Sais Cafe at Bounds Green

Does anyone know what has happened to Sais Cafe by Bounds Green Station? It was a very good place when it first opened... but has looked shabby recently... now I think it's closed.

It used to be handy for a hot drink on a cold morning.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Davenport on February 3, 2012 at 13:09

I think the windows got so dirty it would put most people off. Having the 'wheel clampers' sat outside all the time wasn't over welcoming either. Shame though, it had potential that was never harvested. If it has closed I'm sure there will be another take-away outfit waiting to jump in.

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Permalink Reply by Laurence Hopkins on February 3, 2012 at 13:26

With all due respect to the (potentially previous) proprietor, I think locals deserve a better quality coffee house. I went once and never again after my 'free', stale, 'mini-croissant' and the selection of petrol station sandwiches that doubled as an ant colony.

However, like Laura I fear that it will either reopen as an estate agent or takeaway.

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Permalink Reply by Max on February 3, 2012 at 14:38

I was asking myself the same question this morning.

I used to go there every morning for a few months after it opened. The guys who were running it were quite nice, the coffee reasonable, and the service fairly good. Then, it looks like it was ran by different people. The quality of the coffee went down, and the service was awfully slow, and most of the time they got your order wrong.

I agree that we don't need another take-away place! They make the area look so sordid, and they attract the kind of people who just love littering after they've eaten.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Davenport on February 3, 2012 at 15:07

Sais is a very very small site. What would we like to see there and what would we actually use? Great to say local 'deli' but would enough people use it for a profit to be made? There are stacks of entrepreneurs locally, anyone fancy taking Sais on, cleaning the windows and doing something useful with it?

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Permalink Reply by Max on February 3, 2012 at 15:11

A nice and welcoming coffee place would be nice, with good quality coffee & food, everything that Sais Cafe wasn't.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Williams on February 3, 2012 at 16:11

Yes, I think the fact that the wheel clampers tended to hang out there and probably too many altercations outside with unsuspecting motorist getting stung by the “security” cause it to close.

I remember it being a nice little Florists back in the day, but nothing for the better will happen whilst the land owner car parking restrictions are in place. Haringey should step in and sort this out.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Dawson on February 4, 2012 at 12:38

I was sorry to see the cafe close, but not surprised. The coffee was actually very good, but the food wasn't. I think the main problem was that the two guys who worked there did not actually own the place, so they were amiable enough, but showed no initaitive whatsoever, not least to clean the loo, which ended up being disgusting. Once a spiral of declining sales sets in, i guess it is very difficult to reverse. No idea what the owner was doing about any of this.. I entirely agree about the clampers - they really are parasites.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Perry on February 4, 2012 at 13:59

Yes...poor old Sais. I was so thrilled when they first showed up. The almond croissants were great! But that lasted about a month, and then the quality declined quite rapidly. I remember ordering a decaf, and they gave a an ultra watered down regular coffee, explaining to me that was the best way to do decaf. It was then that I knew, Sais's days were numbered. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did, actually. And the clampers outside! A few of my massage therapy clients have been dinged by them, especially at night when the signs indicating that you can't park there are nigh on impossible to see. I cringe when they come back and report that to me. It just makes our neighbourhood seem really unfriendly and uninviting. (By the way, I've heard that if they clamp your car, you can call the police and have them sort it out, as the clampers actually have no real authority to charge you...not sure if this is true. But I do think people end up paying because those fellas look pretty darn intimidating...) As I do my daily and endless collection of the fast food litter from our drive, I find myself wondering what will go into that shop. I pray on behalf of all chickens that it's not some other fast food joint. Bounds Greeners deserve something better than that....

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Permalink Reply by Laura Davenport on February 4, 2012 at 15:04

So there is a demand for decent coffee, quality food in a clean environment but minus the clamper chaps sitting around. Maybe also selling real bread and cakes? Any takers?