Embers Cafe — Restaurant in England

I would like my review to be seen as an opportunity to grow rather than a full on complaint I am having a bit of a moan but the food is good there over all and the atmosphere is very nice. However, we have visited 3 times now and each time something goes wrong or isn’t right. (I don’t know why we keep coming back, I think it must be that the atmosphere is so good).

Our last visit was for breakfast. Firstly it didn’t say on the menu that the breakfast I ordered came with toast so I ordered extra toast and ended up with 3 pieces of toast because it did come with toast????? They could have told me when I was ordering but they didn’t.

They use kingsmill white bread which I know this is Shropshire but surely expecting more upmarket bread at Embers where they have a celebrity chef?

And my next point is probably just my personal taste, again though it wasn’t written anywhere on the menu, I love Avocado but I am anti-coriander so I couldn’t eat their avo creation because it had coriander in it.

They have some slightly unusual serving practices which makes you feel they’re lacking in experience, for example we asked at the beginning for a jug of water on the table. It was the last thing to come and they didn’t bring us any glasses until we had to point it out to them. And also they wait until we have left before clearing the table so when sat having a chat we had to talk around all our plates etc and my extra unnecessary plate of kingsmill toast.

I’d like to see a granary option or sourdough or both. That’s all I eat at home so when I come out to a nice cafe for breakfast I’d like to see at least my own standard or better.

Also as we walked out I overheard them offering a full refund for someone else’s breakfast 😬 don’t know what...

Let me preface this review that Embers is a 367 mile round trip for me, and having waited until I was in this neck of the woods to try it (still drove an hour specifically to eat here), I would be game for an all day trip out here again, simply to eat here another time.

I eat in some fancy and famous restaurants in an around the capital, but what Embers has done here outclasses many of them. I was aware of the terrific reputation of this place before going, but I wasn’t prepared for just how good it was. You know when you hear places are good so many times, and when you go there they rarely live up to the image in your head you’ve built up? That’s not Embers I’m pleased to say.

Everything is cooked over flame, and made from scratch, and it shows. We had the beefy lad, the Mexican torta and some sides of mac n cheese, smoked potatoes and chicken wings. The burger was firm but juicy, the potatoes crisp on the outside, buttery in the middle, the chicken wings had light crispy skins and soft juicy meat, and the rump steak sandwich has persuaded my fussy wife that rump when cooked well can be every bit as tender and juicy as a bit of rib eye. Wizardry I tell you!

The staff are all friendly and active, buzzing around keeping the place clean, making sure we were well attended and happy a couple of times during our meal, but never over bearing. I heard the boss was away at the time of my visit, so seeing the staff engaged the way they were was very reassuring that they all had pride in what they were doing and clearly the backbone of the business. You’d usually see employees sitting back a bit while the boss is away, but not here.

World class stuff. The owners should be proud. I hope they expand down...

Avoid at All Costs – Filthy, Chaotic, and Overrated.

We stopped at Embers Café during a trekking route through Shropshire, hoping for a bit of local charm and a quick meal. Unfortunately, it turned into one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had.

The building itself looks run-down and grotty, hardly inviting from the outside — but we still gave it a chance. Inside? Absolute chaos. The ambiance is noisy, disorganised, and not remotely relaxing.

The hygiene standards are appalling. The toilets were filthy, genuinely disgusting, and there were flies hovering around the cooking areas and walls. The floors looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in days, sticky and grimy underfoot. It’s the kind of place that makes you lose your appetite before the food even arrives.

Speaking of food — a complete disaster. We spent around £60, and it was the cheapest lesson we’ll ever learn. The “Beef Lad” burger was awful, dry and tasteless, and the chicken skewers were drenched in a terrible marinade that made them almost inedible. The whole place smelled bad, and now we’re just hoping we don’t end up with an upset stomach.

To make things worse, it’s apparently a “dog-friendly” café, which is fine — except even dogs leave a mess - yes that goes uncleaned. The only thing this place seems good for is the dogs!

If you just want a quick coffee or drink, maybe stop briefly — but honestly, there are plenty of better cafés and pubs nearby that actually care about cleanliness and customers.

How anyone gives this place 5 stars is beyond me. Avoid,...