Café Nucleus Rochester — Restaurant in Great Britain

I really wasn’t sure about this place at all. I am not convinced it knows what it is or what it’s target audience is. I wasn’t a huge fan of the over glam decor though I recognise that lots of people will love it and the atmosphere was stuffy.

I found the service from the start a tiny bit stiff and not very welcoming. This was compounded when we were sat in the middle of a section of tables that were a wedding party (we the only ones not involved) which was a bit odd, especially as we had booked days in advance. It made the atmosphere very odd indeed and I’m really not sure why they did that. Do not sit near the bar, the loud coffee machine or whatever it is, makes it impossible to hold a conversation and it really is an atmosphere killer.

The fussy menu is also not really for me (and I like many types of cuisine and styles) but who really wants a champagne dressing on a jacket potato? It’s all a bit try hard. It also seems overpriced and all just a bit odd, like it was designed by the marketing department, not by the chef. Wine pricing by the glass is also not good, especially for something that describes itself occasionally as a wine bar. Only 25p difference between small and medium glass of wine. Most wine oriented places are a bit more favourable with their pricing. Very weird and not transparent pricing structure, designed solely to get you to have a large glass (£10.50). I like to try lots of different glasses with my food and this put me off doing so as it was poor value and I wasn’t going to sit there at lunch time having several large glasses of wine with my sandwich (who is??). Ultimately for them I ended up spending not as much as I would have.

For me, the food was nice, it was fine, I had a croque Madame (I knew it was Madame because I was corrected by the waiter), and it was tasty, if a bit dry, but we are talking about cafe food and at £14.50 it doesn’t reflect that.

I wouldn’t go again. We often go to the Cheese Rooms and I’d say their menu is much more exciting and food orientated and better value too. There are better places on...

We have visited Cafe Nucleus in Rochester twice now and only found out about it for less than a month! The first time we booked was a fluke, we were looking to have breakfast outdoors somewhere and thought this looks nice, lets try. We were in for a treat! And I can officially say that in and around medway this is definitely my favourite place to have breakfast/brunch. I have always said the way staff treat you really makes or breaks a venue for me because there is so much choice around. Every single staff we have come across in this cafe is genuinely attentive and very friendly (but we particularly loved Ivan's vibe!). Lets start with the outdoors experience first: The trees and plants give it a tropical garden vibe and it it a very zen location. The outdoor decor is very nice and I loved the additional touch of having blankets on the chairs to wrap up in because everyone knows what the british weather is like! There is attention to even small details like the latte glass which is insulated keeping the drink warm outside whilst not burning your fingers. We tried the full english and the canadian breakfast on this trip and they were both very scrumptious!

On our next visit we opted to have a seat inside. The building is truly magnificent and the christmas tree next to the opulent fireplace definitely makes if feel elegant but cosy. This time we opted for the caviar with scrambled eggs breakfast and the beef with horseradish sandwich, both of which again was superb. I quite enjoyed the bloody mary too, very well spiced! And do not forget on your way out to have a look in the gallery which has some very interesting prints and original art pieces to admire and purchase. I think I am definitely getting one myself on my next trip.

Now for the only downside, I definitely advise to book in advance as they do not have many tables (especially indoors). Also the booking times are in around 1hr time slots and so you sort of are always on edge about having to leave.

FAO Mamagement: One of your staff Ivan really goes above and beyond! He really...

1at time there and all experience was such a disappointment. When you enter it feels so stuffed with things you can’t even walk properly. Feels like things are all over the place. As we got table outside so we haven’t seen much of interior which on photos looks beautiful and one of reasons I wanted to go there. Also day was quite cold but photos of “winter garden” where we were supposed to eat looked quite nice and cosy. As I read they will definitely make sure to keep you warm I thought let’s go for it. Well it was freezing. We had heater next to out table and girl who brought us there tried to switch it on but didn’t work she left and never came back. Place looked so sad and rundown with hanging curtains on one side..rest looked like a tent sort of..table was dirty in the middle where was just covered with wine list. I jacket potato with cheddar cheese and coleslaw. What I got was small sad looking potato with cheese on the side with salad and coleslaw. Potato should have been good size,piping hot so when you add cheese it melts but none of that happened. Honestly I had better jacket potato at the hospital than this place. My daughters food was so salty it was just ridiculous. I never mind to pay for something that I enjoyed but when you pay quite big bill for what you had and it was such a disappointment you feel robbed. I asked for bill girl brought it and left. Didn’t ask how do I want to pay or gave 0 instructions even though she could see we were getting ready to leave. Rochester have so many beautiful places to eat and amazing service I would say go there for tea but only if you can get table indoors,just to enjoy the interior . Rest is...