Spark Cafe

Spark has been going for a while now — at least three years or longer.
The veggie breakfast is great and the coffee respectable. The downside is that because it’s set in the marvellous Springfield Park (Hackney’s best kept secret!) it tends to attract the StrollerDerby mum’s and it can get a bit wearing when there are a dozen toddlers unleashed on the unsuspecting patrons who just want a quiet read of the paper!
It gets super busy on sunny summer afternoons but there’s a large overspill area out front on the grass with great views over the Hackney Marshes. Pretty cool.

I had a Tabouleh salad with a twist here today (not cotton wool) but a human hair. On pointing this out to the staff there was an awkward pause after I returned the dish and several blank looks behind the counter. (How dare I?) I was eventually offered a complimentary drinkto wash it down with? This I refused and was then offered the same dish again? No Thanks.
When I insisted that I would prefer my money back I was initially told that the staff did not have the authority to issue a refund? They seemed adept enough to take my money in the first place, I’m sure that they could master this process on the PDQ machine.
Then I was accused of planting the hair myself and of doing so in order to obtain a free meal (Because I had eaten more than half of the dish?) Sorry next time I’ll have a good root around first shall I? Or then again maybe there won’t be a next time.
No apology, no customer service skills, poor kitchen hygienenext time i’ll take a picnic thanks.
(The one star is because you have to enter at least one to publish this review)

Spark’s based inside the big mansion house sitting at the top of Springfield Park and is one of several cafes on that stretch of the River Lea (there’s a proper caff at the bottom of the hill at the Rowing Club, plus a new «Pistachios In The Park» opened up in Markfield Park nearby. Food is caff-​plus — ie not just bog-​standard omelettes, but feta and spring onion omelettes, plus good salads, pastas, sausage sandwiches etc. all with quirky/​interesting combinations.
Food quality is generally excellent — it’s not fancy, but thought has clearly been put into making the menu interesting while playing to strengths and the food is tasty, with reasonable portion sizes. The staff are nice, clientele nice too, if a bit trendy Hackney/​Stoke Newington/​yummy mummy. And the views overlooking the Lea plus scuffed floorboard vibe works really well — particularly in the winter, when you can come in from a walk for a steamy cup of coffee to warm up to a real fire.
The only letdown? Service times — queues in the summer particularly can be horrendous, and food can take ages to come out. Even on a recent winter day with only four tables on the go there was a significant wait for meals. So avoid if you’re in a rush!