the electric elephant cafe
Louisa opened this cafe in 2008 at gun point. She invited the Mayoress of Southwark & local Cllr Caroline Pidgeon to cut a ribbon so that she couldn't back out at the last minute! Recently unemployed and with no prospects, she had no choice but to go for it when offered the premises & the rest is history! For the first three years this was only the front half of the shop. The only things she knew to bring were - cooking taught by her mother and grandmother, and the name (after a local cinema The Elephant Electric on London Road).
Over the years, the menu expanded and the cafe earned a reputation for the best food around and excellent customer service.
We are the pitstop for the Pullens Yards Open Studios events.
In 2019 Louisa made the cafe vegetarian and vegan, due to climate change and animal welfare, and became vegetarian herself. The cafe gained many vegan customers.
During lockdown, the cafe stayed open, selling fruit and veg, a deli counter and delivering orders on her old post office bike. After lockdown, she scaled down the menu to make life easier.
There's still plenty of delicious food on offer and in the face of relentless gentrification, we pride ourselves in having customers from all walks of life and that it reflects Louisa's independence and indominitable spirit !
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.jpg "The Electric Elephant Cafe interior")