Food Feedback
Published: 07 March, 2006
January's Food Feedback brings me to The Gallery - a new Restaurant Court at Centrale, Croydon. The Gallery is roughly the same size as a Food Court but the key difference is that the offers, Papa John's, Spud-u-like, Quizno's and The Real Pasty Company, each operate and clean their own seating area in front of their kiosks. The result - no shared seating and no landlord responsibility.
Papa John's is better known as a High Street takeaway and delivery pizza operation, and was UK delivery operator of the year 2004 and 2005. This unit is one of the brand's first ventures into a mall.
First impressions were good, with a clean and clutter-free kiosk and a tidy seating area with 48 seats in total. The only downside was that the cold drink display counter, with signage for smoothies, fruit juices and fruit shoots, had no product.
The guest is offered two order points at the kiosk. Unlike its competitors, there is no pizza product on display, so selections are made from a menu at the counter. I selected the pizza slice meal option (£4.49 for any pizza slice, potato wedges or ice cream and any fountain soft drink with free refills) and was told that the food would be brought to my table.
The food arrived in stages - wedges first, then four minutes later the pizza slice. An apology was given as the original pizza slice "had not been fresh", and a new slice was being cooked.
In summary, a great product (very tasty pizza), a well presented unit, but service needs to be speedier. This is not fast food, but then again this is not a food court.
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