Creams Cafe Canterbury — Restaurant in Canterbury

Me, my Mum and our friend decided we was going to try Creams Cafe Canterbury for the first time. We arrived 5 minutes before they were due to open. It stated on the window that they open at 11am. We sat at one of their outside tables while we waited for them to open. 15 minutes later they still wasn't open. We could see through the window a man pottering about behind the service area and a lady sat at one of the tables. I decided to phone them and ask what time they would be opening as we were starting to get cold sitting outside waiting. The man answered phone and said that they would be opening in 15 minutes, so we decided to wait. Whilst waiting two other people tried the door and we explained that they were opening at 11:30. These people explained that they had dined at creams before and that they always seemed to open late, which they found annoying. Anyway, the man finally opened the doors at 11:30. As we walked in the atmosphere was very cold and unwelcoming. The man immediately disappeared back behind the serving counter and we were left standing in the entrance by the 'wait here to be seated' sign. The lady who was still sitting at the table glanced over but didn't acknowledge us at all. We started talking amongst ourselves about whether we should just pick a seat and sit down because we felt stupid just standing there like lemons. The man then shouted over to us from behind the serving area 'pick a seat and I'll be over in a minute'. So we went and sat down. 10 minutes went by and nobody had been over to us. My friend got up and went in search of a menu. I must say the food on the menu looked pretty good, shame we didn't get to taste any of it though, as after a further 10 minutes we got bored of being ignored and decided enough was enough and we walked out. The service was non existent! Absolutely abysmal! But we have got one thing to thank creams for, after we left we found Chambers Cafe right next-door and what a little gem that place is! Top notch service and top class...

UPDATE (25th Aug '21) I emailed Creams following its response, below, but I didn't receive any communication from them after sending the email. I assume their response was provided to give the impression, to other customers, that it cares about resolving its issues...

I visited Creams Café a few months ago and the whole experience was dreadful.

There was no track and trace system (covid); no-one greeted us so we had to find our own table; the orders took 45 minutes to reach us; we ordered 4 crepes and they all arrived separately and really far apart in terms of timing (eg. 5/10 minutes between each crepe arriving).

The staff got the drinks order wrong; they didn't bring milk with the coffee even though I had specifically requested it. I had to ask for the milk three times - it never arrived so, in the end, I had to go up to the counter to request it.

They also got one of the Crepe orders wrong so when it was redone the staff member who brought it over didn't check with us that it was correct and didn't apologise. When I tried to establish the order was correct, she gave me the most filthy look and replied "yeah-eh!" and practically slammed the plate down on the table. We were so shocked at how rude she was and even my 7 and 10 year-old nephew and niece commented on her bad manners.

This staff member has an Eastern European accent and is tall and big boned. Before I am accused by anyone reading this for being politically incorrect or prejudiced, the reason I am pointing this out is because I didn't find out her name so this is the only way of identifying her as she is an extremely unpleasant woman.

Because of her rude, aggressive manner, my family and I will not be returning...

I’m writing to express serious dissatisfaction with the way my friends and I were treated during a recent visit to Creams in Canterbury.

We entered the store because one of my friends was collecting a click-and-collect order. The other friend and I were simply accompanying her and holding sorbets from another shop, which we were not eating. Despite this, we were immediately approached by a female staff member who, without any courtesy, told us we weren’t allowed inside with outside food and should go stand outside in the cold. When we calmly explained that we were not eating the sorbet and were just waiting briefly, a second female staff member interjected, again in a rude and aggressive tone, repeating that we needed to leave.

We were not seated, not consuming anything, and not disrupting anyone—we were simply waiting for a pre-paid order that would have taken no more than five minutes. The way we were spoken to was abrupt, disrespectful, and completely uncalled for. It felt as though we were being treated with hostility from the moment we stepped inside.

This is not how paying customers or their guests should be treated under any circumstances. Your staff’s attitude lacked basic professionalism, courtesy, and common sense. It turned what should have been a simple pickup into an uncomfortable and unnecessarily confrontational experience.

I expect this to be taken seriously and addressed internally. As it stands, I would not return to this location or recommend it to others based on how we...