Thoughtfully Cafe — Restaurant in Liverpool

Before getting onto the everyday stuff that has gone drastically downhill, the main reason for a review is that I have personally overheard one of the owners loudly using ableist language and laughing. I’ve also overheard a conversation alleging homophobic language and insults from the owners. It is definitely somewhere I cannot support from now on. This is a great example of how new owners can come in and completely ruin a company and 'brand' within a very short space of time. I've been a customer of Thoughtfully for about 6 or 7 years now, I go there to work most days, to socialise with friends and family, have become friends with people who have worked there. It's been a safe space, a good community café. New owners have come in and within the space of 2-3 months it has gone downhill dramatically. They have lost every single member of staff, along with a few who have started working there since they took over. The atmosphere changed quite quickly, and this transmits to the regular customers, as you would regularly overhear staff talking about issues with pay and tips being withheld, suppliers coming in and asking why they hadn't been paid, a lack of cleanliness and disregard for the neighbours that live around the café. It was somewhere I would regularly eat but in recent weeks there has often been a smell of drains in there, staff members that clearly haven’t got a clue about food hygiene (one member of staff was wearing the same glove for hours at a time, to cook, to wipe down tables, to go outside on their phone, to smoke). Bad management and a lack of clear leadership will only lead to something like this happening, as an unhappy workplace comes across to the customers and it’s not a happy place to visit. It’s a real shame what’s happened to the place, very...

I came here 3 times. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't recommend it. The cafe looks very dirty inside, the inside tables are all stained with spilt tea and coffee (something easily cleaned with the pink stuff or bleach etc). The floors are dirty. The coffee I received on all 3 times, was nice (but over priced!), and it was barely luke warm each time- you know when you drink a coffee and by the time you get to the bottom it's cold? Yeah, that's how it was served all 3 times! The seat cushions looked like they have never been washed ever. And the inside table and chairs are terrible.. they're basically outdoor sets but they are using them indoor (very uncomfortable and wonky). There's many plants in there but they are all dead or dying a very slow death (much like the paper menu's!). I don't like that the outdoor table isn't many tables, instead it's combined into one giant table, because I don't want to join other people, but also, it makes parts of the table inaccessible if people are already seated. For sure, the place is over priced when you see the inside, it's the same prices as Nero or Costa, but without cause! The barista strawberry blonde haired girl was chatting with her friends all 3 times I was there... which is fine I guess.. except the cafe needs some serious basic cleaning, and her focus needed to be elsewhere (I heard her comment to her friends how bored she is on these slow days.. yikes). I drank my coffee as fast as I could, because if I stayed any longer, I would have started...

After e-mailing and submitting a review (1star) on google and on Trip advisor and not hearing back for a week I tweeted at the company and eventually received a reply a couple of days later.

We were awarded the refund of being overcharged which they explained that this was for speciality bread (although we did not have speciality bread, nor were offered or requested it, we were actually told there was only one type of bread on offer). If there is an extra charge for bread when ordering a sandwich this needs to be made clear on the menu...

They refunded us this sandwich completely so the Liverpool Independent discount was not added, they didn't refund the burnt croissant however. They also offered us two coffees on the house so we could go back and see if it was any better.

We ordered an americano and a cappucino, the coffee was quite nice. There was still broken furniture and clutter infront of the doors when we arrived but the staff were very friendly this time and welcoming (before and despite mentioning I was there for a refund). I still wouldn't come back to eat though guys, but the coffee is not bad, overall an...