Contemplating a new casual-dining restaurant/cocktail concept in the area

Howdy Neighbours,
Hope you’re well.
Contemplating a new casual-dining restaurant/cocktail concept in the area and wondered what the locals thought about the following: American comfort food, Mexican, Peruvian or something else? Any and all thoughts welcome.
Best,
Raj

All these things sound good but go with your passion cuisine. That will make the best restraunt whatever it is.

Hi @rajanb and welcome to the forum.

I like the sound of all three, but I’d lean toward the American comfort food angle if you can pull it off (I’m thinking Red Dog Saloon Hoxton), or if you can do it with flair, MeatLiquor, Mayfair.

Best thing to do is try a pop-up appearance in one of our local venues. It’d be a low-cost, low-risk experiment to test your idea.

Check out our topics tagged #pop-up - there have been plenty in SE23, and they seem to do well. You’ll also spot a handful of venues who offer regular pop-up slots.

Hi Rajanb

My attempt to reply went into another thread.

Good luck!

@Anotherjohn saved me the trouble of finding an earlier topic which may give you some food for thought.

I think every locality needs a really good burger joint so American diner would be lovely. But I would also kill for a super local Mexican. And think of the tequila cocktails! Maybe the best of both worlds and TexMex.

How about an “America’s” restaurant. Best of North and South America?

Before its sad demise, the Perry Vale was doing good business with a diner style menu which we very much enjoyed for a mid-week dinner. Whatever you do, you need to lead with really excellent food, even if it’s relatively simple diner fare.

@anon5422159 gives good advice re testing the market with pop-ups.

I agree that a restaurant that served a really good burger should do well in Forest Hill - I think the success of Bona shows that there will always be a desire for a place that does a popular food really well. Obviously it would be up to you how broad you want the food offering to be - e.g. (i) just focus on burgers, (ii) focus on N American BBQ (burgers, ribs, chicken, pulled pork etc), (iii) focus on Mexican, or (iv) try and do all of the above.

What I will say about Forest Hill is for some reason location seems to be important. Not sure where you are thinking of opening but if you’re happy to share that information if/when you are at that stage people might be able to provide more detailed feedback.

I think another thing that favours US comfort food as a business model is the huge range of quality US craft beers that are now available in the UK and pair really well with the food. There may even be an opportunity to partner with Clapton Craft on that front - certainly if you were thinking of doing a pop up first.

If you are thinking about the recent closures of both the Perryvale and Waters on that side of the tracks, we’ve had a lot of discussion about this here and here and while location is always something to consider, it seems there were other factors that led to the demise of these businesses. In both cases inconsistency of offer, unpredictable opening times and a lack of communication with customers are likely to have contributed to their demise. These are all issues a new business can address.

Agreed, quite a few businesses have closed in Central FH. Lemon Grove, The Japanese place, they curry house has changed hands, McDonald’s closed. etc.

Thanks Jodie. Great advice.

Thanks for your warm welcome and reply Chris. Sound advice and I’ll definitely be popping up soon!!

Thank you! @Anotherjohn

@Londondrz Such a cool idea!! Thank you.

@RachaelDunlop Thanks for the insight on Perry Vale and advice.

@anon17648011 Great tips and totally agree it’s 70% about location. Although I do also agree with @RachaelDunlop. Nowadays if the food and service is exceptional then people will find you and keep coming back.

@SE23.life Thank you for launching the poll. x

There are a lot of amazing American diners out there - particularly along the ginger line. Smokestak is probably my favourite. Is that the food that you adore eating/cooking/experimenting with? Lots of pubs etc have jumped on the smoker bandwagon so you need to make sure yours differentiates enough on taste and ambience to make it worth paying your prices (it’s unlikely you’ll beat the Capitol on price for their pulled pork burger or ribs).

I’d be tempted more by a central/south American vibe that has all those zingy flavours of lime and tomatillo. I’d love somewhere that had ceviche and fish tacos in summer. Or in the winter a good mole etc. And street food tacos or quesadillas for afternoon/late night snacks. If you nail it, it’s also more likely to help you become a destination that people travel to rather than just a local place.

Can I ask what premises you’re looking at @rajanb please

Sounds great, Amirican comfort food would probably do best I think - what type of menu are you thinking of - also same with Mexican & Peruvian?

Basic menus would probably help more for locals to give input.

Best of luck

I wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag until such time as it’s a done deal. After that I’D SCREAM THE F***ING PLACE DOWN!!!

Farting?

I’d love an American diner-style place. Would probably end up going far too much.