The Aerodrome Café — Restaurant in Hertsmere

What a treat! Not sure where to begin. I’ve been eating here now for several months and enjoyed their various dishes on the menu. Had the beef lasagna today and it was simply delicious. Came with fries and a side salad. Jean-Luc’s lasagna was served just how I like it; the cheese wasn’t runny or overwhelming, the pasta sheets were delictable and the beef tasty. His spaghetti bolognaise is generous and served just right. This is a dish I’ll be ordering again next time. It’s unforgettable. In fact all of the food I’ve enjoyed here is deliciously unforgettable. His omelettes taste like something you would find in a famed French eatery. Maybe that’s what I’ll get next time ! The Air Burger is fantastic. So is the Breaded Chicken Breast Burger - both served in a delicious brioche bun. If you desire something with a spicy kick the Warm Chipotle Chicken Wrap will deliver. As expected the Full English Breakfast is wonderful.

A must have are the Sunday Roasts. I’ve never had a better beef or chicken roast. Served to perfection. Come to think of it one of those will be what I get next. Last but not least is the cafe’s grand speciality: it’s INCREDIBLE cakes and puddings desserts etc. The Bread & Butter pudding ? Impossible to forget. The pistachio cake? Unforgettable. The cheesecakes ? The best I’ve ever had.

The staff are all very accommodating and friendly as are the lovely owners Jean-Luc and Colleen.

Bon Appétit and Straighten Up...

I'm quite shocked how slow and unorganised the current staff is. Each time I'm making an order (always an extremely simple one: milk tea, cheese & ham sandwich), I have to wait for it for about 20 min to find out nothing was done.

Visit #1: sandwich to go. For some reason they put into a huge box and didn't toast. Fair enough - I didn't clarify. But I never used to. It was always toasted by default and packed in an easy wrapper. Fine. I made a decision to be more specific going forward.

Visit #2: ordered tea and sandwich. Sitting at the table, waiting for my sandwich. 15 min tea is gone, still waiting for sandwich. Checked 3 times. Finally someone brought it.

Visit #3: ordering peppermint tea and milk tea. Standing just next to the till waiting for it to be done. Nobody else in the cafe. For some reason it took more than 7 minutes. Not sure why! I did most of the stuff myself in the end.

Visit #4: milk tea, peppermint tea, orange juice. Asked to bring to the table once done. 15 min later still no sign of them. Asked to make them. They were not sure what was my order.

Honestly, next time I'm going to watch every single step just to crack the case. Why is it taking so long?! Why they always forget orders, get them wrong, slow things down?

Very unhappy because my order is always awfully simple but...

I have been visiting the aerodrome since I was a little boy, fast forward 35 years now I visit with my own little ones. We went last week and sat in the lovely weather, the tables outside are great, knowing the leisure and retail business, I know a thing or two. My tips are, the staff are great especially the very young man today, all of the staff are friendly and helpful, the owner is really lovely, the gentleman on the till today, didn't say please or thank you and it was like he was doing me a favour when we spent nearly £50 on lunch. We decided to give the cafe a second try today and the food today wasn't as good as last Sunday but I think there was a different chef today. The omelette last Sunday was amazing, today was nothing special. I've given it 5 stars and all the recommendations possible but today the gentleman let the cafe down. Maybe he was having a bad day, your staff are your most important asset, manners and a smile costs nothing and the repeat business you'll get is worth it. Other than that really lovely. The staff are so helpful and good with the kids. We are local so we'll definitely...