Arapina cafe on Lordship Lane

[Jellybeanz]

Lovely service, terrible vegan hot chocolate... shame as I've had pleasant lunch experiences before especially their soups.

Edited January 22 by Jellybeanz

[satsuma]

I've had fine experiences and enjoyed their baked goods, it seems a bit unfair to make a whole thread putting them on blast because you didn't like something.

Edited January 25 by satsuma

[Steve32]

Not tried the hot chocolate and sorry about your experience. 

Found it a great place to have a coffee and do some work during the week. It's expensive, but then that's unsurprising given the location.

[Sue]

I'm not sure how to link to it, but there is actually another thread on here solely about Arapina, also negative but for a different reason.

A search on Arapina will bring it up, but here's a screenshot. This is why I have never been there.

[Sue]

There was a very long thread following that first post I screenshotted (?) above.   I have just re-read the thread.

If anybody knows how I can link to it on this thread, please let me know.

It's very interesting (but also pretty appalling).

Edited January 22 by Sue

[Jenijenjen]

You copy the address in the URL and then paste here

 

[Sue]

  On 22/01/2025 at 14:27, Jenijenjen said:

You copy the address in the URL and then paste here

 

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My phone doesn't show a URL for the forum at all!

[Dulwichway]

  On 21/01/2025 at 18:59, Jellybeanz said:

 terrible vegan hot chocolate...

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Love this place! maybe try a proper one then?

[KalamityKel]

Does vegan hot chocolate ever taste good? 🤭

[Angelina]

Best way to find out is to try it

[Jellybeanz]

  On 22/01/2025 at 19:11, Dulwichway said:

Love this place! maybe try a proper one then?

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We tried both vegan and then the usual.. neither was nice.

I've had nice soups here before so will just stick to that. Probably just a bad choice on the day...

As I said the waiting staff are always lovely. 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

  On 23/01/2025 at 07:03, KalamityKel said:

Does vegan hot chocolate ever taste good? 🤭

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If it doesn't taste good, don't put it on the menu

[Sue]

Pleased  to see that the original very long and very  negative post starting this thread has been edited down to one sentence 😂

[Vasilis_M]

Wtf. The word in Greek is the “n” word for Black women. Why would someone open a business under this name? People should boycott instead of commenting on food. 

[Peckhampam]

Hi Vasilis

When I googled Arapina it came up with chocolate cake.  I am NOT an apologist for Arapina, I have never been there and probably never will.  But I wanted to ask ......some words in English for instance "coconut" are absolutely fine when you are in the greengrocers but not when used against a person.  Could it not be that Arapina is fine , or appropriate even, for a cake shop??

[Vasilis_M]

Hello,

we’re not talking about a word being used metaphorically, it is literary the translation of the n* word. The cake took its name after the slur, not the other way around.
The word is outdated in Greece and not used anymore, so I’m completely shocked that someone thought it’s a good idea to name their bakery after the slur. 

 

 

 

 

[Peckhampam]

Thanks

[Sue]

  On 27/01/2025 at 10:49, Peckhampam said:

Hi Vasilis

When I googled Arapina it came up with chocolate cake.  I am NOT an apologist for Arapina, I have never been there and probably never will.  But I wanted to ask ......some words in English for instance "coconut" are absolutely fine when you are in the greengrocers but not when used against a person.  Could it not be that Arapina is fine , or appropriate even, for a cake shop??

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The thread I linked to above explains  the background, and that the cake was apparently named AFTER the shop was named.

Arapina is a racist slur  in Greek, and was not originally the name for a cake (let alone a chocolate cake, if that is what the cake in question is. If that is indeed  the case, my reaction is unprintable but starts with WTF 😮)

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Google Translate seems to suggest that arapina is translateable to "negress" in English, which is a bit different in English to the N-word. But I don't speak Greek so don’t know if that's a good translation or what the cultural nuances are, and shouldn't stick my oar in beyond that. 

As an aside, the "choco kiss" (schokoküss) that's a bit like a Tunnock's tea cake used to be called a "negro's kiss" in lots of different European countries. It seems like it's been mostly renamed, which seems sensible...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate-coated_marshmallow_treatsl

I can't think offhand of any similar stuff in English but I might just be uninformed.

[Sue]

  On 27/01/2025 at 15:35, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

Google Translate seems to suggest that arapina is translateable to "negress" in English, which is a bit different in English to the N-word. But I don't speak Greek so don’t know if that's a good translation or what the cultural nuances are, and shouldn't stick my oar in beyond that. 

As an aside, the "choco kiss" (schokoküss) that's a bit like a Tunnock's tea cake used to be called a "negro's kiss" in lots of different European countries. It seems like it's been mostly renamed, which seems sensible...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate-coated_marshmallow_treatsl

I can't think offhand of any similar stuff in English but I might just be uninformed.

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The person who started the previous thread I linked to said they were Greek, so I presume would be well aware of cultural nuances.

The absolute kindest thing I can think of is that whoever started the shop (and I believe there are several shops) was not aware of the meaning of the name.

But surely you would not just pluck a name for a new business out of the air? Surely you would make sure it did not have any possible negative connotations, in any language?

Has anybody actually asked the shop about this? 

As regards this "vegan hot chocolate", I'm bemused.

The chocolate powder itself was surely just cocoa and sugar? It doesn't normally have any animal related products in it, does it?

So it must have been the milk which made it "vegan", so probably either oat milk or soya milk?

I regularly make hot chocolate with oat milk, and occasionally have it when  out.

It has never occurred to me to call it "vegan" (I'm not a vegan), and I've never seen it described as "vegan". When I'm out I just ask for hot chocolate with oat milk.

It obviously doesn't taste the same as when made with cow's milk, but I prefer the taste.

I don't particularly like drinks made with soya milk, which in any case curdles in certain hot drinks, but  most places give you a choice of milk?

[Sue]

Eats Dulwich has just reviewed Arapina, including its hot chocolate! 

I assume they read the original first and  very long post on this thread before almost all of it was removed.

Interesting to have another opinion!

Edited January 31 by Sue