Damsons Coffee House — Restaurant in Erewash

Very disappointed and not the best first impression!! With this cafe being new to the area we thought we'd give it a try. It looked nice on the website so we came down for a 30th birthday treat! When we arrived it was full inside so a waiter Inside said we could wait outside and he'd come & get us when a table was free. We waited for bit and at this point no one had come out check we was OK or to offer us a drink whilst we waited. I then went inside to check on the table situation, noticed there was one free and asked if we could move inside now. The same waiter said that was fine and said he'd bring over a menu to us shortly. Again we waited for a while and no one brought us a menu over or again offered us a drink whilst we waited! I even went up to counter to see if we could order drinks there but the lady said the waiter would take our order at the table. Meanwhile a customer came in, the owner clearly knew her as he went straight over to her, ask how she was and they chatted for abit .. He then offered to get her a drink and a gave her a menu!! And within 5 mins she had a drink! We couldn't believe it.

We could see that they were busy and didn't want to turn people away, but we got the feeling we was being ignored and by serving a lady almost instantly after we had been waiting a total of 40 mins (not exaggerated either) it was at that point we decided go leave.

I'm unsure if we'll be back to be honest, and it's a shame as I live...

Enjoyed a really nice and substantial meal off their lunch menu. My wife had their "posh kebab" (chicken in a home-made crispy coating in a naan with salad and red cabbage something or other and sweet chilli sauce) and I had their "smash burger" (a clearly home made pattie with American cheese and usual salad/pickle and chef's own "bacon jam"!!). The portions were excellent and the fries were really nicely seasoned with salt and... I dunno... something green. The features were delicious. The "bacon jam" was right up my street but was perhaps so sweet as to not suit all tastes. I'd go back for more. Coffees were delicious and washed down the cake (white chocolate and raspberry and an almond and cherry slice) nicely, even though they were so light and moist as to not need washing down. Staff were really chatty and happy, including the owner who is proud of his Italian heritage.

Would recommend and will...

I despise bad publicity but this is definitely called for.

We made a detour to visit this quaint area of Derby, but we were not made to feel welcome at all, in fact, made to feel like a hindrance. There were several empty tables and one reserved at the time.

Benefit of the doubt given....

We sat and we waited. In the end, we had to ask for a menu and the response given was, 'easy tiger!' In what context, I'll never know and do not wish to.

If I wasn't polite I would have made a scene.

Advice:

Visitors: if you are not adorned in Gucci or like the colour grey then don't bother. However, looks are deceiving!

Business: Those you may think don't fit your facade are those you should be welcoming open arms and cherishing.

Delicious food and nice drinks, but the service was...