The CLF Art Cafe

UPDATE:
I must thank Mickey from CLF Art Cafe for having invited us to see the opera Hansel & Gretel and to stay for the party last Friday, both of which we enjoyed very much. It was a great evening. We became funs of this charming place. Best wishes!!!

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
Thanks to the engineering works taking place all around London we came 10 min late to a play starting at 8pm last night. The white-haired and long-bearded guy at the door, still having his tickets' box and programs on the table, willingly asked us if we wanted to buy tickets. Only when I told him we already bought 5 tickets online, his gestures changed and said we were late and would not let us in because he cannot open the door to the theatre from outside(!), and he didn't have the means to contact someone inside to open (what if there is an emergency! - I asked). I said we had a friend inside who could open the door. He said if she does it, he will not allow her back to the play. He fired "where do you come from? If you don't like it here why don't you go back to your country". I replied "I'm working hard, paying taxes, your pension and health system, while I do not recourse to any public funds". They guy disappeared towards the bar. I would advise anybody to avoid this place. There are other theatres where you can get in after a little while, and where you will find more educated people having contact with the public.

You emerge from a rather dank and smelly alleyway into a courtyard of exquisite graffiti all over a courtyard, lit up like a pretty little fairytale - the original kind where the wicked witch's punishment was to dance in red hot (temperature hot!) shoes until she died.

It's a great little haven in Peckham for art and culture, take a look, wander in for a bit of comedy/music/theatre or just a pastry if you fancy.

This majority of this venues punters are white coke heads. Just putting that out there before I write my complaint. As on reading others the venue are to quick to put people down when they actually should listen and fix their problems. I got racist abuse from a group of people in the club. It was verbal but then got more threatening. They were clearly of their face as well which made it more terrifying. Being called a n is pot cool. I know the club is not racist at all as the founder tried to defend earlier. It is just some of the clientele and I was made to feel out of place by them. I think they need to address the drugs and trying to create a more diverse mix of people as it is such a cool venue. One of the best in London.

Came in on 21st October to have a can of beer thrown at my head after 10 minutes of being there. Security had no interest in helping someone with a potential concussion and had to leave to find someone willing to take a look at my head. A no refund policy seems to apply here so if I had to rate the venue based on paying £12 to have a heavy object thrown at me then this place is 5*.

Had a really great night, but the top floor was a bit dead (see pic). They also put my keys in an envelope for pick up the next day when I lost them! Top venue and also has loads of great stuff to do in the daytime/afternoon (Rye Wax cafe etc). <3

Great venue, good lighting & drinks aren’t badly priced. Door staff are really nice and accommodating as well which is always a plus.

I had to queue half an hour to get my coat back. If the venue was short-staffed, why not warn people when they drop their coats off, so that they have the option of not using the service? Why not offer the service for free, if you knew service would be poor? Why not move a member of bar staff onto the cloakroom as people began leaving, to manage the change in demand? Why not offer to refund people's cloakroom fees? This could have been a lot better managed; the night ended up leaving a pretty sour taste in the mouth.

Great atmosphere and respectful door staff. The club has 3 or 4 floors with great djs and music on each floor. The main floor usually has a live band every Saturday night, after being there a few times it seems like they put a lot of into selecting and featuring live bands.