Nestled in St. Mary’s Road in central Ealing, Tiramisu Café has been in businesses since October 2015. Owners, Martine and Marco tell us more about the their business and their connection to the community.
Tell us about your business
We are a small independent, French/Italian family run café serving fresh homemade food including cooked breakfasts, light lunches and cakes, not forgetting our delicious tiramisù (recipe from our Sardinian Nonna).
What makes Tiramisu Café unique?
Human and dog friendly!
Family run, fresh homemade food, authentic tiramisù. We want people to feel at home and welcome when they come to Tiramisù and we love to see familiar faces pop by everyday and see local children waving at the window.
We also cater to a range of different dietary preferences (vegan, dairy free and gluten free cakes) and people can preorder dishes and cakes to takeaway.
What made you choose Ealing for your business?
Ealing is such a great location; close to central London and not too far from the countryside. It’s a vibrant borough with the university, colleges, Ealing Film Studios, independent shops, restaurants and so many green spaces. It has everything.
We have lived in the borough since 1985 and love it here too.
How have you adapted during the pandemic?
Obviously we haven’t been able to have customers eating in and this was our main business. We have had to rely on takeaway. We tried to adapt by selling French and Italian products that our customers have missed from not being able to travel abroad. And we have amended our menu to make it more takeaway friendly.
We have also put in place a number of measures to keep our customers safe including a QR Code to access the menu instead of printed menu, safe distancing between tables, a one-way system inside the shop, and hand sanitisers and hand washing facilities available for our customers.
All our all staff will wear a mask and wash/sanitise hands regularly and everything is regularly cleaned and sanitised from tables and cutlery to door handles, surfaces and card machines. We also have the NHS Track and Trace QR code poster at the door.
How do you support the local community?
We like to help our local schools and charities as much as we can and try to use local suppliers where possible.
We hope that by staying open during this past year we provided a place of respite for residents, even if it was just a few minutes for parents to grab a coffee and escape the madness of home schooling!
We personally like to shop locally as well, there are so many great independent businesses in Ealing.
What makes Ealing special?
Ealing is such a culturally diverse place where you meet people from all over the world and this is reflected in the range of restaurants and food that’s on offer.
Why should people support local?
People should shop local to keep the heart of the town. Its better for the environment and hopefully encourages people to be more active by walking or cycling.
What are your favourite places in Ealing?
Horsenden Hill, the Grand Union canal, all the parks, Pitshanger Lane, Northfields Avenue. We also used to enjoy going to Gurnell leisure centre.
Visit https://www.tiramisucafe.co.uk/ to find out more.
To find out more about supporting local businesses read Welcome Back to Ealing’s high streets.
