Pause Cat Café — Restaurant in Great Britain

I was really looking forward to my visit, as I had to book way in advance.

Upon entry, I noticed just how grubby the place was. Mismatch of wood and glass on a hap hazard frame seperated me from the cats. I had to sign an agreement, which I was happy to do. Then was taken through by nice girl who told us about each cat we happen to come across. We were shown to our seats, and a cat came across, promptly followed by a member of staff, who proceeded to entice the cat away. Upon looking around it became clear that there must be a member of staff to every cat in the room, guarding these felines against customers who have paid to come and see them.

The room looked half finished, the toilet, well they door has so many wood patches, that it no longer resembled a door.

Went downstairs, first thing you notice is the smell and the grime/dust. I know its a cafe full of cats, but if it was cleaned regularly it would not be as bad.

Went back up stairs and the drinks arrived. Overall coffee tasted good, but expensive for the amount that was served.

Then the food arrived in Ikea boxes with lids. I have bought same boxes for my son to keep his lego men in. I had a cheese and pickle sandwich at £6.80, now for that amount of money I expected a fairly decent sandwich. The bread was stale, cheese was hard due to being stale. Only the nachos were ediable.

Thats when more cats appeared. They were all trying to get the food. Thats when you suddenly realise that these cats are quite thin and they are starving hungry. Having 4 cats myself, I know the difference between a hungry cat and an opportunistic cat thief. You were watched as you ate by the cat guardians, who were there moving the cats instantly away.

Overall review. £2.80 - Coffee whilst nice really over priced for the amount you got. £6.80 - sandwich really not nice, not freshly made everything was stale. £5.00 - entry fee - goes towards cats up keep. Hmmmm lets see ... hungry skinny cats.....

Cleanless - I would give it 2 out of 5. Get a duster and mop out and clean your windows. Replace your toilet door with a real door.

Decor. Its a cat cafe, put up some cat pictures, cat pillows, sell cat objects etc...

Feed the cats more than you do. I felt bad that I was eating stale food and cats were longing and trying to swipe for food that I was trying so hard to eat out of the food boxes.

Get the cat guardians to back off a bit. Customers paid to see and interact more with the cats. Some trust in us would be nice. Your customers are all cat people.

Cats were all really nice and well behaved.

Would I recommend, I have to say no I would not. Would I come back, again no I would...

Absolutely loved my experience here! Such a cute little café and of course adorable cats. They are so cute! Enjoyed my iced coffee and loved how the food is vegan with lots of gluten free options. Unfortunately I had already ate before arriving so couldn't try the food this time but I'm excited to try on my next visit. You can tell how much the staff adore the cats and know all their habits and personality traits and they are happy to share any info on each of the cats if you ask. The staff were all really friendly and the lady that served us with short brown curly hair was so lovely. The cats have a wonderful environment, with lots of comfy beds, sooo many toys, scratching posts/pads, towers and even a built in climbing course all around the ceilings. You can tell they are all extremely content, well looked after and healthy. The atmosphere is really relaxed and calming which is great for the cats as well as those of us that get overstimulated. I would recommend to book the downstairs tables as this is where most of the cats are. However after ordering you are free to wander about wherever you like anyway so we did head downstairs after our drinks. The downstairs was fully booked so it was a little difficult at times to interact with the cats as there were a lots of people there, so there was quite a bit of standing around and waiting at some points. Will definitely book downstairs next time so that we can sit and chill. I would say don't come in expecting the cats to be extremely playful and approach you as they did mostly mind their business and weren't interested in playing with toys. Which is completely fine and totally normal/ expected cat behavior and the cats were more than happy to be stroked when we approached them. Although I'm sure at different times of the day will be more playful, I'm pretty sure they had just ate when we arrived so they were a little more sleepy. But don't get me wrong I very much enjoyed the experience and just being around them and watching the cats be cats was enough for me. It's just that some of the people I went with did expect the cats to be playful which is why I thought I'd mention it. Also think it's great that they offer placements to those with disabilities and learning difficulties, everyone deserves to thrive and get the support that this workplace offers. Many other businesses should...

We visited this Cat Cafe on our daughter's 18th Birthday as she loves cats. I also love cleanliness and wanted to take the sofa throws and cushion cases with me to wash at 60°C several times until they get the clean feeling.

How regularly are the fabrics being washed please?

Yes, there will be cats walking on the coffee table but with so many volunteers standing around surely it could be sanitised before drinks are served.

The wooden worktop around the sink in their kitchen has so much rot on it. Surely this must be a health and safety issue. Why install a wooden worktop when the people using it have no idea how to protect and care for it? Especially when in a commercial setting most staff don't care how much water and detergent they use or not use, which is sad of course.

With so many people visiting, the toilets should be thoroughly checked and given a clean at the toilet hinges, seat and rim and a complete dismantling of the toilet seat and soaking it in hot soapy water once a week at least. A quick check and some detergent thrown in the bowl won't get anyone very far.

I wouldn't go back if you paid me. If my daughter wants to go back, that's find by me but I doubt it as she loves cleanliness too.

If a cat cafe is synonymous with feelings of dirt, unwashed sofa coverings, flat thin cushions and no surface that's untouched by cats than no thank you for all eternity. I know that they will walk anywhere they like but it is nice to know where we did and put our drinks fown it is clean not just free of pathogens.

Plus in my experience cats love to eat freshly cooked chicken in a pot with fresh herbs, fish and fresh or freshly cooked food in general. I doubt anyone...