The Fallow Deer — Restaurant in London

It's with some reluctance that I write this review and I take no pleasure in it.

Since moving to Teddington 13 years ago, The Fallow Deer has been a family favourite and a place we've never hesitated to take friends, relatives and collegues to, thanks to the great coffee and lovely food.

We signed the petition to keep it open (and encouraged others to) when it was threatened by closure from Richmond Council. It's great that Teddington's high street has well supported local businesses and for many years the Fallow Deer was the epitome of this.

However, there has been a notable recent shift in the cafe.

Others have mentioned changes in portion size, which sadly is a reality for many businesses in times of rising food costs. That's not our main concern.

The service has fallen off a cliff. I'm amazed to read that other recent visitors have had a good experience, when for some time ours has been at best mediocre and at worst outright terrible. I would wonder if it's just us if I was less confident that we are consistently polite and cheerful customers.

A couple of recent examples: Lunch with a friend who was buying. Ordered and waited over 45 minutes then enquired how long it would be. Firstly when I said how long we were waiting I was corrected (apparently I'd exagerrated by 5 minutes!). Was told (brusquely) that some fundamental ingredients had run out. When further asked how long it would be the response was rude and unhelpful to say the least. We left.

Popped in for coffee with a friend. Before ordering we discussed the possibility of having brunch. To describe the server as rude and uninterested throughout would be an understatement. Perhaps the standard service charge isn't going directly to them? To compound the issue, when we further enquired (from the barista) if we could have some milk for one of our coffees, we were told 'that's not how it comes'.

We didn't order brunch!

I could go on, but these are representative.

Who knows what's the source of our experience? Do the (ever changing) staff get any training in customer service? Does the owner care about overall morale and working environment?

You may conclude that we should have given up some time ago, but it's hard to turn your back on an old favourite. Fingers crossed that there's more attention paid to the experience of the regulars who've helped make the Fallow Deer so popular.

It's not as though there aren't other options in Teddington, with equally good food, coffee and much...

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