark.</div><div>Do what you do and do it well, take Max's for example, 4 sandwiches and a special and he doesn't need much else because it's done so well, and with a smile. I don't recall seeing a board menu thus far although i may be wrong, but not knowing exactly what's on your menu has definitely been a barrier for me. </div><div><br></div><div>Only my opinion again, but in terms of the cocktails the risk you take making long (value) drinks is that you may fall into the trap of things coming across as pre-made. Personally, i like a cocktail that clearly been made to order by someone who knows what they are doing, a tart margarita, a fresh caipirinha or caipiroska, a clean negroni (although maybe this doesn't go with your menu) all hit the spot for me and are simple to make. </div><div><br></div><div>As for the coffee, i'm interested to see if you can meet Vagabond's high standards. Those guys know what they are doing. </div><div><br></div><div>Best of luck! </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Oh, i nearly forgot. Get on the brunch bandwagon, breakfast burrito and a tequila bloody mary, who could resist. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

boxrunner · June 2015

Took the kids there for dinenr last week - we all loved it!<br>

Papa · June 2015

I've not made it in yet, but don't understand why it isn't busy. I thought it would be right up people's street.<div><br><div>I agree with Miss Annie, on it looking a little dim inside on the way past</div><div>Maybe a blackboard outside with some daily specials would get people in.</div><div>I'm sure once it picks up steam it will be a winner.</div><div><br></div><div>I found your twitter feed - those outside tables should help.</div><div>Can't find your menu anywhere online though.</div><div><br></div><div>I actually think Rub / Brisket is good - I like the food and it is decent value.</div><div><br></div><div>Not a big fan of the whole 'sell people craft beer at expensive pint prices in glasses smaller than a pint' thing that is a bit of a trend in these kinds of joints. </div><div><br></div><div>Both inflation and shrinkflation at the same time</div></div>

duffer · June 2015

Finally dropped in this lunchtime. Burrito n beer. Former pretty knockout I thought, latter deffo beer. I'll happily stop by again. Hot sauce hot *beams*

NorthNineteen · June 2015

Passed the other night and it was looking very busy - great to see

Papa · June 2015

Actually, I have changed my mind on Brisket / Rub<div><br></div><div>We tried to order some food from there the other night, turns out they've ditched the pulled pork / buffalo wings / ribs /slaw concept </div><div><br></div><div>It now seems to be mainly serving tacos, along with a few nibbles, which do include a ribs and wings option but none of the other stuff.</div><div><br></div><div>I liked how it was, not how it is.</div><div><br></div><div>Still to try Street </div>

djmattyoung · June 2015

does Street do take out or takeaway? <div><br></div><div>the also need a menu online or website.</div>

ajl2503 · June 2015

We are upgrading our menu in the next couple of weeks. Once that is done we will launch a website and increase our marketing campaign. We do takeout/away and even offer a 10% discount if you collect and take away. We will soon offer delivery via HungryHouse and Deliveroo, providing they offer a good deal for all.

missingchickenland · June 2015

My advice is repaint the ceiling white. The dark ceiling makes the restaurant front window look like a mirror and very uninviting.

kreuzkav · June 2015

Don't leave the chairs and tables out too much. They are a bit of an obstruction on a busy footpath. Good luck with the place.

foodrevolution · June 2015

Went recently for my second time (my first was a couple days after opening) and really really glad I did. First time was really disappointing as I really got the place and what it was trying to do (absolutely on board with the decor and style). Didn't think I'd return - and I don't go more than a few days without a burger joint. The improvements already in such a short period of time were great. And I'm talking about the food. Still a way to go to compete with some of the more established burger and burrito joints in terms of taste but loving the attitude and I'm keen to support the evolution. We moved to SGR to enjoy the creativity and innovation of small independent restaurants with so much more soul than those currently dominating too much of upper street. While I am talking about soul - you could work on your playlist

a place like yours deserves some real tunes. In case you're still taking suggestions: - you need a few more value items on the menu (five guys dominates with the massive amounts of cheap fries, always makes the meal seem better vfm) - burger of the month would probably be enough to entice me back more regularly! (Tommys burger has this pretty nailed). - condiments could do with an upgrade; easy way to get more interesting flavours into the food (jalapeño ketchup etc) Just suggestions from an enthusiast but very much an amateur - glad to have you in the neighbourhood and hope we all step up to support.

djmattyoung · July 2015

I went for something to eat here the other night and I have to say the food was spot on! <br>I had a chilli dog and my partner had a beef burrito, both were big portions and very tasty especially the pulled beef in the burrito. Had some lovely chilli fries too. <div>I will definitely be visiting again. </div><div><br></div><div>Good luck with it. </div><div><br></div>

therattle · July 2015

I had a reasonable burger and chips for lunch the other day. I wasn't wowed but for £7 including a Coke it was very good value, and good quality for that price. I only knew about the £7 lunch offer (which is a very good deal) when the waiter told me; there was no sign about it outside (which would help bring in some lunch trade, I would have thought) or a slip of paper with the menu. <br>

ajl2503 · July 2015

There is a huge a-board out front advertising the lunch deal

bigspoon · July 2015

decor is a bit forced but, food-wise, it's already left a better impression than Rub/Brisket/Generic BBQ Restaurant #7<div style="font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div>Yet to try the burgers but enjoyed a chicken burrito the other day - generous portion, good fillings and the 'spicy' option is ACTUALLY SPICY.<div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div>Also they were playing J Dilla the entire time, so should <b>NOT </b>change the music under any circumstances </div></div></div>

Mirandola · July 2015

Goes off to listen to J Dilla... Thanks bigspoon.

MHP · July 2015

Why was it closed around 10pm on a Friday night?

Lucile_park · August 2015

Sign in the window said it was due to an electrical fault in the building.

therattle · August 2015

I think the blue lighting on the sign out front is very unwelcoming. It makes it look cool (as in not warm), and the lighting inside is too dim to see the otherwise fairly welcoming interior.<br>

hummusman · September 2015

Walked past this place everyday. Never been in as found the environment very unwelcoming and dingy. However a friend recommended the burritos to me yesterday so me and the wife are going to give it ago over the weekend. Will report back with some feedback soon.

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Street Burger & Burrito - Phase 2

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