Strawberry Grove Marlow — Restaurant in England

We read online that this café was vegan-friendly, so we ventured here for breakfast. (This was October, I believe.)

We ordered a latte and a cappuccino with oat milk, specifying that we are vegan.

We also ordered the kids veggie breakfast without egg - again, specifying that we would like it suitable for vegans.

There weren't any vegan options that were listed on the website, so we just ordered a portion of chips each - providing they were also suitable for vegans.

They said they would check for us.

The cappuccino came with chocolate topping, so I asked if the topping was vegan and not milk chocolate. The server went to find out.

This took them over half an hour to find out.

All they needed to do was check the café allergen list (which is a legal requirement to have available - listing all allergens in their food & drink).

Meanwhile, our daughter's food arrived with cow's milk butter.

After almost forty-minutes, with us asking for updates several times, I went up to the counter to ask if they ever found out about the chips (as we needed to leave). They finally told us that they were cooked in vegetable oil and could be vegan. We cannot fathom how it taken so long.

Oh - the chocolate on the cappuccino turned out to have cow's milk in too.

Quite a worry if you have any allergies or intolerances.

The café wasn't busy.

Throughout, we felt like we were aliens and a complete inconvenience; we felt like we were asking for something unreasonable or unrealistic.

I can excuse the lack of knowledge or understanding, but the service was very poor and we felt unwelcome. They didn't add the service charge when I asked to pay, so that was decent enough.

I thought a place as expensive and 'up-market' as Marlow would be able to offer something for those that don't consume animals. There is barely anything.

Edit: (In response to Strawberry Grove's reply.)

I have made it clear that this review is for a visit back in October, as I am allowed to do so. It was not on Google Reviews - so I felt like it was fair to add this, to be fair to the other places I have reviewed in Marlow.

Yes, my experience of being vegan in Marlow has been mostly negative. My experience of Strawberry Grove, however, was by...

We went into the cafe yesterday during the bank holiday, and it was packed. None of the staff paid any attention to us, understandably because it was very busy. After waiting for a couple of minutes, I finally approached one of the waitresses to ask if there was any seats available for us as we'd love to dine in. She mentioned there wasn't any available and suggested that I take a walk for 10 minutes and then come back. I was with my baby, and it seemed like she didn't want me waiting around because my buggy was taking up room in the cafe. I understood that I had to wait, which was completely fine, but when I asked if I could leave my name or number, she said no. She told me to check back in 10 minutes, but no guarantees on whether a table was available by then, and it sounded like I was not allowed to wait in the premises because of my buggy taking up room. She then promptly ignored me and got back to working. I think a better seating system ought to be in place. If customers are made to wait, the least the cafe could do is to take down our names / numbers and let us know when a table is available for us, so that at least we know we are next in line. However, it seemed like there was no queuing system or waiting list at all. My friends who were with me then said they would wait while I took my baby for a walk. My friends then called me about 7 minutes later to say a table was available and to come back. The staff service after that was good and we didn't encounter any other issues. In terms of food, I really enjoyed the dishes overall. The poached egg was slightly overcooked with no runny yolk but regardless, I still enjoyed the food. The service was also very good after we were sat down. I loved the cafe setting, and enjoyed my time dining in there. If the initial seating arrangement was handled better, I would give this a 5/5. I understand that there are busy periods, and have no problems at all waiting for a table. However, I did feel like I wasn't valued as a customer, because I wasn't given any room to wait, couldn't even put my name down in the queue, or wasn't offered to be called back as soon as a table for...

I managed to visit this Exceptionally Beautiful and Charming and Glorious 5 Star Award Winning Cafe for the second time on 26/07/2025. When I managed to visit this Exceedingly Excellent 5 Star Award Winning Cafe on 26/07/2025 one of the young Waitresses whom took the order was very kind, courteous and very pleasant and extremely patient indeed and she also has an extremely lovely personality as well. On 26/07/2025 I managed to order Toast, with 2 Fried Eggs and Baked Beans with Sweet Potato Fries. In addition to that I ordered Halloumi Fries as well. All of the Staff whom were all working on 26/07/2025 in Collaboration with each other when I came to The Strawberry Grove on my second visit on 26/07/2025 were all Exceptionally Lovely and kind and courteous people themselves and also they all have Extremely lovely personalities as well. The Food I ordered on 26/07/2025 was very tasty and delicious and Beautiful indeed. All of the Staff whom all work in Collaboration with each other including The Owner of The Strawberry Grove in Marlow itself have all made The Strawberry Grove into a very well established Business with their hard work and dedication and they are all very inspirational people themselves indeed. In addition to that they all work very well together as a team. I also wanted to say that all of the Staff including the Owner of The Strawberry Grove once again have Extremely lovely personalities themselves and they are all Exceptionally Lovely People towards me themselves. All of the Staff whom were working on 26/07/2025 were all Exceptionally Lovely and kind and thoughtful and considerate and very caring people towards me themselves and they all looked after me very well to the very best of their ability. The Food Hygiene Rating's at The Strawberry Grove itself has Exceedingly Excellent 5 Star Food...