Nelson Coffee - The Roastery (Eastbourne Café ) — Restaurant in Eastbourne

I would like to offer some feedback, as this has always been a wonderful place to visit, but I must admit that on my recent visit, I was left disappointed. Having explored similar establishments and studied the competition recently, I feel it’s important to share my thoughts.

Positives: The coffee and atmosphere remain consistently enjoyable, and I still appreciate the overall vibe of the place. The coffee in my opinion, is the best in Eastbourne.

Suggestions: Water – Given that the food here is well-seasoned, the current water dispenser situation is no longer adequate compared to other places. It seems that expectations have shifted over the recent years. The glasses provided are too small, and the water itself is stagnant and room temperature. Why not, like many other establishments, install a tap that offers clean, filtered, and chilled water directly from the mains? This is becoming a common feature in places now, and larger glasses would also reduce the need for multiple trips. It would be a worthwhile investment, and the tap could easily be incorporated into the station on the right.

Food – The menu has lost some of its appeal and quality. I used to love the pancakes, as they were exceptional, but the offering has now been simplified, and no pancake options. For £14, the full English breakfast should be flawless, but unfortunately, it wasn’t. The bread was under-buttered, and the egg yolk was dry instead of soft. Hash browns were not cooked enough. The beans were a different style (personal preference is I prefer the normal type) but at a small quantity. While the ingredients are good, the quality does not justify the price.

Tipping – The tipping process is rather controversial and seems to be deterring customers. Since it’s not table 100% service, having to tip before receiving the product or service feels counterintuitive. It would make more sense to offer a separate contactless tipping station, allowing customers to leave a nominal fee, say £1, at their discretion. This could be a separate transaction, independent of the main purchase, I have seen this has been used in other places successfully.

I'm offering this feedback in the hope that improvements can be made, as my recent experience was not as positive as before. It’s a shame, as I would love to continue considering this place...

Oh dear. Well we ate breakfast there as there was nothing else open locally that could provide a full English. So I went for the Nelson Brekkie - expecting a decent breakfast with two eggs, two back bacon, two sausages, mushrooms....you know. What came was mainly make up of thick brown toast, with the addition of two eggs, two tiny rashers of fatty streaky bacon that had nothing left by the time you cut the fat off, ONE sausage, ONE mushroom, a tiny pot of dried up beans, ONE CHERRY TOMATO!! An extra sausage was a totally unjustifiable three quid! I asked for some ketchup and was given a tatty old Heinz bottle (obviously refilled) because it contained a weird gel-like sweet pale red substance - definitely not ketchup! All this for £14.50! Disgusting. The coffee was nice, however it took ages to arrive and when our meals arrived (45 minutes after we entered) we had finished the coffees but to order more would have put another fifteen quid on the already outrageous bill. Compare this to the excellent breakfast I had at Toby Carvery the day before - as much as I wanted of well cooked breakfast items, toast, marmalade, bottomless coffee - at under half the price. I cannot understand why the place was heaving. Either people were unprepared for what they were about to get, or they had bottomless pockets! This place needs to pull its socks up. We won't be back! If they reply to this, I'd like to know how a single sausage can...

Formerly a place I would have given 4 or 5 stars, it was a favorite...

Nelson's Coffee shop has emptied out since they decided to integrate an upfront tip app in with their payment system, which not only comes across as greedy and desperate, but at the same time makes you feel really bad, if you opt out. This is a terrible business model for a café where you order at the counter and are reminded to help yourself to cutlery after you've paid.

At around the same time, they added £2 to items on the menu, and took out ingredients from the sandwiches, making them a separate chargeable side. Frankly, ordering an inferior version of a product at a more expensive price feels like a slap in the face to me...

Unfortunately, I've recently had a bad experience with the food there three times in a row now, with hot milk arriving lumpy and cold, a sandwich being served with Heinz tomato ketchup instead of the house sauce advertised on the menu, and a falafel pitta missing the falafel and half the vegetables!

Enough is enough - this feels contemptuous and insulting.

I have been a regular at Nelson's Coffee for several years now and a very loyal customer, but unfortunately I am no longer going to be...