Archived on 6/5/2022

Guava Kitchen receives Uber Eats Black Business Award

ForestHull

11 Feb '22

A former city worker who swapped skyscrapers for a stall on Brick Lane has been named one of 10 UK recipients of the first Uber Eats Black Business Fund.

The fund, set up by Uber Eats in collaboration with Be Inclusive Hospitality and Enterprise Nation, saw a £50,000 fund distributed to 10 small Black-owned businesses across the country that have been affected by the pandemic.

One winner, Jenny Campbell, gave up a corporate career to launch her own brand of vegan Caribbean food. Early success on an East End stall in London convinced her to officially open the Guava Kitchen in Forest Hill just before the pandemic struck.

She said: "At first, I knew nothing about hospitality, so when I said I wanted to open a restaurant, everyone I knew said don’t do it! The pandemic had a severe impact on the business, but now we can push forward with our vision of showcasing the best Black vegan food products from around the world.

“Being a Black female business owner, it’s important to me to support a realistic demographic of my local area and set a strong example to young Black people. Around 80% of my young team is made of people from Black or ethnic minority backgrounds. This investment will help us to invest in young local talent.”

The full article gives some more info and quotes from both Uber Eats and other award winners.

Here’s the full list of awardees, with links to the London businesses:

The Breakhouse Café, EB3, London
Jam Delish, SW17, London
The Flygerians, SE15, London
Dirty Kitch, Coventry
TribeV, SW16, London
Drums and Flats, SE15, London
Vegan Shack UK, Manchester
The Guava Kitchen, SE23, London
Issa Vibe, SE15, London
Bando Belly, SE15, London

Congrats to the Guava Kitchen, located at 16 London Road, and whose opening we covered back in 2019 here: The Guava Kitchen [Now Open]

maxrocks

11 Feb '22

Has anyone actually eaten there?
I’d love to know if its worth a try on a day off (they open 9-6 or something so could never go on a work day).
Any reviews welcome.
And well done to the owner for getting the award.

NewtoSE

11 Feb '22

I’ve been in a few times and it’s really nice. Nice coffee (plant milks only) and nice cakes. I haven’t tried the savoury menu. It’s quite spacious and really clean, which is something I look out for during a covid surge! Good wifi and many plug sockets if you need them.

lighthouse

11 Feb '22

I went when they opened and had a lovely stew. I’m sure one could manage to poke their nose in on a day off and try it out.

divya_m

12 Feb '22

We get lunch there at least once a week. The food is delicious and a very different offering to anywhere else locally. My favourites are the rundown curry the burger. The service is a little bit slow but you can sit and work there while you wait.

maxrocks

12 Feb '22

because its always closed when I rush past I never actually get to see the menu,
I’ve seen cakes but wondered if they do good salads?
If so it could be a great post gym option on a day off (my current go-to is Blue Brick in east Dulwich which is veggie rather than vegan but with vegan options)

lighthouse

12 Feb '22

Google informs that they do in fact have a menu online https://theguavakitchen.com/, which does include their opening hours too.

Suze

13 Feb '22

The food is nice - and they are on Deliveroo quite often too. Service is pretty slow though - both in the cafe and on deliveries, as I think there’s only usually one person serving and one in the kitchen. So if you just want to pop in and grab something, it’s possibly not the place. But nice range of home cooked veggie food, and quite a few vegan options.

Lau

24 Feb '22

Went here on Sunday and got chatting to their lovely staff.

Top carrot cake and oat chai!

Will try something savoury next time

Billie

26 Feb '22

Agree about the carrot cake. Good flavour and moist.