Greenwich Market Food Stalls

The street food traders have been around Greenwich Market long before the 'street food' revolution and they just keeping getting better and better. This is one of our favourites but you may need to go for a long run after all that sugar intake!

Sign up to be sure to see what the food trends in Brazil are at the moment when we will be posting even more authentic food shorts - from our recent Brazil trip.

Montfort Catering Consultant - Catering Advice

QR Code Marketing for Restaurants & Bars

Another great example of QR Codes in bars, restaurants, cafes etc. Spotted at the Bavarian Village, Winter Wonderland.

Montfort Catering Consultants - Catering Operational Reviews....

New Armouries Cafe Tower of London

The New Armouries Visitor Cafe at the Tower of London with food areas named after London's markets.

Montfort Catering Consultancy

Museum of Childhood Visitor Cafe sign

It's easy to assume that everyone knows about your museum visitor cafe. The Museum of Childhood have a better approach with this eye catching banner.

Montfort Catering Consultants - Developing new and improving existing catering operations.

Alternative Cutlery & Sugar Bowls

Everyone is using something different in their restaurants, cafe and visitor catering facilities to store and hold cutlery, sugar cubes etc - re-cycling, up-cycling... 

Just two examples - cutlery tin at Leon and recycled treacle tin for sugar cubes at Blueprint Cafe, the Design Museum.

Montfort Catering Consultancy

Rail Station Catering - Spotlight on Suppliers

It's great to see restaurants, cafes and all types of caterers taking more effort to highlight their suppliers. Sourced Market in St Pancras International are good at letting their customers know about their fantastic suppliers and produce.

Montfort Catering Consultants - if you are looking for catering consultant to improve your catering or support with a new development, do get in touch.

Bunga Bunga, Italian themed restaurant, named after the infamous parties, have certainly got a sense of humour and no shortage of ideas for a different night out. Check out their New Year's Eve Incognito Masked Ball.

For more details see Bunga Bunga 

Montfort Catering Consultants - Independent Catering Advice 

Authentic Bratwurst - Winter Wonderland

Cooked over wood.....

Montfort Catering Consultants

Carousel Bar - Winter Wonderland

Yes, it slowly revolves while you're standing 'in the bar'. Who would have thought an old classic like the Carousel would have been so popular when applied to a bar concept.

Montfort Catering Consultancy - From Catering Strategies to Design & Implementation

Restaurant Reclaimed Furniture

A great mix of old with new design and decor at the recently opened The Gantry in Brockley.

Montfort - Independent Catering Consultants

Southwark Playhouse Bar

This is how Absinthe is dispensed at one of London's best fringe theatres, Southwark Playhouse.

 Montfort Catering Consultants

Jack Daniel's Christmas Tree

Maybe not so much a food short this one....

Jack Daniel's barrel Christmas tree in Covent Garden.

Montfort Catering Consultancy 

Pub Menu Humour

It's almost lost in the subtle small print but then that's the what makes it interesting.

If you haven't spotted it yet, look for the 'disclaimer text' at the bottom - 'all puddings...'. From the Station Hotel in Hither Green.

Montfort Catering Consultants - Independent Catering Advice

Daily Visitor Cafe Deal

The Museum of Childhood's visitor cafe has a different offer each day.

Montfort Catering Consultancy - From catering strategies and operational advice & organisational restructures to design, tender support and much more...

Retail Detail

The brand new Wintergarden 'food village' at Bluewater has recently reopened.

A brand new look and updated retail catering brands....

Montfort Catering Consultants 

Museum Cafe Promotional Deal

Spend £6 or more on lunch in the Benugo Cafe at the Museum of Childhood and get a free coffee. A simple yet effective promotion as the offer must be used on the same day and what is the likelihood you may also want something else to go with your free coffee?

Montfort Catering Consultancy - Improving existing cafes and developing new catering facilities.

Tower of London Visitor Catering Sign

The board itself may look like it's seen better days, but its great to see the New Armouries Cafe at the Tower of London using humour and venue association to draw customers into their visitor cafe.

Montfort Catering Consultancy

Garden Museum Cafe Voted 6th in the World

Well done to the Garden Museum Cafe for being voted number 6 of the world's best. It shows that you can still produce fantastic food even in a small space. The kitchen and storage may be very limited but they use this to their advantage - see below fruit and vegetables stored outside the kitchen.

The quality of the food at the Garden Museum Cafe is renowned - made from fresh natural ingredients and from the garden, where possible. However, the above storage solution, visible to customers, only reinforces this further.

Montfort Catering Consultants - Improving existing catering operations and developing new facilities

Marketing your cafe or restaurant

Two very different signs - both effective and relevant...

Montfort Catering Consultancy - Improving Existing Catering Operations

Christmas Menu Promotion

It's perhaps a harsh view of Christmas but nonetheless, this promotional board at The Volunteer on Baker Street does draw your attention to the fact that they are doing a Christmas menu as well as the adjacent seasonal cocktails.

Montfort Catering Consultancy - Improving existing catering and developing new operations

Catering for Charity

Great to see that 5p on selected Pret products goes to HOPE - for the homeless.

What could your catering operation do to support a worthwhile charity?

Montfort Catering Consultants - Independent Catering Consultancy

Street Food from KERB

Montfort Catering Consultants - If you are looking to undertake a catering review, do get in touch.

Sustainable Park Catering

The Honest Sausage, in Greenwich Park, Regent's Park and various other 'open spaces'. Owned and operated by Company of Cooks, all the sausages and bacon are sourced from a family run business in Gloucestershire. The company use only free-range and organic produce sourced from small family run farms within 15 miles of their premises. They are also Royal Warrant holders, Master butchers to HRH The Prince of Wales!

There's no excuse for Park catering to be anything but good.

See also: Park Catering Advice and Added Value Catering

Montfort Catering Consultancy - providing catering advice to Parks and Open Spaces.

Barbican Lounge

Barbican Lounge - Level 1

Montfort Catering Consultants - from catering strategies and feasibilities to operational reviews and catering design.

Tower of London Visitor Catering

Historic Royal Palaces Tower of London - Blood Velvet Cake at the New Armouries Cafe.

The above 'table-talker' approach encourages a further additional purchase. A relevant product and a great way to increase secondary spend while enhancing the visitor experience. 

What is your visitor cafe or restaurant doing that supports the wider attraction and optimises the catering spend?

Montfort Catering Consultants - Improving existing and developing new catering operations. Please get in touch if you are looking for a catering consultant to help you develop your catering.

Concrete - Hayward Gallery

A cafe by day and a bar by night  - Concrete, part of the Hayward Gallery on the Southbank does great snacks, meals and a fantastic cup of coffee. The design is a pleasant change from the usual approach that now seems commonplace across so many arts organisations and museums.

The 'banana truck fruit bowl' is a quirky touch!

Montfort Catering Consultants - operational reviews, financial benchmarking, feasibility studies, option appraisals, concept development, tender support and design advice to museums, galleries, historic houses, arts centres.....

Sourced Market Halloween Treats

Make sure your cafe is relevant to festivities.

Available from Sourced Market, St Pancras Station.

Montfort Catering Consultants - Catering Advice & Consultancy

Hawksmoor Air Street

Adding to the Hawksmoor stable, the new Hawksmoor, Air Street is officialy open on 1st November. We were fortunate enough to sample the menu and new restaurant a couple of days prior to the launch.

Potted Beef & Yorkshire Puddings made the 400g Rib-eye a lunchtime challenge!

See thehawksmoor for further information.

Montfort Catering Consultants - whether you are looking for a catering consultant to develop an existing operation or provide strategic advice, undertake a feasibility study or catering strategy for a new restaurant or catering operation, we can support you.

Web Marketing for Restaurants, Cafes etc

Whatever food you are craving, you can find your closest outlet at foodspotting.com

Available also as an app, you can check out what's good at a specific restaurant or see what other foodspotters are raving about in your area.

Most importantly, if you operate a cafe, restaurant or any type of catering outlet or bar, be it on the high street, a museum, gallery, theatre, historic building, park or any other leisure attraction, make sure you are on the map.

Montfort Catering Consultant

Great Visitor Cafe Sign

It's often all too easy to forget to promote other parts of your museum to non-museum visitors. For anyone passing the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, that doesn't know about their visitor cafe, this sign is a great way of letting them know!


To read more about how our catering consultancy, Montfort Catering Consultants, is working with the Geffrye developing their new visitor catering facilities click here.

Montfort Catering Consultants

Cafe Seasonal Events

Preventing menu fatigue and ensuring your cafe keeps in touch with seasons and celebrations is a further way to maintain custom and financial success. It doesn't have to be over the top decor to celebrate Halloween, Guy Fawkes etc but instead could include quality produce as Konditor & Cook's approach to Halloween - great cakes!!

Montfort Catering Consultants 

Hospital Catering

Could this be one for the NHS? Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is Michigan's first hospital-based, organic greenhouse, producing healthy fruit and vegetables, many of which are used in their cafe and patient meals. In addition, they also offer tours, cooking demonstrations and gardening classes.

Our catering consultancy, Montfort Catering Consultants is currently working with a number of visitor attractions, where produce from their gardens is used in their visitor cafes and restaurants. Why not then in hospitals?

For more see: Henry Ford Greenhouse

Montfort Catering Consultants

Airport Catering

In our opinion, one of the best airports in Europe – Copenhagen Airport (or Kastrup) - made even better by a very large a spacious Joe & The Juice. Fantastic design (something that is not always given due consideration in the design of airport catering outlets) and a very focused product range.

Montfort – Catering Consultancy

Keep checking for posts or sign up as we will soon be posting some of our fantastic discoveries from Rio de Janeiro (the city not the airport, that is...).

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience

Faulty Towers is coming to the Charing Cross Hotel. From the 26th October, Basil, Sybil and Manuel are taking residency in the Torquay Suite, where lunch and dinner can be booked. It has been described as an 'eat, drink and laugh sensation"....

For further details see: Faultytowers

Montfort Consultants - Catering Consultants 

Eco Mobile Coffee Cart

It goes without saying that its mobile but once the gears are switched the pedals also power the coffee grinder.....

For more see: Velopresso

For related coffee articles see:

Want to get creative? Then visit a coffee shop

Independent Coffee Shops

Independent Coffee Shops Part II

Independent Coffee Shops Part III

Independent Coffee Shops Part IV

Independent Coffee Shops Part V

Coffee Cup Sleeve 'Live' Advertising 

Independent Cafe Tours 

Montfort Catering Consultants - Catering Advice & Consultancy 

Festival Food Sign

A great temporary signpost, advertising street food and other attractions, from Bermondsey Street Festival...

Montfort Catering Consultants - Food & Beverage Consultants - Operational Reviews, Feasibility & Option Appraisals, Design & Tender Support

Men’s Afternoon Tea

Men’s Afternoon Tea

We originally reported the trend for men’s afternoon tea in May 2011. See Men's Afternoon Tea - The Mandeville Hotel. Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly are the latest to see considerable success with the introduction of afternoon tea targeted at men. See recent article published in the Evening Standard: Fortnum's...where real men take afternoon tea, sweetie.

If you are looking at developing your catering operation think about the different customer profiles, their needs throughout the day and how you can develop your menu accordingly.

See also:

Paralympic Afternoon Tea

Builder's Afternoon Tea

Tea Consumption on the Decrease & Increase

Bompas & Parr's Roof Garden

Independent Cafe Tours 

Art Deco Afternoon Tea in Yorkshire

Montfort Catering Consultants – Developing New Operations & Optimising Existing Catering 

Night Food Market

Montfort Consultants - Catering Innovation & Advice

How to Increase Bottled Beer Sales

It’s certainly a novel way of increasing bottled beers sales, especially during quieter times. A modern day take on a message in a bottle but with a targeted approach, Harry's Bar in Singapore has introduced QR codes on bottled beers. Customers buying a bottle of beer can then use the QR code to strike up a 'conversation' with someone they are attracted to in the bar. According to Harry’s, patrons have purchased twice as much bottled beer since the app was launched. For further details watch the video.

See also:
Self Serve Pubs
Coffee Cup Sleeve - 'Live' Advertising
Creating Demand for Your Cafe or Restaurant
SmartDiner - Optimisation of Restaurant Bookings & Capacity

Montfort Catering Consultants - Developing New & Improving Existing Food & Beverage Operations