£3.20 for a bowl of cereal - is there anything left out there that hasn't been wankified?

[Neverbuyheliumbalonz]

So the new cereal cafe has opened in East London, with a bowl of cereal going for £3.20. Apparently there are over a hundred types of cereal and 30 different types of milk.

On the opening day the owner got a bit of stick from a channel 4 reporter who questioned whether they should be selling cereal at £3.20 a bowl, considering they were in one of Londons poorest boroughs
www.channel4.com/news/cereal-cafe-opens-in-london-but-can-it-survive

Now I actually thought that that reporter was quite unfair because there are tonnes of places in that area selling overpriced shit that are 'not accessible to the poor' so I don't think these guys are doing anything different to anyone else in that respect. However the owner handled it terribly, especially when he said 'this isnt one of Londons poorest boroughs is it?' and when asked why the cereal was so expensive he said 'its imported from America' as if that justified it? He just epitomised the 'out of touch hipster'.

But AIBU to think that £3.20 for one bowl of cereal is just a hilarious rip off, regardless of whether you can afford it or not? Yes I know, people who go there are total mugs can spend their money how they choose and its 'an experience' or whatever.

But it's.........breakfast cereal

Plus they keep using the word 'source' when talking about the cereals (if we can source it, we will sell it) which automatically puts them into wankdom anyway.

I guess time will tell on this one...

This thread makes me feel old, I remember warehouse parties in Shoreditch (early 90s). I wouldn't go there just cos it sounds rank and the last time we had front loops in the house the dcs refused to eat them.

I like the idea... but I can't get the thought out of my head that the place is more suited to Amsterdam than London?

Yes it is a rip off, but you don't have to go there!

More suites to Amsterdam? What exactly are they putting in this cereal?!

Maybe that will be the secret to their success. It'll be a League of Gentlemen-esque knowing look, a nod and a request for the special cereal.

CurlyhairedAssassin - you get all the points for a Hilary Briss reference! Hopefully the special cereal won't cause nosebleeds...

Not that they are putting it in the cereal, but that they would sell more there. ... stoners love cereal

Sadly it's the English disease to slag off and dismiss any good idea before it has even got off the ground.

That's why the US is the land of opportunity because people are open minded to new ideas and ventures as a way of bettering their circumstances.

Cereal, coffee, whatever, it's a convenient and fun way of getting people together and socialising. Not wanky. I felt sorry for the owner having to deal with some wanky journalist wasting his time when he was trying to work hard.

I'd like to go (presumably that makes me a touch wanky) and ds(10) would love it.
It is expensive but I vividly recall seeing those little Kellogs boxes, sat in a bowl next to small jugs of milk in a motorway service station. DS wanted one and I flatly refused to pay for it as it was almost £3
So overpriced wanky cereal is not a new concept

The things is, it's not even a new concept! They probably just copied the idea off the film "Cereal" which is about a cereal cafe. Good on them if it works though

How much is a cup if warm dishwater that passes for takeaway coffee on some chains these days?

Costa etc charge the same for coffee and hot water, go figure. The market will quickly decide wether it takes off or bombs.

Tho didn't they post later that once settled in they were getting involved with poor charities?

It looks very cute, I would take my kids there. Isn't most everything in London overpriced?

The suggestion that no one should open an overpriced cafe in a "poor" (it's not) neighborhood is patronizing and silly.

I'm guessing there's a massive estate up the road that's really poor in Tower Hamlets?

I live in Tower Hamlets. Most of it is council/social housing and there are not any massively nice places to live until you get to Canary Wharf or the edge of the City, where this cafe is.

I liked his response. Apparently he has been looking at some kind of link up with a local charity which provides breakfast for underprivileged kids, which I think is a nice thing to do and a lot more than some bigger more profitable businesses do. I am still a bit 'hmmm' about him not appearing to have any staff of Bangladeshi origin unless they're hidden out the back doing dishes though.

Sounds like a good idea to me. It's not more marked up than coffee or sandwiches. God forbid you should realise that your average soda is 3p worth of syrup plus water.

Seems most of the people slagging it off are thinking about just pouring cereal out of a box. But you can blend a variety of grains (and even different types of the same grain - eg. oats come in steel cut, old-fashioned, porridge, and oat bran). Then there are toppings/extras - fruit. nuts. Different sweeteners.

Just think of how many different varieties that are in your local supermarket. And then think they this (hopefully) will be fresh cereal grains, mixed in various ways - minus the preservatives, sugar and salt in the boxed ones.

And then there's porridge. . .

There is a lot you can do with cereal.

myfurbyisalive - this sort of place? So damn expensive

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33163380.html

Sorry, I'm asking if that place is nice cos the flat is so grotty

YABVU! Just as expensive as Starbucks coffee! If you don't want to eat there, just don't!

People pay the same in Starbucks etc daily for something they could also consume at home. I don't agree with the price so I simply won't be visiting. I'll stick to my cheap filling breakfast at work :)

The only article I've read about it is this one on Us Vs Them. It sounds like they weren't in any way expecting any of the fuss, it was just an idea they had and were trying out (with a lot of hands on help from their parents).

He has been critcised unfairly. Canary Wharf is also in that borough. If people want to get at those trying to earn a living CW would be better target than someone trying to make a small shop pay. It is no more than people waste at Starbucks

Although in my view coffee, milk, cereal and all the rest are not the foods which keep you happy and healthy. Stick with eggs for breakfast.

I agree with those who think this is a great idea. I'd like to go with DCs but it's too far away for us. I pay that in Costa even though I have a coffee machine at home.
I pay that for a slice of cake even though I can get a whole one from tesco for half the price. I pay that for a boots meal deal even though I can make a sandwich at home, buy a litre of pop and a multipack of crisps for half that.
Miserable sods.

I give them 6 months. A year tops.

Anybody know what happened to the cafe that gave free coffee but charged for the internet at a penny a minute instead? I'm assuming that went fairly quickly.

GoofyIsACow

'The owner will have reacted like that because he is absolutely exhausted, he has been working hard to open his new business, for some fucking wanker journo to come in and be utterly rude, he is bound to get defensive.

Oh good god... Either go or leave them alone to make a living.'

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Employing 12 people (job creation and tax income), starting new venture (bone crushingly exhausting and terrifying risk-wise), and yet so many happy to just give them a good kicking. Oh, the pride I have in being English and living in 'let's cut 'em down to size' tall poppy land