Fields Cafe in Ladywell Fields, a South London park café that reopened in June after closing in 2025, has been granted a premises licence permitting alcohol sales every day of the week. Lewisham Council's Licensing Sub-Committee approved the application on Wednesday, August 26, allowing beer and wine to be served alongside food from 12pm to 6pm on weekdays and 12pm to 8pm on weekends.
Café's new owners and refurbishment
The café is now run by Joel and Alina Falconer, the team behind local Ladywell businesses Cafe Oscar's, restaurant Wilson's, and sustainable food shop Plenty. They took over the space after winning a contract from Glendale, the company responsible for maintaining Lewisham's parks and green spaces, at the end of last year. The café had previously operated as the Ten Thousand Hands Café, run by the Jimmy Mizen Foundation for over a decade.
To fund the refurbishment, the couple raised more than £30,000 through a Crowdfunder campaign. The money paid for a new ice cream freezer, an ice machine, and a covered, landscaped courtyard with sheltered seating designed for year-round use.
Alcohol service details and licensing decision
During the summer, the café operated under Temporary Event Notices (TENs), which allow unlicensed venues to sell alcohol and serve hot food. Following the committee's decision, the café can now serve alcohol from 12pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, and from 12pm to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The café's opening hours are 8.30am to 6pm on weekdays and 8.30am to 8pm on weekends.
Mr Falconer told committee members: "I think Fields [Cafe] is fundamentally a café. Over 50 per cent of our sales are food, we're absolutely not a drinking establishment, and alcohol is only really served as an adjunct to the food that we serve in the café." He added: "Whenever we're serving alcohol, we're also serving coffees, teas, and soft drinks, and we have a full food menu."
Community impact and future operations
Mr Falconer also noted that weekend street food pop-ups are a key part of the café's operation, and the licence is intended to let customers enjoy beer or wine with their meals. He reported that no anti-social behaviour issues have occurred on days when TENs were used, and described the café as a "busy and friendly environment." He said: "There's lots of families, lots of kids, lots of groups of friends, and that's what we've seen every weekend that we've operated since we opened." He added: "We've received a lot of positive feedback from locals, from regulars, and from customers who attest to the fact that the park has never been busier and it's a welcoming and friendly environment. It's something we're very proud of."
The committee granted the licence after brief private deliberations, concluding that the proposed hours were "modest" and did not extend into the late evening. The new licence will allow the café to continue its operations with alcohol service as a regular feature, supporting its food-focused model.
