The finishing touches are being applied before an opening next week. I just met Ali, the proprietor of the new burger takeaway in the old Jollibee opposite Forest Hill station - he is convinced that his 5G burgers are going to be a big hit! I hope it goes really well.
A little googling indicates they specialise in smash burgers and an existing branch in Dagenham has an average of 4.7 stars on 500 reviews, which is encouraging.
If they’re looking to corner Forest Hill’s gourmet burger coven (we exist) then I advise them to follow Fallow’s take on it.
5G? I’m sure they’ll get a great reception 
My favourite is Honest Burger, but I have to say that 5G’s offerings on Just Eat are making my mouth water - and their prices look sensible!
So whilst I’m sorry to have to admit that I was very disappointed with MeatLiquor, now that they’ve quit I think that 5G will fill the Forest Hill burger void with, dare I say it, an improved and good value for money offering.
I wish them the very best of luck!
I’ve just looked at the menu too and agree they look very promising. They also have a knock off of Minneapolis’s famous juicy lucy, which I’ve never seen outside of Minnesota. It’s a double patty stuffed with cheese and is amazing. And as you say at a fair price.
Oh I’m sad that Forest Hill now no longer has a chip shop. I had my fingers crossed it was going to be re-opening as one. I wish them the best of luck though.
It’s a real shame that the traditional ‘Chippy’, which has always provided us with a reasonably-priced bit of grub in the past, has become a victim of various inflationary pressures, which have made buying fish ‘n’ chips something that you have to think twice about now.
Since around the beginning of 2022 (before the Ukraine invasion) wholesale fish prices have tripled, as has commercial electricity, potatoes and cooking oil have more than doubled and business rates are up by nearly 50%.
So, unfortunately, unless the shop is in a location that can offer the turnover required to sustain all of that (plus staff if the business is of a size) and a profit, it doesn’t work.
I know - I think somewhere that served fish and chips as good as Brockley’s Rock or Joseph’s on Lordship Lane would clean up around here, but it sadly wasn’t to be on this occasion…
Hard to believe that this signage is allowed in a Conservation Area. But perhaps it’s an improvement on the previous:
The Council did agree to take enforcement action regarding the plastic side panels covering the heritage plaster portico, but that was two years ago.
Hideous!
garish signage and those generic food images really put me off going in some places.
How is that allowed in a conservation area?
It isn’t / wasn’t, and there was an objection. The issue is enforcement I’m afraid. And that comes down to (Lewisham’s) resources.
On a different note, the facade behind those signs looks amazing and I hadn’t noticed it before. I wonder if someone has a photo of it without the signage?
I have a recollection of asking Steve Grindlay about it many years ago. “The Forest Hill Meat Market” was the original sign, spanning two shopfronts.
A couple of photos from Steve’s archive collection on the Sydenham Society website:
https://sydenhamsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DevonshireRd_Meat-market.jpg
https://sydenhamsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DevonshireRd_010.jpg
Syd Soc’s page has a good range of FH photos:
And priorities, and management.
Is 5G open yet for business?
Is it me or does the sign look like 56 Burger?
Sorry but, it’s just you 
Yeh, something like that.
I’m getting 56 BUR6ER
I’m sure the phone signal will be good even if the burger doesn’t please everyone.
If it was my business, I’d probably have gone for 7 or 8G to avoid the need to upgrade the name in the next four or five years..
