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It’s been another exhausting week in the dystopian binfire of current affairs in which we find ourselves, and you can’t help but notice that the flames are predominantly being fanned by ‘disruptive’ tech.

Who’d have thought that letting the bro-children play with matches above a combustible mix of geopolitics, free speech absolutism and algorithmic engagement addiction might ignite the whole damn pyre more uncontainably than expected?

I’m no Luddite and Camdenist isn’t a platform for moaning, but the casual way that so many aspects of our lives have been upended by unproven, unregulated often unwanted new technologies clearly isn’t proving to be a force for good, despite the efficiencies and conveniences that beguile us into accepting each shiny new thing.

Eating in a restaurant has the potential to cut through our screen-based stupor for a while, and reconnect us with what makes life delightful; good company and shared good times, while our appetites are sated by the skilled efforts of professionals.

Yet an array of tech layers have become intrinsic to the modern restaurant experience, and many of them directly get in the way of the simple joy of breaking bread together.

With each new development, from online bookings platforms to Tik Tok viral dishes, the act of meeting up for a nice meal out becomes ever more competitive, more frantic and more performance-optimised.

Restaurants probably thought the booking platforms would fill their tables more efficiently, until they ushered in the scourge of spread-betting no shows, the prioritisation of certain credit card holders and a wave of bots that scalp and resell the best tables as if they’re Oasis tickets.

There’s little room the joys of a spontaneous table for two, or languishing over another bottle as the evening unfolds, when time slots are allocated days or often weeks in advance.

At the other end of the scale, fast food joints and chains are eradicating almost all human interaction with their touch screens, apps and QR codes. An attractive lunch deal lured me in to the Vappiano at Tottenham Court Road the other day. It’s a huge place, and pleasant enough with double height and natural light streaming through the windows, but the 100% phone-based ordering and payment system felt like a grim Covid throwback. I ate with a melancholy yearning for basic light human interaction - even a bit of jokey upsell on drinks or dessert would have been oddly welcome - as everyone around poked at their handsets in silence.

Discovery of where to eat is now also mired in the worst aspects of digital disinformation. Google Maps favours paid listings, making you feel like a tourist in your own town, while SEO listicles, AI-generated half-truth blurbs and reviews of dubious provenance mean there’s little trust in your average search.

Blackmailers threatening restaurants with a flood of negative reviews if they don’t cough up is reported to be a big problem, while even ‘going viral’ with the latest cheesy, burgery or croissanty smash hit can be a curse. I read with interest that many of the more switched on New York restaurants actively avoid serving anything that might blow up on Instagram or Tik Tok, since these type of enthusiastic customers are virtually guaranteed never to return once they’ve nailed their latest video and moved on to snap the next place.

Tourists, of course, are like lambs to the slaughter for this kind of image and likes-driven marketing wheeze. While the guys at Camden’s Funky Chips stall seem perma-delighted at their ability to sell endless portions of potatoes and sauce at £9.50 a pop, there is little more depressing sight than the daily 2-hour queue of dead-eyed, shivering people who’ve travelled from all over the world to document this ‘London experience’.

At least they are going out though!

The biggest culprit of the digital decline in our restaurant enjoyment landscape has surely got to be the home delivery apps. The occasional takeaway? You go for it. But if we want more lovely convivial spaces to thrive in this city we struggle to exist in, we’ve got to fight back against the sofas and the screens.

If the bookings game is driving you mad, pick somewhere more local instead and just rock up. Try next door if they’re full. Forego the viral pastry. Consider not posting your dinner at all. Don’t let the algorithms suck the joy out of eating out. In these chaotic times, the simple tech-less pleasures of eating and drinking out with friends are just what’s needed. No disruption required.

📊 This week’s one-click poll

Do leave us a comment after voting too, as it’s always great to hear your thoughts, particularly on this thorny topic…

Last week’s results to the question: How important is a sense of place in shaping who you are?

Very! My sense of self is strongly tied to specific places
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 84%

Not very! I'm more into people and ideas than physical locations
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 9% 

Fairly! I don't feel connected with one place more than another
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 7%

and some of your comments:

“Being fond of somewhere and feeling connected to a certain place or certain places doesn’t mean that my sense of self is specific to that place/ those places.”

“I have lived in my North London house for 52 years. I know every brick, and creak on the stairs. This sense of belonging to a property and an area has strongly cemented my sense of self.”

“Lived here 60 years, seen lots of changes: cleaner air, variety of incomers, but we are in danger of getting too upmarket now. More Council housing with realistic rents is the only thing that will save us.”

FOOD & DRINK

Plenty of cakes in a row

🥧 Camden Town’s Hawley Wharf has suddenly got a passageway filled with tempting and colourful baked goods. Among the new arrivals is another born-from-lockdown baking success story, Buns From Home, which has opened under the railway arches selling their signature croissant pastry cinnamon buns and other delights, all with canalside views.

🍪 Just up the alleyway, cult UK cookie brand Batch’d have opened a brand new spot selling their range of monster loaded cookies, donuts, brownies and decadent milkshakes - plus they’ve got a second new unit over in West Yard, too.

🍩 Meanwhile, right opposite, Pezzo’s Donuts sees the Market’s established pizza crew open up a standalone unit filled with row upon row of icing-topped rings and deep-filled ‘n dusted donuts in a quirky cafe setting.

📖 The lovely, quality cafe and bookshop on the mezzanine level at Camden Garden Centre, Pritchard & Ure, are celebrating their 10th anniversary in the enviable and lush spot they call home. Look out for new menu items and plenty more books.

🐙 Romanian self-styled seafood king and YouTube star Paul Nicolau is finally opening his Pescobar in North Yard, Chalk Farm next Thurs, 27th Feb. Expect the ‘world’s first octopus kebab’ and other spit-grilled seafood at this intriguing new venture.

🍝 Tottenham Court Rd’s latest pasta vendor Pastino offer a seriously wallet-friendly bowl of pasta for just £3.95, alongside their wider range of shapes and sauces - surely one of the West End’s most affordable fast lunch - or dinner (they’re open late) - options.

📸 This week’s main photo depicts my Turkish eggs brunch at Kentish Town’s Lilac Eatery the other day, the recent expansion of a successful cafe from Nottingham. The food we had was impressive and the atmosphere laid back. It’s a lovely reinvented coffee spot, formerly Saint Espresso. Order a side of the crispy chilli, which is great.

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MORE CAMDEN CULTURE

💪🏼 After weeks of uncertainty following the retirement of it’s long-standing owner, one of Camden Town’s most iconic shops has happily been saved. Mega City Comics on Inverness Street Market has been arguably the country’s leading emporium for the comic book medium. The new owners are Forbidden Planet, whose CEO has been visiting the shop for three decades, so sounds suitably delighted to have been able to save it, and a lovely slice of the area’s identity, too.

💃🏼 Let’s Dance is a national campaign to get the whole country dancing, with TV’s Angela Rippon as its figurehead, and its being enthusiastically activated locally by The Place across next weekend, 28th Feb - 3rd Mar. You’ll find free taster dance classes and shows in their Euston studios and theatre, plus members of the local community joining professional dancers for pop-up performances at the O2 Centre in Finchley Road.

STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

❓Where exactly is THIS? The changing faces of our spaces and places

🏋🏼 As the Central YMCA closes - seeing the gym as a cultural asset

🍻 Three beloved local pubs that have reopened

🎥 EXCLUSIVE: The final curtain on Kentish Town’s 13-year hope for a cinema?

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