Weston Beach Cafe — Restaurant in England

It’s a sad world we live in - this was Lauren’s experience at the shameful Weston Beach Cafe today.

Please share and avoid in support.

Would definitely not recommend the Weston Beach Cafe!

Attempted to go in with my husband and our nephews today and was denied access due to having a Guide Dog.

I tried to explain my rights as a Guide Dog owner and after having to justify why I have a Guide Dog the woman said I was not welcome in the cafe and would have to sit outside in the cold.

We tried to explain the law to them by using my official Guide Dog access denial book but none of the staff in the cafe would read it or listen to the law. They sheepishly hid behind the counter and in the kitchen and walked away to avoid all conversation. They accepted my dog was a Guide Dog and refused entry regardless.

Access was refused on the basis it was unhygienic due to the carvery, this was despite the fact there was sufficient space at the opposite side of the cafe. This is in breach of the Equality Act of 2010.

My 8 year old nephew even chose to speak up and wanted to call the police saying “it wasn’t fair”. I will be taking all the appropriate legal action required and also want to urge you to think twice about whether this is a place you want to spend your money at.

Please support me and other Guide Dog owners by avoiding this place at all costs. I left feeling degraded and embarrassed. Avoid,...

Visited: 21/6/2017 HEADLINES Premises: Small cafe with indoor seating and veranda overlooking the beach. Clean. Staff: Polite but don't create a warm welcome Service: Reasonable but not overly efficient queuing system Menu: Nice range of cafe style meals Food: not tried but dishes/plates looked good

DETAIL This building was once a toilet block but don't let that put you off; it's had good conversion work to turn it into a reasonably sized cafe with with a veranda seating area as well that is above the beach. It is clean and air conditioned. For efficiency at peak times they have separate serving areas for take-away ice cream and another one for fish and chips.

The staff in the cafe part are there and are polite when they do speak but I could not use the word 'welcoming'. They have a system of queuing that runs the length a long counter with the till point at the far end (nearest the veranda). In the first few minutes of being there we saw two people being told where and how to queue. I mention this because, although it's a long counter, you can only order at the (one) till. So, efficiency for customer service does remove one of the stars.

The menu offers a nice range of cafe style food and, although we were only having a drink, the food dishes we did see looked very good. Prices were...

AVOID

This is a difficult one because the food was delicious, servers were brilliant, and the location was unparalleled. However, the way that the manager speaks to her staff is seriously concerning.

We witnessed the manager berating a very young member of staff over the length of her break - repeatedly stating her "legal entitlement". This interaction was not only loud and disruptive but also seemed unnecessarily harsh and humiliating for the staff member. The girl was young and from what I could see, she was definitely trying to do a good job. Plus, the cafe was not very busy.

After the conversation ended, I checked to ensure the girl was okay, as the situation was clearly distressing for her. I later approached the manager to express my concerns, explaining that while I enjoyed the food and the environment, the treatment of the staff member in front of customers was totally unacceptable. The manager attempted to justify her actions by mentioning that the staff member had received previous warnings, but this did not excuse the public humiliation she endured. From the other Google reviews, I can see that this has been noted by previous customers too so this was definitely not a one-off.

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, especially in a professional...