Cafe Lemon

An interesting place, Cafe Lemon: a caff with ideas above its station; a greasy spoon with aspirations. Until recently this was a traditional caff/burger bar modelled on the 1960s Wimpy Bar model (all formica tables and ketchup dispensers shaped like tomatoes). Then in late 2006 it was smartened up with murals & old photographs of Harringay on the walls, a new name, a bright new sign out front, friendly young staff and a slightly more varied menu.

All your greasy spoon favourites are still to be found here:

• Breakfasts-by-numbers (Sets 1 to 4 for £3.10 or £3.20), or the Full Lemon (Egg, Bacon, Sausage, Black Pudding, Tomatoes, Beans, Tea/Coffee, Toast/Bread for a great value £4.20), or those going off piste can perm any 7 items from an extensive list plus tea/coffee and bread/toast for £6.80;
• A wide range of got and cold sandwiches/panini etc. from £1.70 to £3.25;
• Various grills, pastas, omelettes, curries, burgers, jackets, fish & chips up to about £6.00.

This stuff is generally pretty good fare, if not outstanding. Portions are decent, but slightly ropey sausages and other features such as tea served with the bag still floating in it betray Cafe Lemon's burger bar origins.

But from these basics the newspaper-style menu (Cafe Lemon news, also featurung coffee/breakfast related stories & jokes) then strays into avante garde territory:

• In addition to the standard veggie breakfast there's also a mediterranean breakfast of omelette, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber & parsley;


• Other fancy breakfast options including pastries, pancakes, and a (delicious) Eggs Benedict with Bacon, Ham, Spinach or Smoked Salmon for £4.20-£4.50;


• A good selection of speciality teas and coffees, mixed juices, smoothies.

Most intriguingly, they've recently started to dim the lights of an evening and light the candles when they offer a set menu for dinner. The "Cafe Lemon Plus" menu features a variety of turkish favourites for starters - halloumi, sucuk (salami), cacik (tsatsiki), humus etc. (all at £2.45 each) with just two main courses on offer: pan-fried salmon (£6.95) or chicken cordon bleu (£5.95). Or, for £13.95 or £11.95 you can have three of the starters, salmon or chicken, coffee/tea and a dessert, which can't be bad. I haven't tried this yes, but at those prices it has to be worth a go soon.

Cafe Lemon
28 Green Lanes
London
N4 1LG
020 8800 2396
info@cafelemon.co.uk

LINKS
London Review of Breakfasts

Beaconsfield

The Beaconsfield and the Salisbury sit at either end of the Green Lanes main drag through Harringay, and also represent two different ends of ladder life. Architecturally similar, they sit far apart in terms of their appeal and clientele. Where the Salisbury aspires to gastropub cuisine, the Beaconfield might offer up some pork scratchings. While the Salisbury's studenty crowd goes in for overpriced and underflavoured Czech beers, the Beaconsfield regular's focus is more on decent and well priced ales. Whle the interior of the Salisbury if beautiful and pristine, that of the Beaconsfield must have been similarly beautiful a hundred years ago, but could now benefit from a bit of a scrub up. And in the time it takes your mate to get served by the preening bar staff at the Salisbury, you could nip down to the Beaconsfield, have a pint and a chat with the friendly staff and be back at the Salisbury by the time he's got your drinks to the table.

Happily there is a place for both pubs on the ladder, but something tells me that the Beaconsfield will go the way of the Salisbury one of these days, and the area won't necessarily be the better for it. So go now while it still retains its quiet charm.

Note that while the Beaconsfield is usually a quiet spot, Friday night is very busy when they have a good selection of live music.

The Beaconsfield
357-359 Green Lanes
London
N4 1DZ

Tel: 020 8800 2153

LINKS
Beerintheevening Reviews

The Salisbury

Since this previously down-at-heel boozer re-opened in early 2005 the Salisbury has provided a real boost to the drinking options of the area. The vast, beautifully restored gin palace of an interior provides four quite distinct areas each with their own vibe. The kitchen produces an excellent menu of gastropub style food, there's a good selection on the juke box and a decent range of beers are on sale, including Czech Litovel brand lagers and Fullers' ales. Live music is often played in the back bar including regular Sunday evening jazz sessions, and on Monday night there's a good, well-attended pub quiz. Long hours are kept, until 1.30 or 2.00 from Thursday to Saturday.

So far so promising, and for all the above reasons, the Salisbury must rank as one of the best pubs in North London.

On the downside though, The Salisbury is is surely one of the most expensive pubs in North London, with an average pint tipping over the three quid mark. At busy times the bar is often woefully undermanned, occasionally by staff with a somewhat Soviet approach to customer service.

On balance though, it's a winner. Try it out for yourself and see what you think.

The Salisbury
1 Grand Parade
London
N4 1JX

Tel: 020 8800 9617

LINKS
Beerintheevening Reviews

The Garden Ladder

The Garden Ladder is the latest addition to the pubs of the area, replacing the Indian restaurant Yasmin which previously occupied this location. After opening in the autumn of 2006 it quickly became a local favourite offering a combination of excellent, well-priced food and a friendly atmosphere. The modern, bright style, big windows and attractive decor is in marked contrast to the other pubs of Green Lanes, and presumably aims to attract a younger, more female clientele.

The beers, (Directors and a weekly guest ale) are well kept and reasonably priced at around £2.65. Lager drinkers have the options of San Miguel or Kronenbourg as well as a range of bottles. A good selection of wines is also available from £10.00 up, and a range of cocktails are served for around a fiver.

The Garden Ladder really stands out for its food though. Sandwiches and light meals are available for £3-£6 at lunchtime, while the evening menu offers a good choice of main courses all under £8.00 including staples such as burgers, pasta and chilli as well as more adventurous weekly specials such as a trio of fish, noisette of lamb with roasted vegetables. Excellent starters and desserts also appear on the a la carte and specials menu from around £2.50 Sunday lunch is served carvery style for £7.95.

There is occasional live music on a Monday night, and a DJ at weekends, when the pub is open until midnight.

The Garden Ladder
501 Green Lanes
N4 1AL

Tel: 020 8348 8553

LINKS
Beerintheevening Reviews

The Harringay Ladder

The Harringey Ladder is the name used to describe the area in North London bounded by Green Lanes, Turnpike Lane, Wightman Road and Endymion Road. Have a look at the map to see why it got the name.

The "rungs" of the ladder are all residential streets, as is Wightman Road. Green Lanes is where you'll find a half mile or so of shops, restaurants and pubs, many of which are open around the clock.

Transport links to the area are excellent. The Ladder is served by two tube stations on the Picadilly Line, Manor House and Turnpike Lane, two British Rail stations, Harringay and Hornsey with routes into Liverpool Street and Kings Cross, and buses including the 29, 341, 141 and W5.

About LadderLife

Welcome to LadderLife, a blog dedicated to the eating and drinking establishments of the Harringay Ladder.

Until very recently, there were few places to eat out around the Ladder that didn't feature a revolving kebab stand in the window. Now there's nothing at all wrong with that - in fact the kebabs in the area are some of the finest around - but if you wanted a more varied diet, then you had to go further afield into Stoke Newington, Crouch End or Islington. Similarly the pubs were largely uninviting, cafes were limited to greasy spoons, and a decent cup of coffee was hard to find.

That's slowly changing as a number of new bars, restaurants and cafes have opened up in the last year or two. The Ladder now boasts an excellent pizzeria, a tapas bar, a couple of great pubs serving cood food and drink, and a number of inviting cafes.

Most of these new places seem to quickly become popular, so the demand is clearly there. The purpose of this blog is to encourage more people to try these places, to share their experiences, and ultimately to create more demand for a further variety of options. By supporting the local establishments, we can make the Ladder an even better place to live than it already is.