Bakesmiths — Restaurant in Bristol

I've been to Bakesmiths many times for coffee (takeaway and sit-in) and 3 times for food. Nice as the food is, I think I'm going to pass in future, the wait time is just too long. Because the kitchen capacity is small (apparently just 4 gas rings for a very large cafe), Bakesmiths only operate one till. So it typically takes a long wait time to order. Apparently when they trialled 2 tills, the kitchen couldn't cope with the number of covers coming in. Then there's the time it takes for the food to arrive. The first time I came midweek with work colleagues. We waited for most of our lunch break and then had to scoff the food down when it finally arrived. We were offered a cake to compensate. My second visit was for Sunday brunch with a friend. Having waited almost an hour for our food (the cafe was very busy), we spoke to the owner/manager. He apologised and refunded our bill, which was a nice gesture. The last time was again for a work lunch. As other local cafes were full we came to Bakesmiths. Again we waited for almost an hour for our sandwiches, which we then had to take back to the office. And again cake was given as an apology. In my opinion, this is a lovely space with nice food, but the kitchen really needs re-organising in order to sort the atmosphere of mild chaos! Maybe with a thriving, wealthy local student and working population, the owners feel there is no imperative to change the model, but I won't be...

My girlfriend and I visited to seek a delicious breakfast. We live locally and have mentioned on several occasions how we should pop in for food. Unfortunately, on the occasion that we did decide to visit our order was wrong and the quality of food was poor. We had ordered two flat whites. One of which had been spilt and looked very 'watery' and lacked any foam. We asked for another and were pleased that the second attempt turned out well! Once our food arrived the order was wrong, despite our protest they stated that as the order was put wrong onto the till that we couldn't have what was originally ordered. The food that had arrived did look delicious so we just decided to continue with it. After tucking in we realised that the poached eggs were solid in the centre and not the usual delicious gooeyness that we were used to and the food had not been seasoned making it tasteless. We did not finish the food and waited for a while for someone to come and either clear our plates or check up on our enjoyment. After 20 minutes of waiting it was clear that no-one was going to attend to us, so we decided to leave. Will not be returning...

We've loved Bakesmiths ever since it opened - until today.

I popped in for our usual Friday treat. I asked for a croissant and a pain au chocolat. The woman serving said something which I didn't hear. "Sorry?", I said. "And a loaf" she replied. Er no. I said I didn't have anything else and showed her my empty bag. "That's ok" she said "I just thought I saw you holding a loaf. I must have imagined it".

You have to pass the bread on your way into the shop, as it's right by the door, but I hadn't even looked at it. We were in a rush. My husband was waiting outside with our dog and I'd walked in and gone straight up to the counter. I said she could rest assured that if I had a loaf I'd have mentioned it. "That's ok" she said brightly again, as if she was excusing me for something I'd done wrong. But it wasn't ok - that was for me to say. "Really sorry about that" would have been the only appropriate response.

At a cool £6.30 for one croissant and one pain au chocolat to take away, it needs to feel like a treat. It alway has the many times we've been before, but today's experience has spoilt...