We are going to end the week getting to know a place that has attracted our attention a lot and that will surely also attract yours. It is a restaurant located in London that is inside a jail. However, this is not the only thing that makes the gastronomic place special. And it is managed and cared for by a group of prisoners. Yes! Yes! As you are reading it!
The Clink restaurant, which has just completed one year in operation, is having great success and has even received a high rating on the TripAdvisor portal, a website that is responsible for drawing up lists of the best places in the world based on opinions of the users. Do you want to know more details about this curious restaurant? Well, do not miss anything that we tell you below!
A haute cuisine restaurant
Since it opened its doors, The Clink, located inside Brixton jail, south London, has wanted to look as close as possible to a haute cuisine restaurant and the truth is that it has succeeded more than anything else. It has the approval of food critics and, best of all, diners.
Facilitate the reintegration of prisoners
It is the third restaurant located inside a prison in the United Kingdom. Both The Clink and the other two locations, located in Surrey and Cardiff prisons, are run by The Clink Charity , a charity that aims to facilitate the reintegration of inmates into the restoration area once they are released from prison through from Clink’s Five Step Program. It is about educating them and offering them the right skills and tools so they can have a job when they are released. Best of all, the initiative has the support of prestigious chefs, such as Giorgio Locatelli and Antonio Carluccio.
Although it may seem hard to believe, real prisoners work in the restaurant. In total, 24 prisoners participate annually, all of them nearing the end of their sentence. The objective is very clear: to reduce the cases of recidivism . And the truth is that it works, since of the 88 prisoners who went through the Clink program in 2012, only one relapsed.
No alcohol, yeast and mobiles
The service that inmates provide at The Clink Restaurant is of high quality. Of course, it must be borne in mind that there are several things that are prohibited on the premises. For example, you will not find alcohol or yeast in their drinks and dishes. Mobile phones are not allowed either. To make sure you don’t enter the phones with you, they can proceed to register you . As if these security measures were not enough, to reserve a table it is necessary to complete an online form and go through a screening. In this way, an attempt is made to prevent relatives or friends of the prisoners from entering the restaurant. Another curious fact and, at the same time, quite logical, is that the cutlery is made of plastic.
Around 30 euros
Prisoners, who are not allowed to eat in the restaurant, charge 12 pounds a week. Also, keep in mind that all of them are in jail for minor offenses and, of course, voluntarily apply to the program. As for the price, a three-course meal and coffee costs around 30 euros. Not bad at all for a unique experience with which charity work is done. In addition, the place, with slate walls, is the coolest and has capacity for 120 people.