The Orchard - Best Brockley Newcomer 2009 [UPDATED]

Congratulations to The Orchard bar and kitchen, which fought off tough competition and a late burst of enthusiasm from the flock of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to scoop the coveted Brockley Central award for the most exciting newcomer 2009.

This has been an exceptional year for Brockley start-ups and the Harefield Road venue was up against businesses that have raised the bar for local eating, drinking and shopping, winning plenty of loyal customers and critical praise from BC readers in the process. The Orchard is a place that locals can enjoy in it's own right without having to sacrifice anything in terms of atmosphere, service or quality in order to support a local option.

The achievement is all the more impressive given the short time it's been open. Its early success bodes well for the wave of new places we can look forward to in 2010.

If you'd like to see what all the fuss is about for yourself, you might like to know that it has a late license for Christmas Eve.

UPDATE

Emily and Ed write in response:

Thank you to everyone for your support with our new venture The Orchard and to those who voted for us in the best newcomer poll- we are thrilled you picked us as the most exciting new business in 2009, especially as we were up against some great competition.

It's been a busy couple of months getting the bar up and running and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for being so patient with us. We have had a few teething problems and we probably won't be completely happy with everything for another month or so until we really iron everything out, but so far we are really pleased with our first month.

We will keep on listening to suggestions as well as learning from mistakes so please do keep on giving us feedback.

We look forward to seeing those of you who have bought tickets to our New Years Eve party (which is sold out!) and look forward to seeing many more of you in 2010.

Finally, we hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you all have a fantastic New Year