Had breakfast at Noak this morning. The flat white was perfection. And the fluffy scrambled eggs and bacon on toast were delicious. Highly recommended.
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I’m just in Noak at the moment. It’s lunchtime and they’ve sold out of all bakery products.
They’re doing a BBQ outside which looks delicious, although I’m uncomfortable watching staff using bare hands to handle salad, buns, the resident puppy, and uncooked beef… Starting to regret ordering the £9.50 BBQ burger now… 
Great flat white, mind you.
Update: burger is tasty, no stomach complaints yet. Getting a bit tired of the shouty Irish girl behind the till bellowing across the cafe to customers and staff 
The other staff are mostly fine and friendly.
I felt the same way. The staff left in charge were a really peculiar bunch - very young, obviously inexperienced, and actually quite rude. I don’t know what happened since my last visit but I certainly can’t recommend this place anymore. Not until they’ve sorted out the service, at least. I’ll check back on this topic for updates.
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Sad to see such a twist in reputation and so quickly.
Emily & @anon5422159 do any of you know if the owners were there when you had a bad experience. If not this could possibly be down to the staff that were working on these occasions.
Personally I would email the owners to make them aware just incase they aren’t. As a local independent shop owner I would really appreciate this kind of feedback if it was me & not take it offensively at all.
I don’t know if the owners were there. I can’t believe any owner would sit back and allow what I saw on my last visit. I may well email them.
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I only saw the one lady but really wasn’t in there long as we weren’t allowed to be!
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Would be good to know if she was a staff member or an owner as this would make a big difference ongoing.
Just seems such a shame that reviews have gone from really good to quite bad, which is why I was asking my above question.
Personally I am mostly always at my shop during opening hours, but not all can be (on the very odd occasion I’m not there, normally due to meetings) so I think it’s really important to make the owners aware.
On the odd occasion (less than a handful) I’ve had to close last minute (normally kids being ill & having to be picked up from School & looked after) but have put a note in my window explaining why.
Hopefully this might just be a newish opening setback & can be rectified.
I have just sent a very long and detailed email to their hello@noak-bakehouse.co.uk address. Will let you know the tone of their response. I hope they take the feedback onboard. I couldn’t believe how the place had changed since my first visit.
It’s such a lovely venue in terms of decor, branding, the unique bakery items (although none left on Saturday midday), and a lot of the staff were fine. The burger was tasty and the coffee was great. But there are serious issues too. It’s a bit like the Honor Oak Pub - I really wanted to like the place. Great refit. But the staff they’d hired were just dreadful (I emailed their manager and he responded, but there was no change)
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Great Chris!
I don’t know the owners otherwise I would have spoken with them.
I think this is the best way forward in situations like this to try & resolve it with local businesses if they want to 
Regarding the Honor Oak I’m not sure myself, I popped in one evening to introduce myself at the start & all were very friendly - but as I use Tweetsmap on Twitter I noticed quite recently that after following all FH businesses they unfollowed all, which was quite a mystery as we all tend to stick together. Not sure if others have picked up on this & not sure if the same has happened with HOP businesses!
Really don’t feel 100% comfortable posting as another local business on this thread BUT I do like to say it as it is as a local resident.
I can’t stress enough that locals should contact businesses direct with any input.
I think this is the best way forward to see if they can work with the community & take on constructive comments to improve services.
This is my own opinion and not FHTA as a whole!
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Haha, are you not aware that some guy called #DizzyRascal (think that’s his name) records music on Havelock walk!
His studio is there. Shhhhh, was that a FH secret - keep it quiet then guys 
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I just got a detailed and apologetic email from the management of Noak. It was thoughtfully written and sounds like action is going to be taken. I will definitely try Noak again. The Scandi bun on my first visit was out of this world!
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That’s great news Chris!
I’m really pleased & cheers for emailing them to make them aware 
Do let me know if you visit again and it’s got better - don’t want to make the trip up again from Honor Oak to no avail!
Noak is temporarily closed while they replace a manager and make a few changes.
I went back over the weekend, and Im disappointed to say that it will be the last time I visit. The scandi flavours have been ditched and its now just a regular cafe. There are enough lovely cafes in FH, so I’ll have to rely on my occasional trips into west london for cinammon flavoured goodness.
I mourn the Noak of old.
RIP, Noak Scandi Bun.
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If anyone is desperate for a taste of Scandinavian Baking I can highly recommend http://fabrique.co.uk/ , their Cinnamon and Cardamon buns are really outstanding! Although not on our doorstep, its only an Overground ride to Hoxton, it makes for a great first stop if you are visiting Columbia Road Market on a Sunday.
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