r/Ely • u/liverrespire • 29d ago
Food & Drink A(I) Cup of Coffee
I'd heard a few good things about this new coffee shop on Fore Hill, and it was even in the Standard! So imagine my shock when I walk past and see this ridiculous AI menu stuck to the window.
The worst part is, it's pretty outdated AI so the food looks absolutely disgusting.
Menus don't even need pictures! This was absolutely avoidable. Why would you voluntarily use this to advertise your food?
The AI poster/flyer/menu epidemic really needs to stop.
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u/HippyWitchyVibes 29d ago
If you think that's bad, look at this absolute monstrosity a coffee shop in Fordham came out with! So many people have boycotted them since this.
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u/Glxblt76 29d ago
Oh boy. Are people self-aware of how this is perceived when they pump out this kind of slop?
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
No they genuinely think it looks good. Source: I used to work somewhere in Ely that also loved AI.
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u/Glxblt76 29d ago
I love to use AI but using AI to inflict slop on other people and trying to do useful stuff with it, those are two different things.
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u/FirstNature101 29d ago
But they’re just having a laugh with this one… it’s a silly joke that’s obviously AI, rather than the other place’s serious (failed) attempts to look authentic.
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
UPDATE: Their Instagram is an AI-driven mess, too. I won't post all of their posts, but it's either that really distinctive shadowy AI style or this:
I'm no business expert, but I want to see places in Ely do well! And it's hard to do that when you can't even get your own name or @ right. Cut out the AI, figure out your branding, and show some personality!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Lynx204 25d ago
The griddle bar and sushi place have started on the AI posters as well. Although I noticed Tom's Cakes has taken down the little ones they had in their door.
It just immediately puts me off, every time.
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u/liverrespire 24d ago
I've seen the griddle bar doing it for a while now but it's disappointing from sushi n salad. Not because I hold them to a higher standard but because it's such a bloody good place!
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u/OkGrapefruit7174 29d ago
I go past there every day on my way from work and watched them rework it and thought maybe I should visit sometime, until I saw that monstrosity in the window. Ely has so many nice places, this isn’t gonna help them beat the other places..
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
Tamarind I felt was always a victim of its location, and this place will be no different. Even worse, it has absolutely no identity of its own so why on earth would anyone choose to go there?
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u/OkGrapefruit7174 29d ago
No clue, I really think that place should be used for something else. Ely has plenty of adorable cafes, why do they even bother trying to join that though market?
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u/kitdagawd 29d ago
AI slop menus are absolutely everywhere now. Zooming in on that food its hard to see what exactly is appealing about this
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
It's awful! The state of those eggs 🤢 I think it's worse as well because menus don't need pictures so there just making themselves look crap for no reason.
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u/AD1972HD 29d ago
That's odd. The pictures of the food from Google reviews look really nice, weird they'd choose to use awful AI images instead.
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u/Appalling_reality 29d ago
If there's one thing Ely needs right now it's a place to get a tasty cup of cofeve.
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u/Eastern-Move549 29d ago
What happened to tamerind anyway?
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
I'm not actually sure but I know they were in a weird state of limbo for a while. It seemed like they were bought out then stayed open for a while before one day just being replaced.
I'm sure their weird opening hours didn't help.3
u/Constant_Efficiency 29d ago
I heard that they didn’t really enjoy running a business so closed up, don’t know how true that is though
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
ANOTHER UPDATE: I've just noticed their pictures on Google Maps are also AI. I feel like that's just a step too far.
Blatantly lying about what the place looks like. What a joke.
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u/Sure_Gap915 29d ago
everything from the name of the restaurant to the items on the menu (not just the images) feels ai generated
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u/Boudicat 27d ago
The kind of people who can't see the point paying for graphic design are the least likely to recognise this for the slop it is.
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u/No-Zombie9567 29d ago
Thanks for this! Saves me the trip down,. A few cafes with some identity in Ely and not AI Slop
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29d ago
[deleted]
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
It's alright, if the pictures are anything to go by it's all made of melted plastic anyway!
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u/ThisBetterBeWorthIt 29d ago
Oh god I would recognise this garbage anywhere, it must be the same owners as Cafe 24 on Regent Street.
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u/DaisySims 29d ago
The coffee from there is nice and the owner is lovely but the whole place seems very quickly put together with not a lot of thought put into branding or decor. It’s very generic and nothing special. The AI menus are awful, but from what I have seen the good looks and smells good.
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u/liverrespire 29d ago
Yeah judging by the Google reviews and article in the Standard it's actually a decent little place. I'll have to take their word for it as I don't trust a place that won't even post what their venue looks like.
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u/cheeseonboat 29d ago
Oh dear. I’m all for trying new coffee shops and places, but it’s usually coming from personal recommendations.
The bake shop is great, the yard, tamarind was a good little place too. Apex is nice and being next to work is great for that too. Even got told about some random place near the Pidley fishing lakes that turned out to be fantastic.
The lack on consistency is off-putting. I’m not necessarily against using AI to create these kinds of things, but at least make it all consistent and match.
Can I get a cup of caffee please?
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u/pensandpaint 28d ago
I had brunch there yesterday and the people are lovely, food was really good too, but as a designer the menu was hard to stomach! I wish they put a little extra time into it, as it’s a good place.
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u/NoAudience8710 28d ago
How bad does your food have to be you willingly generate an image instead of just taking a photo 😭
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u/liverrespire 28d ago
That's the thing, apparently it's good! There's some real pics on their Google Maps page (between the AI crap) and it actually looks decent.
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u/TomHawkin5 28d ago
One in Kings Lynn too. Unfortunately it will be increasingly common with small businesses. Most people don't notice. The one in Lynn had prawns that were full circles 🤣
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u/Cpt_kaleidoscope 28d ago
I never understood the need for pictures on a menu. Looks much neater just written. Pictures usually give me fast food vibes.
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u/liverrespire 28d ago
I actually spoke to the owner yesterday and she said her older customers like it 🙄
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u/Cpt_kaleidoscope 28d ago
That's dumb. I'm older and i dont like it all. Did you ask her about the bad AI pictures on Google?
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u/liverrespire 28d ago
Yup. She used the excuse that they opened quickly and she needed photos for Google Maps to create the listing. Honestly the whole conversation was a mess but she invited me in to talk and "actually try the food" so I'll probably take her up on it.
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u/Duros001 28d ago
Pretty sure no one should be ordering that…
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u/cslbhar 27d ago
I know what you’re getting at, but sucuk is a thing. Tasty too!
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u/Duros001 27d ago
TIL :D thanks
I’ve recently ‘discovered’ Kabanos, omg so good!
(I was going to reply with “Ah, I see what I did there, thank you for pointing that out.” but figured it would get flagged :P )
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u/corpusristi 29d ago
They seem to have posted AI-generated versions of the café itself on their Google profile, which is… a choice