Forum Topic

Terracotta Deli and Cafe Disappointment

I have been meaning to try it since it opened and this morning I did. How was it? Disappointing. The manager/owner spoke aggressively and sarcastically to his staff, who in turn didn't seem to know what they were doing, or if they did, were so afraid of their boss it hindered their ability to work with confidence. I think there were three serving staff, in addition to the owner/manager, which seemed too many. I wanted to give my order at the counter and then find a place to sit, but a waiter told me to sit and then brought over a menu. Unnecessary and time-consuming. The system in Munson's works better: walk in, decide what you want, order, then wait for the order to arrive.I ordered a latte. It came with chocolate sprinkled on top. When I asked why, the waitress said, in an ignorantly pleasant manner, that this was how latte is made. Also, it was cold. I'm not one of these people who want their milk to be scolding, it ruins the flavour of the coffee when made this way, but this coffee was just about tepid. The waitress replaced it immediately. The coffee flavour was average.I was charged £2.50 for the coffee. I thought the price was £1.80 (maybe the sit- down price was more, but this wasn't stated). I was hoping the owner/manager would ask me how the experience was so I could give him some feedback. After all, I want our independent establishments to succeed, but he didn't even thank me for my custom or say goodbye.Terracotta is a good-looking deli and coffee shop but the service, quality of coffee and the attitude of the owner/manager to his staff  means I won't be returning. Perhaps if the owner/manager had spent his energy of training his staff to the standards he and the customer expects he wouldn't have to chastise them when they made mistakes.Can anyone recommend a coffee shop in Northfields where one can guarantee a very good cup of coffee in nice surroundings?

Darren Halford ● 6471d25 Comments

Wasn't this the original thread? - haven't re-read it but seem to recall it was a hoot.

Sara Nathan ● 5497d

You are trying to be amusing? Offensive? Both?What impression of yourself do you wish to convey?(Wait!, I know. "Yah! Boo! Don't care, I am six years old - and a half")The bar is very low and you still limbo underneath it.

Keith Welham ● 6399d

sensible people? or just thoroughly boring?I know of a lot of sensible people who work through the night. Doctors, nurses, police, ambulance people, fire men.........list goes on endlessly!I bet your wife tells you to go to bed! do you manage to "stay up" and watch the nine o'clock news?Or has your horliks worked it's magic by then?P.s does your wife tuck you in?

Judyta Zablocka ● 6399d

What 5 minutes x day?

Judyta Zablocka ● 6399d

Somnambulism, maybe. A lot of the activity seems to occur when sensible people are asleep.

Keith Welham ● 6399d

If Terracotta is so busy how is it that the owner can spend so much time on this forum?

Jean Gilmore ● 6400d

Like predicted, another very busy day at Terracotta!!thankyou!!!

Judyta Zablocka ● 6400d

Thankyou! Once again we are the hot topic! Bad publicity is still publicity and I'm looking forward to another busy day.Cheers mate!

Judyta Zablocka ● 6402d

Bumped for Judyta's benefit

Paul Cavanagh ● 6402d

hiYou're of course right that you don't *have* to bring your buggy inside, but realistically you'd be very unlikely to feel comfortable leaving it outside so most mums with kids would be likely to consider going elsewhere, even if they didn't really want to.I know what you mean about massive buggies though - not user friendly on the captial's crowded buses and streets.

Leon Markham ● 6432d

Um - perhaps I am being pedantic but by reading your post, it's not thta they do not welcome children, its just that they want buggies and prams left outside - two different things entirely.I know its not ideal, but I imagine they did it because of fire regs(part of my job is H&S so I am highly aware of these things). From memory the deli is very narrow, and buggies would inevitably clog the primary fire route. Many buggies these days are a ridiculous size and parents do not seem keen to fold them up. Asking patrons to leave them outside is not ideal though, especially as there seem to be lots of light-fingered people about and obviously the weather doesn't help.Have to agree about the comment about the wine though - what a patronising comment!!

Trizia Fiorellino ● 6433d

Sad to read negatives about Terracotta in Northfields.  It's a nicely appointed little shop, lets hope the owner changes his attitude to customer service and prices.  :-(

Gerry Tan ● 6433d

We were absolutely over the moon when we saw the sign for Terracotta (even before it opened) - an Italian deli on Northfields - what could be more perfect.The reality though has been very disappointing - the first time I went in there I tried to pass the time of day with the proprietor - I asked him whether he was going to stock wine and his answer was "yes, but only to drink in as people around here couldn't afford to buy my stuff, it's too good".  I thought that this was mildly patronising and also a little insane - if I can't afford to buy your wine to take home, how can I afford to buy it to drink in?  Maybe he meant that people are used to spending say 20 quid on a bottle of wine in a restaurant but would only spend say 7 quid for one to drink at home.  Anyway - we had some pretty nice but very expensive food from there - but last week he did something mad!  There is now a sign in the window asking people to leave their prams outside!  Now - not being funny - you may well feel that prams get in the way, but mummies with buggies make up a huge percentage of the business on Northfields avenue, and it's an ITALIAN deli.  I've had experiences in English cafes where they ban prams but leave bowls of water for your dog, but the idea of an Italian establishment where they don't welcome children is quite unbelieveable.  Possibly this is an insidious racial stereotype but every Italian restaurant, cafe or deli I have ever been to is incredibly welcoming to children and everyone feels comfortable walking over to coo over your little bambina/o.Anyway - if you've got this far thank you for reading my rand - I don't think I realised how this this was annoying me...There is a sign up in the window saying they have gone on holiday for two weeks - maybe when they come back they will give some thought about how to give Northfields the high-class Italian Deli experience it so richly deserves.

Leon Markham ● 6434d

I've only been to Terracotta once, and that was once too many. It's a complete rip-off - such a shame.

Alex Weel ● 6443d

They do: they sell the small Pugliese and Integrale loaves at £2.29 each, among others.

Neil Munro ● 6445d

Waitrose don't stock Exeter Street Bakery bread. That bread is only available in the Farmers Market and Munsons.

Nadia Shaw ● 6445d

Another recommendation for the Pugliese bread at the Farmers Market. Very authentic. £2.60 for a large loaf (it really is quite large - I need to slice and freeze it to get my money's worth) and I think they do a smaller one for less.Haven't been into the new deli yet, shame about the polarised reports.

Mark Dudley ● 6445d

I'm very surprised to read this and other fairly negative comments about Terracotta.  I shop there frequently and I can honestly say that my experience has been completely different.  I find the people there very helpful, and the produce is absolutely first class: sure it is more expensive than in Tesco across the road, but it is much higher quality.  And the Pugliese bread - which I agree is excellent - is cheaper than the same bread (Exeter Street Bakery) in Waitrose.

Neil Munro ● 6445d

Thanks Nadia - we do like 'REAL' bread and will try your helpful suggestions.

Gerry Tan ● 6461d

Gerry - If you liked Pugliese bread not sure if you know that they have it at the Farmers Market(Exeter Street Bakery have their own stall there). Munsons also sell Exeter Street bread if you can't wait for the weekend. And I find that Carluccios Pugliese is also nice too.

Nadia Shaw ● 6461d

Sad to say, we were disappointed with Terracotta too. When they first opened, we bought some lovely bread there - the owner told us it was bread in the Southern Italian style, Puglia bread, but it was very expensive though very tasty.  Lately we bought some Danish pastries - they were dry and tough to cut - so unlike the delicate and tasty Danish we get at Chantals in the shopping centre. And the price was extortionate. Also the manner of the owner left a lot to be desired - he needs to go on a customer service course to be pleasant and helpful to his clients.  The slices of his Bologna sausage was dry and past it's best and we didn't rate the small tub of olives either.  It's sad to have to report bad things about a local shop - lets hope Terracotta in Northfields improves.  :-(

Gerry Tan ● 6461d

The porchetta and salami I bought from there was nice, unfortunately it wasn't a nice experience buying them!Thanks for the info on nifeislife.com. Had a look last week and it looks good.I usually go to Camisa and Lina stores in Soho for a good range of products.

Nadia Shaw ● 6468d

I've not tasted their coffee, but I found the few bits that I bought to be very nice, albeit very expensive.I also found the staff to be very nice/very relaxed. Must have caught them on a good day. I buy all my Italian stuff from nifeislife.com usually - still perhaps not the cheapest but the quality is second to none - and they deliver - quite often same day.

Trizia Fiorellino ● 6468d

It seems like we've had a similar experience. One of my customers today said she also was served latte with chocolate on top. It takes more than being Italian to make a good coffee!

Darren Halford ● 6468d

I too was disappointed by the deli. After being so excited about having an Italian Deli in Ealing.The coffee was awful and came with chocolate on the top, I am unware of anywhere in Italy where this is common practice. My mother is Italian and I have lived over there for a year so I am fully versed in coffee making.The owner was rude to his customers and whilst we chatted briefly in Italian he seems too engrossed in shouting at his incompetant staff to offer any customer service.Whilst I like to support local shops, the prices of his dried goods are a clear rip off. A jar of caperberries he had priced at £9.00 I paid £3.00 for the same jar at a good Italian independent deli in Soho!

Nadia Shaw ● 6469d