The Old Curiosity Cafe — Restaurant in England

My family and I visited Curiosity Café a few days ago, having previously enjoyed our experiences there. We had been impressed by the excellent service and the variety of food when the café first opened. During a subsequent visit, the service was slower but still acceptable. Unfortunately, our most recent visit left us quite disappointed, especially as we had chosen this café to host family visiting from abroad.

There were seven of us, and we ordered a variety of hot drinks, cakes, and food, spending over £60 in total. However, the service was unacceptably slow, with drinks and food arriving at staggered times. By the time some of us received our orders, others had already finished eating.

One of the key issues was with our orders being incorrect. My niece had ordered the “Under the Sea” croissant but was served cheese and ham sandwiches instead. While the staff eventually corrected this mistake, it took some time for the proper order to arrive.

I personally ordered a croissant with melted cheese, which I had specifically requested at the till. I even referenced a prior visit where the staff had kindly accommodated this request for my daughter. However, when my order arrived, it was a plain, cold croissant served with two slabs of butter. When I raised the issue at the till, a staff member informed me that they didn’t have such an item on the menu and said I should have been more specific. I explained that the breakfast croissant on the menu included ham and tomatoes, which I did not want, and that I had clearly requested a cheese croissant without these additions. Despite this, another staff member suggested I pay the price difference for the breakfast croissant if I wanted them to make my order.

Waiting over 30 minutes for a cold croissant—and then being told to pay extra for something I hadn’t ordered—was frustrating and, frankly, rude. For a small business, customer service should be a priority, as it’s what keeps customers coming back.

This visit was unfortunately a letdown, and the decline in service quality is a shame for a café we had once loved. I hope the management takes these concerns seriously and works on improving efficiency and...

Ordered 1 salad and 2 sandwiches at 12:35 on a weekday. We patiently waited for our food to arrive whilst watching other diners arrive after us, order, eat and leave. I was somewhat confused as to why our order was taking so long. After 45 minutes of waiting I asked why was it taking so long bearing in mind I watched people come and go only to be told, "It's Not True. The other diners arrived before you". The staff really need to go to Specsavers if they are totally aware on whom comes and goes as I had a clear view on the comings and goings of fellow diners. There was no apology whatsoever and was shown my till receipt which was time and date stamped as if 45 minutes was an acceptable time to wait for a salad and 2 sandwiches. It's such a shame as this was our second visit there and we were looking forward to it. The worst thing that upset me was that despite I was a customer, my honesty and integrity was questioned when I said that other diners whom had arrived after us were served their orders and had left whilst during this 45 minute wait we were still waiting for our food. We were planning on ordering a sweet for after our mains however this experience left a sour taste in my mouth and decided not to. After raising the complaint about why our order was taking so long it swiftly arrived. We were not impressed with the standard of food for the price. One example was the smoked Tofu on Rye bread. This consisted of 1 thin slice of shop bought Rye bread, 3 slices of Tofu covered with cress to make it look more than what it was. I'm sorry to say this was not worth £8.50. Thank you for a lovely experience. I was curious on how good the food and service was and the Old Curiosity Cafe failed...

I absolutely adore this place! Definitely my favourite café in the whole Bedford and surrounding area. If I could, I would eat here every single day! I love the setting and the ambience of the café, it is absolutely magical and you can feel at peace while indulging in absolutely amazing food and drinks. I can bring my laptop (plugs and WiFi available) and work on it while still enjoying the absolute calming atmosphere of this café. The choice of music in the background is also absolutely great - and I'm generally difficult to please! But the variety is just absolutely perfect. The food is delicious - from the savouries to the stunning cakes. There's also a huge variety of cold and hot drinks - I can't even decide which is best. You can pick up a book and read it. There are also some boardgames that you can play with and for the little ones - coloured pencils to colour with and Legos!

There's also an area with free tap water where you can fill your glass as many times as you wish.

I normally don't like going to cafés on my own, but the feeling of this café is special. You feel at home from the very moment you walk in. The staff is always ready to help and always serving you with a smile.. which is not easy to see nowadays. I love watching the staff members laughing among themselves, you can really sense there's great team work behind the scenes and family like atmosphere. If you're in Bedford - this place is a must see! You have to try and taste everything on their menu. It will take you a while, but it will...