Why is Bermondsey Street so great?

The Garrison may be the other one.

IMHO - I agree with the comment that Bermondsey street shouldn't really be considered in isolation nor should it be viewed in the 'now'- the development @ the antiques market will be a massive addition in terms of shops+eateries+cinema . Redevelopment of Delfina studios and the Yoga place will add more places to shop/eat

The proposed redevelopment on recall site will be another addition, although I think this may tip 'the street' into the aforementioned too cool for school category and ruin the quiet vibe of the place

Also the position of 'the street' gives it advantages; principally there will always be denizens walking through to the london bridge station, work in the city, etc, etc. This coupled with the developments going on, the area will only get better provided the big corporates shop/eateries are kept out and the new establishments are sympathetic to the area

Whoever made the comment "walking down the catwalk in their head" (or something like that) - superb comment. !!!!!

The Mapmaker wrote:

Errr, browsing shopping? For what?
There's a bakery, but you can't buy bread....!

You see, I don't think there's anything much on Bermondsey Street, so I cannot work out why it is such a destination.

I struggle to understand why people equate commerce/shopping with the quality of a place. Its nice to have places that you can exist in without getting assulted by the dreariness we see everywhere. The lack of Tesco/Costa/Rymans/Pret/M&S/bla bla is part of what gives the place its charm. In fact I would argue that the day you find Bermondsey St to be a "good place to shop", is the day it is surely dead and done.

BTW - ever tried knocking on the door of the bakery, or sticking your head in? Used tobe until just a couple months ago that you could buy bread that way. Now they sell it in the deli around the corner on Long Lane.

Each unto their own, but for me I find that more interesting and personal than the "convenience" of trudging into Tesco store number 2,304,893.

I couldn't agree more, Osamede. I've lived off Bermondsey Street for just over 2 years and love the location. I enjoy sitting inside or outside the Village Deli and watching the world go by, in its manifold forms[though not today, I'd probably float away lol!] There IS great charm, which changes at different times of the day and, of course, at weekends.

How long I'll stay is another matter, because of the discomfort I experience in my flat [being English, it's a flat, not an apartment.....]with heat retention and lack of air. I always thought open windows were supposed to let air in [weak :-)]

But the street I love!

The three places to eat I had in mind were indeed Village East, Bermondsey Kitchen and The Garrison. Once upon a time there was The Honest Cabbage, too!

Osamede wrote:

the day you find Bermondsey St to be a "good place to shop", is the day it is surely dead and done.

Plans for the Recall site include a substantial amount of space for shops/cafes both fronting onto B St & in their proposed courtyard.

The developer currently offers no explicit promise that Starbucks , Pizza Express or whoever couldn't move in, simply an acknowledgement of B St's existing character.

longlaner wrote:

Once upon a time there was The Honest Cabbage, too!

Indeed, that is what the Garrison is now.

I've found a new reason:

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=35454

erniebug wrote:

Osamede wrote:

the day you find Bermondsey St to be a "good place to shop", is the day it is surely dead and done.

Plans for the Recall site include a substantial amount of space for shops/cafes both fronting onto B St & in their proposed courtyard.

The developer currently offers no explicit promise that Starbucks , Pizza Express or whoever couldn't move in, simply an acknowledgement of B St's existing character.

To use an Americanism, that "acknowledgement" is worth about as much as a bucket of warm spit. You exactly where that one is headed....

Does anyone know what is going on with the seventeenth century house with the overhanging oriel window?

I see that English Heritage have put it on the Buildings at Risk register as "suffering from slow deterioration".