GAIL's Bakery South Woodford — Restaurant in London

Comically bad verging on the criminal. GAILS HQ needs to re-evaluate the whole opperation.

Where do I start?! As stated, service and delivery was cosmically bad. We ordered a pot of tea, a black coffee, 2x baked eggs and toast. First off, they had no bacon, so disappointedly elected smoked salmon for one order. Drinks took a very long time even though just 1 order in front of us. The tea was luke warm, and I had to send the coffee back straight away as it was so weak I could practically see the bottom of the cup. The second making wasn't much better... HOWEVER, the fun was only just starting.

THE FOOD; The kitchen is open, so you can see everything that is going on, we had front row seats too. The "chef" (not sure what else to call her) was cutting crazily thick slices bread, which she then proceeded to jam into the toaster. Unsurprising, these inches thick slices of bread got stuck in the toaster and started to burn. As a result, the chef and 1 other member of staff then spent the next 10-15 mins attempting to remove the burn toasts from the toaster, which they did in fragments and with progressively more elaborate tools (btw sticking knives and fingers in an electric toaster isn't a great idea). Eventually, they gave up, and the method for toasting bread from then on was tuning the toaster on, with the remaining bread come charcoal still jammed in the toaster, burning and smoking away, AND THEN just laying bread on top of the toaster! Mind blown. So, all this time, I can only assume our baked eggs were baking away in the oven, as when they did bring them over, the eggs were cooked to oblivion. I imeaditaly pointed this out and the 'Chef' said something along the lines of "don't you like them like that?" and that the "oven was broken/temperamental, " to which I said,"No, i dont like eggs totally over cooked" and that they had to be made again.

Only one order of the toast arrived, and due to the afore mentioned technique of preparing it on top if the toaster which was pouring out black smoke, they had achivied the seemingly impossible feat of the toast NOT actually being toasted BUT tasting and smelling of burnt toast! Bravo. The salmon did arrive on a separate plate, in a big lump, not separated out or prepared in any meaningful way, with a dry, sad and very seedy slice of lemon... zero for effort on this one too.

Not long after watching her attempting to make it all over again, where now burnt toast was being scraped with a knife to remove the burnt crust, before being sent out, and after being in there for 30-40 mins already, I quite rightly asked for a refund, and not to bother with the food. We sat in there for another 10-15 mins in disbelief that things could be run so badly... Then we left without actually having breakfast. I drove home and made breakfast, which was now lunch. Not a great way to start a Saturday.

NOTE: We go to many Gail's, Greenwich, Soho, Spittilfilds etc, and love gails. South woodfords, IS NOT A GAILS! Gails HQ serious need to go there and reasses what they are doing and how they are damaging your brand. The place was also dirty and very noisy and just not...

I’ve been coming to this Gail’s branch for nearly 2 years, and it’s safe to say I will never be visiting again.

The usual staff are always really nice but there was a new manager today who I’ve never seen before but claimed to work there for 2 years called marta (Caribbean looking lady). She was so rude to me and my partner.

She told us we can’t do click and collect and have our drink inside which they’ve never had issues doing before. I have a toddler and if he decides to kick off I need to run out with my drink, so can’t always sit in! She then told us we should be lining up as the queues are not bad and not ordering on the app. The queue on a Sunday morning is usually horrendous! What is the point of having an app to offer a click and collect feature if you can’t use it because managers don’t like it??! She should take this up with the Gail’s marketing department if she has such a problem doing this.

Her general attitude to customers was so poor, I went to get a sourdough loaf and she messed up another man’s order whilst I was standing there too. Even he looked really frustrated. It looked empty today, she has probably pushed away all customers with this poor attitude. The whole point of working in a customer facing environment is you’re supposed to be friendly and engaging etc. unfortunately this wasn’t the case and maybe she needs to get a job where she doesn’t deal with people. Safe to say she ruined our Sunday breakfast and has totally put me off ever wanting to come back here. Despite the fact we’ve been coming nearly every single Sunday for 18m. Even the other staff looked miserable probably because of her management skills (or lack of)

It’s a shame as the food and coffee is usually 10/10 but the lack of service puts people off and they won’t come back.

Reading through some of these reviews it seems the staff at this branch has seriously gone downhill and is going to cost a lot of business. Head office really need to...

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

Oh, Gail's Bakery in South Woodford, you've certainly left us with an experience worth sharing! Our adventure began when we stumbled upon an app promotion that promised free coffee with our order. Who could resist such a tempting offer? We decided to go all out and ordered a glorious assortment of pastries and cookies to accompany our complimentary cups of Joe. Buckle up, folks, because this review is about to get a little wild!

First off, let's talk about the pastries. Gail's, you have certainly mastered the art of seducing our taste buds with your buttery, flaky creations. From the moment we sank our teeth into those croissants, the world suddenly made sense again. Each bite was like a small explosion of joy in our mouths, with layers so delicate they made us feel like we were floating on a cloud of deliciousness.

And let's not forget the pain au chocolat—those chocolate-filled wonders transported us to a state of pure bliss. We may or may not have shed a tear or two out of sheer pastry-induced happiness.

Now, let's move on to the cookies. Gail's, you sly little devils, you know how to bake a cookie that's so good it could lead to an existential crisis. We tried the classic chocolate chip, and it was a taste sensation that made us question the meaning of life. How could something so simple be so utterly divine? The perfect balance of chewiness and crunchiness left us in a cookie-induced stupor, contemplating the mysteries of the universe between each glorious bite. Suffice it to say; those cookies were the real deal!

But let's not forget the main star of the show—the free coffee courtesy of the app promotion. We have to commend Gail's for their clever...