Stripy Duck Café & Bookshop — Restaurant in England

I came in today just for a quiet drink of tea and a read. Firstly, the woman behind the till didn’t even acknowledge me as she was on her phone. She then wasn’t sure if she had put my order through as she put it as cash. She asked me if I had online banking to which I said yes but not on my phone . She then asked if I could check if she put it through later on. I accepted this as I wouldn’t want to have not paid, I understood it was an error and I’m very patient with things like this. However she still proceeded to keep questioning why I didn’t have a banking app on my phone. I told her it was due to privacy but I do have access to online banking on my laptop and I would look when I got home and tell her if it didn’t go through. She kept on questioning and making me feel uncomfortable even though it was her mistake. I haven’t been having a brilliant time recently, so I just wanted to sit and be calm. I asked her if I could read a book to which she said yes. I started to read and on numerous occasions she kept coming over and grabbing my arm, telling me that I need to be careful with the book. I am always very careful with how I read books and I never bend the pages. I was very respectful with the book and said to her that I wasn’t bending it back like she was saying. However, she kept on and on coming over and grabbing me to which I stood up and put the book back. She started to shout at me saying that most people ask to read which I did when I came in. I just wanted a quiet read and instead I was harassed and made to feel 100 times worse. I work in mental health and if any of our service users was in this situation they would be extremely upset and confused. AVOID...

I stopped for a coffee on my cycle from Lands End to Lowestoft in early May 2023, I had a most enjoyable chat with a fellow patron John who recommended A human Heart by William Boyd. I have just finished it and really enjoyed it, and wanted to say thank you, to John and to the proprietor for having the book on her shelves. I hope John also enjoyed my pick of The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. I finished my cycle (523miles in the end) and raised £5,000 for CRUK. Heartfelt thank you for your wonderful cafe bookshop. Cheers...

DO NOT believe the stars - this is indicatlive of the type of people who go here and want to be polite. Let's be honest - this is a nice place to sit down, And perhaps get ripped off for coffee. But do NOT eat here. Eight quid for a coin-sized mushroom tart that the owner got from the nearby bakery for 3.50? And no option to even heat it up. Absolute con artists. I'm sure the place they got it from can't be too pleased either....