"I enjoy coming to this café since its refurbishment, however, there are a few niggling, ongoing issues. The first is that there seems to be a problem with the lighting along the front of the café closest to the street-facing windows; they turn off at random intervals and, weeks since reopening, haven 't been fixed. Seems that the issue extends to the plug sockets on that side of the space, too. The next is that, despite it being smack in the middle of winter, the café is often very cold. I suspect that the space is difficult to heat given that almost half of the wall space is windowed floor-to-ceiling and there isn 't a door into W12 to keep in heat. Still, I 'm writing this review wrapped up in a jumper and jacket about to leave because I 'm too cold despite the hot tea. The last is the weird dodging of deals by some staff when customers have dietary requirements. Today, I ordered a roll and hot drink which is supposed to total around £5 (I 'm not close enough to the A-frame to give an accurate amount, but it was definitely £5-something). Adding oat milk to my order brought my total up to just over £7. I can 't really help being lactose intolerant, y 'know? Anyway, gripes aside, the café is far better run and well-designed than it has been in years since Esquires initially sold the place to an independent owner, who sold it to another independent owner (who have since relocated down the road), who sold it back to Esquires. As the infamous Mr. Scott once said, how the turn tables . The new staff are impossibly friendly and upbeat, always happy to serve with a smile and will go the extra mile to ensure that you have everything you need. There are bottles of (full) hand sanitiser on each table, staff are kindly adhering to mask regulations, and the quality of the food and drink has improved enormously. I 'm glad to see Esquires back, especially since it 's so close to home, but until there 's some heating (or the weather warms up) I will probably be sticking to the independent place a little further along who previously ran the joint. I like it here, and I certainly love the staff, but currently I 'm freezing my arse off in the dark with a big mug of tea that I could 've gotten cheaper elsewhere."
