Café Grove — Restaurant in London

I live 5 minutes from this cafe and I used to regularly visit. I had a friend staying who was catching a train from the Station, the time was 12:25, their train was at 13:17.

I ordered 2 bacon sandwiches, 1 crispy, my friend does not like crispy bacon and so one not crispy, a cup of tea and a bottle of water. The woman at the till, was great, reiterated the order and said if we're sitting in would we prefer tap water and save on the cost, I thought that was fantastic of her.

Several of the tables that were seated after us then received their food before us, I rationalised, that they were cooking the bacon fresh, hence the delay.

My Tea arrived, no water ..... Our sandwiches arrived at 12:55, I reminded them of the water, the server apologised and brought over. She checked who the crispy bacon was for and gave it to me, placing the other in front of my friend.

My Bacon was crispy .... but cold, not that fresh then, bread was dry with the merest showing of the cheapest margarine .... My friend's was exactly the same, so I did wonder why she checked who wanted crispy.

As i had already paid at the till, without checking what the charge had been, I decided to look at my bank app., for 4 slices of bread, 4 slices of bacon, one small mug of tea .... I had been charged £18:35. !!!!!!!!

Passing the counter, on the way out, I noticed the elder lady, making the sandwiches/baguettes/panninis, wearing a latex glove on her left hand not on the right .... With her right hand (no glove), she was lifting the bread, moving the filings from one side to the other and then lifting the other slice back on top ..... Hmmmm, hygiene not a priority then.

I then remembered why it had been so long since I had been there.

Awful establishment .... Will never be settng foot in there again.

Avoid...

The worst lasagna I have ever had in my life. Far too many layers, basically a solid block of pasta, tasting of cheap greasy beef; no tomatoes or vegetables identified in the ragu. White sauce/cheese only on top. There's really no excuse at these prices. As with a lot of sandwich shops, the heaped fillings in the counter look somewhat sad and dry by late morning (just rotate 3-4, nobody is eating the dozen you put out, and keep them wrapped or something). Some staff may be fine but we were served by a woman unfamiliar with the till, or the menu, and who tried to charge tourists 50p for a plastic fork (she misheard her boss saying 15p, not for the first time according to reviews). The menu is too big to maintain any quality and nobody on staff seems to have any affinity with flavour or ingredients.

Response to owner: I stand by my review. Yes, another customer was charged for a fork. I saw it mentioned in a prior review before I and my friend decided to stop at the café, so I was quite amused when it happened again in front of me. The woman serving did not seem to be regular staff (perhaps family or someone helping out) and was friendly but not well trained behind the counter. She called over to a man (the owner? Perhaps you?) who was sitting with friends to ask how much you charge for forks. He replied 15p, which she heard and repeated as 50p. I think it was an extra charge because the customers had only ordered drinks. I wish your café every success, but my food was not remotely up to standard (a bit of iceberg, cucumber slices and tomato that have been out all morning is not a side-salad either). The lasagna was a huge portion - just halve it, and have someone learn to cook it (from a recipe, from scratch). Good luck...

We returned to Grove Café hoping for the same charm we once enjoyed, only to be met with a disastrous experience. Our order of the “Two Rowers Breakfast” took over forty minutes to arrive—and when it did, it was a culinary letdown. Each dish seemed to have been thrown into the microwave without thought; some elements arrived ice-cold while others scorched our taste buds with overdone heat. At a hefty price of £30, this was easily the worst breakfast we’ve ever had, and to make matters worse, both of us ended up with food poisoning the next day. Needless to say, we won’t...