Little Guildford — Restaurant in Guildford

Came here for the first time for breakfast the other weekend, and I’d really been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was so chaotic and disappointing that I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon.

The main draw is obviously the back of the venue — the lovely, peaceful garden area hidden away — and yes, it is beautiful. But everything else was such a letdown.

I don’t know if it’s always run like this, but the service was awful. I had booked a table in advance and asked multiple staff members about it when I arrived, but no one had a clue or the time to help. Don’t have a table booking system if you’re not going to implement it properly. I ended up having to stand in and queue to speak to the woman at the till, who gave me a table number, but when I went to it, other people were already sitting there.

It’s not my job to tell people to move while they’re trying to enjoy their breakfast, and there were no staff around to help. Going back to the queue again to sort it out just wasn’t realistic as the quene was out the door and madness. We found another table, but it was dirty and took ages for staff to clear it.

Then we had to queue again to order — way too much queuing at this point. Staff were clearly stressed and arguing with each other, and I could hear other customers complaining about the long wait times for food and drinks. The whole atmosphere was off and just not what you want when trying to enjoy a relaxing breakfast.

There were no proper condiments or cutlery on the tables — just these unhygienic little pots of sugar that everyone had dipped their spoons into, just gross.

Only having one till in operation with one person taking every order is just not practical for a venue of this size. Either invest in more tills or move to table service and do takeaway orders via the till only. Staff were running around completely overwhelmed, and you could tell they were under a lot of pressure. It’s not their fault at the end of the day— it’s down to whoever is managing/owns the place.

There was no sense of customer care the entire time we were there, which is so disappointing when you're going out for a treat and spending your hard-earned money.

We waited over 30 minutes for our coffees, which were served in paper cups for some reason — and they weren’t even very good. The food came out before the drinks, which is a massive pet peeve of mine.

Also, the signage from outside to inside was just confusing — a handwritten note in pen saying orders. It makes no sense for first-time customers. Just put up a proper sign.

Overall, it was just such a disappointing experience. I left feeling drained — it was so chaotic and...

Note I cant rate the food or drinks because we didn't end up eating here.

Long read : the customer service or any service really were none existent, the QR code link said it stopped working and pulled up an error page while trying to submit our order, I walked up to the register to order instead and again very slow and lack of service, we already sat about 15 minutes and our table was still not cleaned after stacking everything up for them on the edge to make it easier and letting them know and the one waitress completely ignoring us twice when there were only 3 other tables 8-10 people in total at the café seated. I was on my lunch break so decided instead of spending my money on their establishment to head around the corner where it was busier but got seated and order taken immediately about 5 minutes in I checked my bank account because I got a notification and saw they had charged me so my husband quickly went next door to let them know to cancel it. After we finished our meal we walked back to make sure I would be refunded and the attitude I got was to be expected after how they treated us before, she tried to have a go at me saying why did I leave without telling anyone and I was like we tried to order it didn't go through, I tried to come notify someone at the register and she saw me waiting and she saw me leave. If your ordering system is broken it is not my fault and what a shambles if my husband came to let the same waitress know like 5 minutes after we left and she didn't even notice we were gone with only 3 tables that had people? again with attitude she was like well we made the food and its gone to waste as if to insinuate we did it on purpose and I should pay, I highly doubt with their slow service our food had been made in 5 or 10 minutes, she was visibly angered and annoyed that I am now inconveniencing her she counted out the money wrong and I recounted it and gave her $10 back as she had given me too much. Hopefully you all can try a better more customer focused approach or else with high prices and what looks like fairly standard breakfast food people wont spend their money. Ps even with QR codes on the table people would like to be treated kindly or at least acknowledged and have their tables cleaned when they are paying to have a meal at your café. If the 2 or 3 of you front house cant handle that number of customers communicate it so we know there will be a longer wait don't just avoid eye contact and hope a QR code will do your job, let your manager know you need more staff if it is affecting the attitudes of the staff and its been rubbed...

Hi Luke (Owner/manager),

First of all, shame on you.

Secondly, I want to commend the excellent staff you have working for you. Despite knowing you made a MASSIVE error In your booking process, you chose to leave when we were there and, chose to leave your poor staff to deal with your incompetence.

On the 24th of April 2025 we made a booking for a group of ladies to brunch for a hens starting at 1230 for the 22nd June. We wanted to do the lunch menu but your staff refused to cater for vegetarians so we agreed on a brunch menu which was fully vegetarian. In the weeks leading up to the event I tried to contact you via your landline, text, email and messenger and you IGNORED all of these. I had to come to your venue TWICE in person to change the date and to confirm final numbers/ask for an invoice. When meeting you I also confirmed that we were having brunch due to your inability to cater for vegetarians. I also had to BEG for an invoice. I was dealing with large group and wanted to pass on the funds I had received.

Today we came to celebrate our dear friend and you managed to screw up the order despite the multiple meetings/communications I had with you and your restaurant. You provided LUNCH with no vegetarian option. When I questioned your staff about this, you were present and, you chose to leave the premises and let your staff deal with your mess. Absolute shame on you.

Luckily you've employed exemplary staff, in particular a Mauritian cook/manager who managed the situation to the highest standard possible. Luckily he rectified the situation and catered for the vegetarians who had PAID upfront for their brunch. Luckily, HE was there to fix your screw up.

I will NEVER recommend your restaurant nor will the other 16 people who attended. Absolutely unacceptable.

Thirdly, your staff were very slow in taking drink orders. For those who paid for bottomless, safe to say they were ripped off. We even had to ask for water!!!

If it was my event I would've cancelled from your first sign of incompetence.. Unfortunately, this was organised for a friend's hens, this is what she wanted, so we made it happen.

Stay away from this place. There are plenty of places who would love your business and provide excellent...