With its pasties, decent brews and staff who are happy to chat, it’s a vital community space. So why are its days numbered?
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hat do James McAvoy and my three-year-old son have in common? Very little, you might think, notwithstanding their shared awareness of the book The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet. Yet their lives overlap in a more tangible way, because they, along with Benedict Cumberbatch, patronise the same cafes on Hampstead Heath. Both actors have signed a petition protesting against the takeover of four family-owned north London cafes by the Australian-inspired chain Daisy Green. It’s a move that has dismayed the local community, leading to protests, and threats of legal action against the landowner, the City of London Corporation, whose new funding model for green spaces prioritises “income generation”.
You’re probably wondering why you should care, either about what Hollywood actors think, or about this notoriously chi-chi part of London. And yet, like them, and like me, you probably have a favourite cafe, one that feels very special. So please indulge me in describing mine: the Parliament Hill cafe, which has been run by the D’Auria family for more than 40 years.
It looks far from remarkable. Unlike the polished, trend-led interiors of the Daisy Green cafes – with their marble bars and high stools (God I hate high stools, an accessibility nightmare that feel specifically designed for rapid customer turnover), their lush, green hanging plants and twee parasols – it isn’t designed to look good on social media. This is a 1960s-style bunker with no-frills decor inside.
