Willows Coffee House — Restaurant in Basingstoke and Deane

I ordered two hot chocolates one with oat milk, two slices of toast with apricot jam and butter and a sourdough toastie with vegan cheese, tomato and red onion chutney. Cost £18.

I wasn't in the least bit wowed by the toastie, it didn't feel like I was treating myself, it was bland. The cheese, tomato and chutney lacked in any flavour. The fillings in the toastie weren't generous.

The hot chocolate with oat milk was nice but it was in a small mug, didn't feel like an indulgent treat.

My friends toast wasn't anything special; two slices of toast with the jam in a single use plastic container and pack of butter.

We sat downstairs and the door down there kept on slamming every time someone went through it. This spoiled my experience and didn't help the atmosphere or ambience.

Upstairs has wooden chairs and tables but I wasn't keen on sitting there as the door was open. Downstairs there are sofas and tub chairs and tables. Outside seating also available.

The service was friendly.

There were clearly labelled vegetarian and vegan options.

It's great to have independent cafes and eateries. However, for me I didn't get a wow factor in that I wouldn't mind spending £18+ pounds if I went there again. Then again I didn't try the coffee and selection of vegan cakes they had on offer.

In a cost of living crisis I want to feel like I'm really treating myself when eating out. Unfortunately Willows fell short for me on...

Willows is a beautiful coffee house with a newly renovated downstairs seating area which comes with a plus and a minus.

The plus here is that if you're with a loved one or a friend you can easily obtain the peace and quiet as well as a real disconnect from society due to the minus being very poor and temperamental WiFi. You could be sat next to the routers down there and it would still come and go when it pleases. There's also little to no phone signal so that's a point off unfortunately.

The staff are wonderful people and you could easily see that they all love being there however the service can be a tad slow. Having said that the quality of the product you get is phenomenal which really makes Willows stand out as an individual coffee house.

Also a great point to add is that it's LGBTQ+ friendly and makes it known by having flags up and around. I wish more places in Basingstoke would be more open like you!

So overall a 9/10 for Willows - the WiFi is a big issue.

Edit: 22/12/24 - It's also...

Visited this coffee place for the second time yesterday and although the first time we went we had no complaints and enjoyed our visit, yesterdays visit was a complete let down. For starters, I waited at the till for around 5 minutes while some of the staff chatted and others were doing things. They could see I was waiting with my three children. Anyway someone who hadn’t been at the till finally served us.

Secondly, I know I should’ve probably asked first, but I would also expect the staff to let me know if the downstairs sitting area is busy so that I knew I would need to sit outside. On a cold wet day it is not ideal with children but only found this out after I had ordered. The drinks came quite quickly but my cappuccino was cold. The cakes on the other hand came around 10-15 minutes later when we had all finished our drinks. The service needs to improve and cakes and drinks should be served altogether seeing as they’re all ready to eat at the till. Sadly I would not be...