Brew Room Cafe — Restaurant in Great Britain

A Promising Setting Let Down by Poor Service and Substandard Cooking

On first glance, this establishment presents well. The interior is pleasant enough, and the location will no doubt continue to draw steady trade from tourists. Unfortunately, our visit revealed a series of service missteps and kitchen shortcomings that suggest complacency born of guaranteed footfall.

Upon arrival, we were met with a sign instructing guests to wait to be seated. We did so, only to be left standing awkwardly while staff passed by, seemingly unbothered. When one eventually approached, it was not to greet us but to question why we were standing there — a baffling response to the very protocol their signage requested. It was a minor error that, handled graciously, would have been easily overlooked. Instead, the defensive attitude left a sour first impression.

Table service, it turned out, was non-existent, raising the question of why such a sign was there at all. Matters worsened when our order — a meaty English breakfast and a pot of tea — arrived with agonising slowness. Tea, perhaps the simplest order imaginable, appeared after 20 minutes in a half-empty café with no obvious demands on the coffee machine. The breakfast itself took a full hour to arrive.

When it finally did, a promise to fetch cutlery was forgotten as the waitress resumed a casual chat with a colleague. We retrieved our own.

As for the food, it was, regrettably, no redemption. The bacon had been cooked to the texture of jerky, mushrooms rendered almost unrecognisable by what seemed to be deep frying, and the fried egg was scorched. The overall impression was of a kitchen either indifferent to quality or lacking the basic techniques expected of even modest cafés.

It’s a particular shame because this venue, frequented by visitors unfamiliar with the area, will likely remain busy enough to excuse these persistent issues. As regular visitors to the area ourselves, we won’t be returning — not until evidence of genuine care replaces the current air of...

My partner and I stopped off here with our baby, for a bite to eat and a cup of tea the other day and I must say it was everything we wanted and more. They're dog friendly which is a requirement for us being dog owners and as parents of a little one they have an excellent baby changing station that is fully stocked with nappy, wipes and cotton wool. The food was good, and service was quick, and the staff were nothing but polite and friendly at all times. There is an excellent selection of teas available here and served in bone china which was a bonus for my partner as she likes to drink tea in a proper bone china teacup. I highly recommend this cafe, even more so if you're parents as I doubt you will find anywhere better without paying more.

One thing I would add for the owner is have you thought of adding gherkins to the new yorker loaded fries? An essential on anything New York and would go very well on the dish...

My wife and I had breakfast here this morning. My phone battery was down to a few percent so I asked if there was a wall socket I could plug my charger into. The barista said no, that’s not allowed, because of “inflation”. This got me thinking. The power required to fully charge my iPhone 14 is about 5 watt-hours (Wh). In July 2024, the average price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) was 22.4p. So fully charging my phone would have cost the cafe 0.1p (a tenth of a penny). I would have happily paid the cafe £1 to charge my phone. This would have been a 1000x markup for the cafe - a great business opportunity. Sadly however I am unlikely to return to this cafe as I will always remember it as the place that wouldn’t spend the 0.1p to charge my phone. (I do feel better knowing that I did a poop in their bathroom and according to my estimates the toilet paper I used cost them around...