Bakery on the Water — Restaurant in Cotswold District

Had a lovely walk through upper and lower Slaughter and Windrush Valley and aimed to conclude the walk at Boughton on the Water around 3 pm in time for tea at Bakery On The Water, where some months previously we had lovely tea and cakes. Today we arrived around 3.10 and I queued for 10 minutes whilst my wife sat at a table. When my turn came I asked for two cakes two cups of tea. I was asked whether it was takeaway or to have indoors to which I replied the latter. I was told something about only allowed to have the tea and cakes in the outdoor seating areas. I was quite confused and replied we’d already sat down and had been ignored for a while.

I was then told the tea would be in paper cups and was served two slices of cake in a box. I replied that was not appropriate and I was unceremoniously given a paper plate piled onto the box. I enquired about cutlery and milk I was quite bluntly told ‘over there’, by the person behind the counter as she indicated to the end of the counter.

Anyway I carried the cake and two cups of hot tea to the table where my wife was sitting. A child ran around the counter and had the tea been knocked from my hand that would have easily resulted in a 2nd degree burn on the child’s face!! (health and safety issues!!!).

The table where we were seated remained uncleaned with plates with lettuce leaves etc that I moved onto another table. At 3.30 the staff began piling chairs onto tables with chair legs on the tables. Very unhygienic and appalling hospitality.

This was a clear message to shift off as the staff had obviously had enough of the day and so had we!!

Never again!! Be warned appalling service at this place, and staff / manager reading this will know it’s all true...

I came here for lunch and even though the place was very busy, I was so impressed with how everything was handled. The staff were absolutely amazing – so friendly, welcoming, and quick to respond with a cheerful “absolutely,” “of course,” or just a genuine “yes.” You could tell every member of the team was running around with purpose, but never once did they seem stressed or dismissive. The young lady on the till was so polite and helpful, and I have to give a HUGE shout-out to the one who brought my food over. She was outstanding – the definition of customer service done right. So polite, genuinely smiley, and attentive, even though she was clearly working non-stop.Forgot to get a name but she had red-ish hair in a bun and grey trainers. She didn’t just drop off the food, she smile and talk directly to my daughter and got us all the things with ask for within a minute or two each time. Made the visit feel personal and welcoming. Honestly, service like that deserves serious recognition – it made such a difference to my visit! My table was kept clear the entire time, the food was to die for, and the prices are reasonable for the area. On top of all that, the place itself is beautiful – but it’s the workers here that really make it shine.10/10 recommend. I’ll definitely be coming back soon – can’t wait for...

I'm struggling to find too many positives from my recent visit with my wife and two friends. On a cold, wet and windy Saturday morning in February, the first thing I struggled to comprehend was the 25-30% price increase for all food and drink just to 'eat in', even though overheads are technically less with reusable crockery used in place of plastic/paper for take outs. Secondly, the reception of the staff was unwelcoming. They all seemed preoccupied or disinterested. Service was quite slow and there wasn't much attention to detail. The Americano that was ordered wasn't initially served with milk. The lady serving was about to say milk was charged at extra before realising it was an Americano. The hot chocolate was flavourless and, aside from the price increase for eating in, the food looked wilted and unappetising. With several different coffee shops and tea rooms to choose from in Bourton on the Water, I would have thought the owners of Bakery on the Water would pay a bit more attention to detail given the...