A familiar face returns to the woods as Highgate Wood café secures new lease
Visitors to Highgate Wood café will soon be greeted by a familiar approach to food and hospitality, after the lease was awarded to a long-standing, family-run operator with deep roots in the area.
Cosmin Stuparu, who has run the café at Golders Hill Park for the past 15 years, has been appointed to take on the Highgate Wood site, bringing continuity as well as fresh investment. The move follows a competitive re-marketing process designed to replace short-term arrangements that had limited the scope for improvement.
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The new lease also brings a notable change for staff. For the first time, all café workers across Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park will be paid at least the London Living Wage, a rate calculated independently to reflect the cost of living in the capital. Further detail on the rate is set out by the London Living Wage Foundation.
Under the agreement, Stuparu plans to invest in both the café building and its surrounding patio, with a particular focus on improving the outdoor seating area. The aim is to make the space more welcoming while respecting the woodland setting and the quieter character of the site.
Alderman Gregory Jones KC, chair of the City of London Corporation committee overseeing Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park, said the decision balanced fair pay, long-term stewardship and visitor experience.
“Cosmin has been part of Golders Hill Park for 15 years. We are pleased that his experience, local connection and commitment to paying the London Living Wage will now benefit visitors to Highgate Wood,” he said.
He added that the lease had been awarded following an open process intended to support long-term investment and affordability. “Our role as sole charity trustee is to act in the best interests of the charity and the people who use this open space and work in its facilities, and that is exactly what we are doing.”
For Stuparu, the move represents a continuation rather than a change of direction. “After 15 years running Golders Hill Park café and working closely with the local community, I am really looking forward to bringing that experience to Highgate Wood,” he said.
“As a family-run business, our focus is on freshly prepared food, a welcoming atmosphere and paying our staff fairly, while creating a café that feels part of the Wood and the local community.”
Highgate Wood, a 70-acre Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1886 and has received a Green Flag Award every year since the scheme began.
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