Pistachios in the Park in Lewisham

Visited Hilly Fields while in the Ladywell area for the first time to walk my dog somewhere different (we live in North Kent). Pistachios proved to be a great find and perfect for me & dog to stop for a cup of tea and a bit of cake. Food was good, service absolutely excellent. Surroundings clean and well maintained. Prices reasonable. They also cater for gluten-free and vegan on their very good menu (see pictures). Lovely to find a cafe that is dog-friendly and there are two toilets at the rear of the cafe.

This café in the recreation ground that Claygate has the boys who set fire to the old clubhouse did the residents the favour. As a result of this a new pavilion was built and included a café which is now run by pistachios in the park. The range of food on the menu is very large. There is also outside seating to watch the cricket on the Saturday or Sunday. Lee has a full license so you can also have a drink with your meal. The menu covers all types of fast food including now fish and chips. The two grandchildren had pizzas and my daughter and the salad.There was no complaints from any.of us. I’m only sorry it closes early in the evening.

Great vegan choice of cakes! Warm, friendly and a delicious afternoon tea. Will definitely go again.

Rudeness by some staff. Food good but limited. Most staff nice . Manager biased when concernsraided about rudeness by 2 member

The building itself is not having customers inside at the moment but still is doing a brisk trade in takeaways, a reasonable range of snack type food ( see the menu photo ) the staff are very good and quick with the orders. There is a unisex toilet at the back of the cafe.

I live in Deptford and often take the walk to Hilly Fields especially for a coffee from Pistachios! Best local coffee I have tasted, and when there aren't many things to look forward to lately, it's the small things that make you smile! Oh ... and if Guinness Cake is on the menu, grab a slice while you can! It's delicious! Lovely Winter views as well! Thank you Guys!

On places to visit in and around my local area I stumbled across this park, can be reached by car or as I did by public transport. You get off the bus and slowly walk up the incline slope to the first viewing point, see my picture below,a wonderful view of the transmission towers of Crystal Palace, please if you haven’t have a read of that review of the park, it’s well worth it up to you. So where was I, oh yes, so at the top you can take any path I took the right path pass the playground and tennis 🎾 courts until you reach the cafe called Pistachios, you may have to queue as I did, but this give you time to glance an eye over the menu, quite a selection for a small cafe, I had a bacon baguette and tea, found one of the many benches and looked out over the endless views from all parts also take a pair of binoculars it increases your view. I then decided to walk around the bottom of the fields then back over my previous route until I left the park on my decent to Lewisham. So in summary do just go past Pistachios,give it a visit,and your be visiting Hilly Fields forever.!!!

Large groups or just solo, this is a wonderful cafe with great views: from St Pauls and the city of London to the glorious Hilly Fields Park where it sits at the top of the hill. Coffee is good and the food is well made and delicious.

Visited again for lunch. First visit a while back wasn’t great, orders wrong and waited absolutely ages because our food was forgotten. Visited again today, took a packed lunch for the kids as the choice for kids not great and they didn’t like the food last time. Staff were as miserable as last time and again our order was wrong, asked for a cheese and tomato toastie and they couldn’t even get that right. When informed the staff member order was wrong he wasn’t actually that bothered although offered another toastie (which would have taken ages) or asked if we wanted some tomatoes on the side...not actually the same or the point. Won’t be returning again as not been impressed twice now. Also very expensive for what you get!!

A very enjoyable cafe in the park. Earl Grey tea went down very well. Great views over the park. Even board games for the kids.

Awfully rude staff (the older members of the team). Will not be going back. The longest queues — but when you know you’re a busy cafe do you make coffee one by one. Buy a bigger milk jug. Help reduce the queue - who wants to queue for 20 mins and be met by rude and arrogant people?

Service being everything is laughable as both times I have popped in- including this past week- have encountered nonsmiling, grumpy staff. I’m gonna stop in one more time today to see if anything has changed. It’s a shame as it’s a cute cafe with a variety of menu options and treats.

Neat place, welcome bolt hole in winter and summer alike. great affogato. Nice home-made cakes.free water for kids and dogs :) also selection of newspapers

We are very fond of Pistachio's and given that it is hardly ever quiet obviously so are lots of other local people. This is not a cafe to visit if you can't cope with crowds, fresh air, dogs and noise. It should be no surprise to anyone from first sight of the building that this is how it is. It stands in the middle of a very well-used park popular with families, runners,dogwalkers, staff and students from the school a stone's throw away and lots of other local residents. The menu is short and clear and the food is freshly prepared to order. I find it very odd that the previous reviewer expected a full English breakfast, as it is obvious from the menu that that isn't on offer. The coffee is good, the service is quick and I've always enjoyed the food. Long may it thrive!

Their website says: “Service is everything and essential”. Unfortunately, on my first visit, this was not the case... Bank Holiday Monday, looking forward to a good, cooked breakfast, I decided to try Pistachios in the Park. Having called ahead to check they were open, and seeing their online menu, I knew what I wanted: a full English. Upon arrival, I couldn’t see any signs of the menu as advertised online. I asked if there were mushrooms, and was given the response, only scrambled. Confused, I revised the question, “do you have mushrooms?”. I was told there was only bacon, egg and beans on the breakfast menu. I asked if the bacon was smoked, the response was “I’m not sure”, so I had to request if the member of staff could check – I only eat smoked – and fortunately, it was. I hastily made my selection, requesting tea to come with breakfast, and asked for my card to be stamped. I then went to take my seat, and saw a tasty looking sandwich with spinach sticking out. Moments after placing my order, I was fortunately able to change from beans to spinach, to go with my toast, scrambled eggs and bacon – price was the same. The order arrived, eggs were suitably microwaved, to a slightly underdone consistency than most (luckily, I don’t mind, and have a strong stomach), bacon, crisp and dry, spinach, uncooked, unwashed and just plonked on the side (the spinach may have arrived in a packet “washed”, which means, washed in an industrial factory when packed but still has lots of dirt and grit, and certainly wasn’t washed again in the café). I was expecting cooked spinach, but just went with it. Not long after tucking in, I remembered my tea hadn’t arrived. Went up to ask for it, for one of the more astute staff members to note me, and prompted her colleague, who was too busy scoffing her own food, to make the tea. The scoffing female then came with the tea, on a very large tray and just left it there, I tried to tell her, can you take the tray, but she was gone. I put the tray on a table beside me, noticed there was no spoon, and then went again to the counter, to ask for a teaspoon. I went up to the same staff member, and told her that not only had she forgotten to serve the tea, she had left the tray there, and not brought a teaspoon (or sugar) for the tea. I was met with a response, by the older female member of staff, that usually the tea is left on the counter, and customers take it when ordered. I told this older member that I had ordered the tea to come with my breakfast, and was not told anything different, and had to ask again for a spoon. By this point, I was now choking on my food, as I just needed a drink to go with the food. She apologised, but it was not sincere and came across as very cold, and not apologetic at all. A while later, I wanted to order another tea, but each time I looked up, hordes of peoples arrived, as the rain poured and they sought cover and warmth (you’re unlikely to get that from the staff, but will get cobwebs on the ceiling!). The older woman then came over to me, and said she was sorry but she must ask me to leave. I tried to tell her that I wanted to order a cup of tea but couldn’t as the queues kept building as the weather worsened – only – she wouldn’t let me speak, and kept on interrupting me, as I tried to say that I wanted to order something more. She said that “that was the nature of this café” – as if, she had a right to throw people out. I said to her, you’re not asking me to go, you’re effectively throwing me out, she then walked away, muttering something to herself, which she didn’t had the manners to actually talk to me directly. Utterly rude! To add to that, another customer, in a wheelchair, sat next to me, had to ask a fellow diner for a napkin, and he said to me, that trying to get the attention and service of the staff was nigh-on impossible. If you want microwaved scrambled eggs and baked beans cooked in an overused plastic jug and poor, bad and rude service, come here! And good luck while you’re there!

Me pareció que desde el otro lado de Londres era realmente estrafalario y un poco diferente. Estoy de acuerdo con los otros asesores que la comida debería ser cubierto aunque como ves las manos y otras cosas haciendo contacto con toda la comida. Tenía un chocolate batido y yo un bebé chino para mi hija. Los padres, que aparentemente no era el café caliente lo suficiente, pero un buen café. El entorno es tan buena y parecía tan diferentes que supongo que me remito a cualquier no tan bueno de atributos.

Me encanta este lugar verdaderamente, a pesar de las colas serpenteando, los padres y los niños y la irritante sensación general de desorden. El personal a menudo dan la impresión de estar en el trabajo. Estoy de lo que han dicho otras personas acerca de la necesidad urgente de un escudo de plástico para las tartas. Al menos ver gente estornudando sobre ellas y tocarlas ayuda mi pérdida de peso poniendo a comer ellos. Además, no entiendo por qué en un lugar tan concurrido, tienen una mesa permanentemente aparte para su portátil y papeleo! Me gusta el estilo retro de china, el agua, las plantas creciendo en el techo. Algunas cosas necesitan un afilado, pero el parque sería mucho más pobre sin este lugar.

He estado en este lugar un par de veces. La primera vez que visitamos me saludó una cola de gente principalmente de clase media de 30 madres, algo con niños ruidosos. Evidentemente, esto no es culpa de materializarse la. Sin embargo, es desagradable para otros grupos de personas como yo, actualmente soy un estudiante de la universidad. Sin embargo, en mi primera visita a este lugar que quería gritar a la mujer que fue claramente el gerente, ella era faffing buscando ad algo hablando mientras la chica en el mostrador estaba tratando de servir a sus clientes. Esperé unos 10 minutos para un café con leche, de cola de quizás 5 personas. Estoy casi el 100% seguro esta mujer tenía nunca jamás he trabajado en una cafetería olvídate de propiedad! No se disculpó, por la espera, el café estaba bueno. Sin embargo, como soy local para esta zona, decidí probar este lugar. En mi última visita no fue, sin embargo, ocupado me sirvió posiblemente la camarera más mimados descortés. Primero si me gustaría decir, dije por favor y gracias y fue amable hacia esta señora. Nunca soy grosero como yo he hecho trabajos como antes. Sin embargo, pregunté amablemente por un té verde y me contestaron con un sólido duro Sí, sé que no suena tan mal. Pero la manera en que se dijo era como si ella estaba harto de mí y yo era estúpido. Entonces me dispuse a pedir una taza de comida para llevar, y el mismo sermones sí. No podía creer que estaba en un café como este siendo hablado como a un niño que ha sido mal educados. No vaya a responder. Pero en medio de la orden de poner el dedo en la jarra de leche que supongo era usado para hacer café!!!! Personalmente, yo no puedo confiar en este lugar. También había contacto visual utilizada en absoluto. Café mejor, como señora de bien Le Delice o la broca.

He sido un cliente habitual de este café durante varios años; es un café en un parque frecuentado por familias.

Hemos estado yendo aquí regularmente por un largo tiempo. Pero estamos al borde de lo que le da el codo, o al menos mantener el orden a café y tarta. Esto es porque el sandwich, etc. llenan los volúmenes se han en más rápido que un monopatín en vicarios apostólicos Hill. En la última visita, casi me envió a mi huevo mayonaise baguette volver ya que pensé que le habían dado que una ensalada uno por error. Sin embargo, en la parte trasera la vegetación, he detectado un frotis de algo eggy o de otro tipo que debe de haber sido la abundante. Ahora, no creo que soy un solventa al cliente. Como siempre que el servicio es amable y la comida es buena, estoy contento. Pero realmente no puedo entender por qué este tipo de lugar no satisfacían reducir el tamaño de las porciones. No tiene sentido. Dado que casi todo el mundo que vaya allí es de clase media y no aviso si cambiar todas las £50 notas en sus carteras para fivers, ¿por qué no sólo añadir algo a un precio?

I've been a regular here pretty much every weekend for years. Service could be a little faster, but it is usually friendly and quality is consistently good. Nice toasties, cakes, ice creams. Never disappointed.

We are regulars to this cafe and think the coffee is great and have enjoyed a tasty sandwich there too but we just can't eat the cakes (which we now jokingly refer to as spit cakes!) We've seen them coughed on, touched by people leaning over the counter and handled by kids in the queue. It would be so simple to cover them with cloches. It's such a shame because they look delicious!

This place would be 5 star except for the display of lovely croissants, cakes etc. which lie uncovered alongside the queue. I saw kids sneezing and coughing over them; even one handling them while the staff seemed oblivious.No way am I going to eat anything from that counter until they sort it out. A simple transparent shield would solve the problem.Difficult to give a realistic rating because, to me, all the good work is spoiled by this one issue.

Pequeña cafetería encantadora con un buen café y helados. Muy agradable poder sentarse en un parque muy agradable y no hay que hacer cola para el café, y que es un buen precio. Las vistas son fantásticas.

Great food at a competitive price,love to come here for a sandwich and a drink and could sit here all day (some people do seem to ).anytime I have friends visit it's a must to take them here,it certainly fits in with the surroundings.Happy to promote this place,it a real gem.well done

This is a beautifully located cafe at the top of Hilly Fields in Brockley, with a great view.I know other reviewers disagree but I've always found the staff helpful and friendly, even at busy times. The choice of food is good, with hot sandwiches, soups, coffee, ice-cream and more. The venue occasionally hosts concerts/other events and is genuinely a wonderful community hub for Brockley. You can see that the owners and staff work hard to make it a friendly, welcoming place.Two downsides:1. Maybe it's just me, but I always find the prices here rather high, particularly for baked goods/pastries. Today, for example, a brownie square (about 1cm x 1cm x 2cm) was for sale at £1.60. Croissants etc are £3 plus. Coffee and a small toasted sandwich - £6.50. 2. "Child-friendly" is an understatement. Perhaps because of the area's demographics, the ratio of babies:dogs:adults is usually very skewed in favour of the former. That means that if you are one/two adults looking for a place to chat, this cafe may not deliver. There is literally non-stop screaming, crying, "Tarquin, put down that hummus!" etc. Families may be the cafe's main customer base (and more power to them), but if you're looking for somewhere quiet to read the paper, work, chat or anything else this (unfortunately) is probably not the best place to do it.

Our family love a trip to the cafe in Hilly Fields. It does get busy and can be slow but if you want fast coffee go to Starbucks.... Always friendly, good reasonably priced sarnies and soup.

The couple who run this are very community minded and host friends of hilly fields group (ignore map location it is at the top of eastern road se4). They invested a lot of money to run this franchise of pitp. They employ local youngsters and grow salad veg on the roof so it is always fresh in season! It is a very popular rendezvous for mums and buggies and has no pretensions. Free WiFi encourages those on IT kit. Some have complained of staff being rude, especially if busy, i.e. overworked. Space is limited (spill out into the park if clement) and queues form because of the quality attracting many people. Some have said the wait is worthwhile, exactly. If busy, ask the person at the counter to let you know when your order is ready and keep an eye on them so you can pick it up hot! It is on the summit of hilly fields so is uphill from wherever you come from and is a welcome addition to a popular park with great views.

One word: don't. There are nicer cafes with much less surly and rude service than this place - waiting for 15 mins in a queue - no apology or acknowledgement and frankly rude service when finally served. I won't return.

We can only re-iterate the previous review on here reposted below which is spot on. We enjoy visiting this beautiful place, but it is deeply regretful that the Cafe there must be run by such people. The are very much 'making fools of their clients". And do not seem to care...Also to add to the issue of the expensive 'cold' coffee described - when we visited the milk in the lattes we purchased was also very obviously off/ past it's use by date - this is surely the height of cynicism and more so a health risk to customers.>>>Advise visiting this lovely park but buy your coffees / food/ picnic somewhere else on the way there and avoid giving these people your money."I've visited Pistachios a few times and I have to say it's such a shame that for what could be a really nice little cafe they've got it all wrong. The seem completely unable to make hot drinks. On every occasion I've been there they don't heat the milk up to a proper temperature so my drink is always luke-warm. I don't think anyone working there has been trained to use a coffee machine. It's painful to watch them stop heating the milk up just as you can hear the temperature starts to increase.The service is pretty unfriendly and the cakes are the tinest pieces I've ever seen - they are cut so small that they basically fall apart as it is put on the plate.Let's hope Pistachio's improve in 2014 as it could be a great park cafe.Visited December 2013"

Nice coffee, good scrambled eggs, lovely cakes and ice cream. Sweet little family cafe in a great location with views across London. Don't go on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you'll be queuing forever

Whilst always busy, so often a wait, it is worth it. The guy that works during the week is so friendly and funny trying to keep up with orders (weekend staff not as friendly).Delicious fresh home made soup is always goodReasonable priceIt is lovely looking out at the pleasance, or sitting outside

I've visited Pistachios a few times and I have to say it's such a shame that for what could be a really nice little cafe they've got it all wrong. The seem completely unable to make hot drinks. On every occasion I've been there they don't heat the milk up to a proper temperature so my drink is always luke-warm. I don't think anyone working there has been trained to use a coffee machine. It's painful to watch them stop heating the milk up just as you can hear the temperature starts to increase.The service is pretty unfriendly and the cakes are the tinest pieces I've ever seen - they are cut so small that they basically fall apart as it is put on the plate.Let's hope Pistachio's improve in 2014 as it could be a great park cafe.

What a great find on a chilly Autumn day! Delightful boutique cafe serving proper coffee and home cooked cakes and freshly prepared snacks. Family-run by a warm and welcoming troup.Family friendly. Would definitely recommend.

I love this cafe. The coffee is great, the cakes are fab (particularly the lemon drizzle) and the service is warm and welcoming. I often come here with my young daughter and we always enjoy our visit. The only downside is that there isn't a huge amount of room for buggies and their layout means that it can get a bit tight around a table for you, babies and buggies (and for other customers trying to get around your table) if there are more than a few of you.

Stopped by with a friend, and was very impressed with how warm and welcoming the staff were, how much importance they place on organic & local produce, & how much of a community hub this place is.We only had a light breakfast of toast & a coffee, so I couldn't comment on most of the food, but I loved the atmosphere & the location in the park at the top of the hill, with great views of London.