Ben & Ollie's Breakfast Bar — Restaurant in Hertsmere

What a noisy eatery this is. But fun. It has a lot to keep a teddy bear like me visually occupied. From the red and white granny clock, to various nick-knacks on the walls and shelves, you will have plenty to look at if you tire of human watching.

My human mummy and I shared a yummy toasted sarni of cheese, mushrooms and avocado, accompanied by a salad garnish including rocket and pomegranate seeds. I tend to think of pomegranate seeds as red teeth! The filling was tasty, yummy cheese with juicy mushroom and beautifully ripe avocado. The bread was a little basic but held together well.

My only real gripe was that when Mummy got up to take a photo of me with the Zeppelin hanging from the ceiling, the waiter tried to take our plate (with a very small amount of food left) away, even though we had placed out knife and fork in the still eating position. Mummy noticed and quickly informed him we’d not finished.

When a waitress came a few minutes later, she asked if we had finished. We had, and showed her and the waiter (who had tried to take our plate before), who was standing by her, the cutlery positions to indicate if one has finished eating or not. They took this in good nature. But I really do think that you human being creature things ought to know these things; especially if working in a restaurant or café. Teddy bears know, so why not humans?!

May I take this chance to inform readers that Mummy and I offer etiquette lessons, should you be so interested. It’s not every day you get etiquette lessons from a teddy bear!

Napkins are very small so make sure you are not a mucky pup that spills food on your lap!

Ben and Ollies have seating indoors and outdoors in the slip road. With tables in the centre of the café, there is not much space to navigate wheelchairs, mobility scooters and prams, but is possible. There is only one lavatory and it is accessible and has a baby changing table. Handy if you want to swap babies! There are highchairs, too.

I think the waitress named Rojin fancied me. She agreed I am a sexy teddy bear! Xxxx Clearly, she is a lady with...

Ben & Ollie’s is a great little place that serves from an expansive well accomplished menu.

On this occasion we came for breakfast, and we chose pancakes with bananas and pancakes with bacon (American).

Pancakes with bananas is a three stack of pancakes with chopped banana, strawberries, raspberry and blueberries.

The American exchanges the fruit for three rashers of bacon.

Maple syrup is provided and it’s all presented gorgeously on exotic plates.

The decor of this place is exemplary, it has an eclectic selection of memorabilia throughout the decades on the walls ranging from exotic clocks to retro tv’s through to 80s Spanish figurines of animals to biplanes and fire engines stuck on the wall. Amazing.

The lighting is great too, teacups hanging from the ceiling double as shades, as well as what look like Persian lamps hanging Superb look and feel.

The staff are great, very friendly, very smiley and always offering positive thoughts with every word. Such a great bunch of people. Will definitely coming back here for mains, as they serve a large hot selection of food up until 4:15pm, even though they close at 4:30, I was told they’d stay open for us to enjoy a meal. They’re that accommodating.

That’s a sign of a good...

2 additional visits and it is consistently good. Getting a table at weekend breakfast is not easy as the place is packed but wait is usually very short. Good stuff!

September 23: I've been craving a hearty fry-up for days, and after hearing great things about Ben & Ollie's, my Son and I decided to give it a try on a sunny weekend morning. We were greeted by a bustling atmosphere, but luckily, they had a cozy outdoor seating area where we could enjoy our breakfast and get some sunny vitamin-D.

The service was top-notch - our coffees and breakfasts arrived promptly, and the friendly staff made sure we had everything we needed. The presentation of the dishes was impressive, and the flavors were spot on. The eggs were cooked to perfection, and the bacon was crispy and delicious.

What's even more impressive is that Ben & Ollie's manages to strike a great balance between price and quality. While there are certainly cheaper options in the area, the quality of the food and the atmosphere made it well worth the extra cost. We'll definitely be back...