Restaurant in a London prison run by prisoners

We are going to end the week knowing a place that has caught our attention a lot and that surely will also call yours. It is a restaurant located in London found inside a prison. However, this is not the only thing that makes the gastronomic place special. And it is managed and attended by a group of prisoners. Yes! Yes! As you are reading it!

The restaurant The Clink, which has just completed one year in operation, is having great success and has even received a high qualification on the portal TripAdvisor, website that is in charge of preparing lists of the best places in the world based on the opinion of users. Do you want to know more details about this curious restaurant? Well, do not miss anything we tell you below!

A haute cuisine restaurant

Since it opened its doors, The Clink, located inside the prison of Brixton, in South London, has wanted to look as much as possible of a fine-dining restaurant and the truth is that it has more than succeeded. It has the approval of food critics and, best of all, diners.

Facilitate the reintegration of prisoners

It is the third restaurant located within a prison in the UK. 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 prisoners into the restoration area once they leave prison through the 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 free. 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 whom are about to finish 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 in 2012 went through the Clink program only one repeated.

No alcohol, yeast and mobiles

The service that the inmates offer at The Clink Restaurant is of high quality. Of course, it should be borne in mind that there are several things that are prohibited in the premises. For example, you will not find alcohol or yeast in their drinks and dishes. Mobile phones are also not allowed. To make sure you don't enter the phones with you, they can proceed to register. As if these security measures were not enough, to reserve a table it is necessary to complete an online form and go through a screen. In this way, attempts are made to prevent relatives or friends of 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

Inmates, who are not allowed to eat in the restaurant, are charged £ 12 a week. In addition, it must be taken into account that they are all in jail for minor crimes and, of course, they present themselves to the program voluntary. As for the price, a three-course meal and coffee costs around 30 euros. It is not bad at all for a unique experience with which charitable work is done. In addition, the premises, with slate walls, are the most cool and it has capacity for 120 diners.

Inside the Italian prison where inmates serve time--and food (May 2024)