Butterfly Cabinet — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

Google Review: The Butterfly Cabinet – Lunch/Breakfast Visit

Visit time: 11:45 AM Date: 19/05/2025

The Butterfly Cabinet is aesthetically pleasing, with a wonderfully eccentric mix of décor. It feels like stepping into a British-colonised tropical village in the 1920s under the British Empire—British tea meets tropical adventure. A unique vibe I really enjoyed.

What I ordered: • USA breakfast: pancakes, sausages, bacon, hash brown, and syrup • Caramel latte • Apple juice

There’s a huge menu selection, and from what I saw on other tables, all dishes looked well-presented. My own was plated well. One pot of syrup was provided, which felt slightly small—though that might just be personal preference, as I like my USA breakfasts with plenty of syrup to avoid dryness. I asked for more and was given another, though later found out I was charged £1.50 for it, which felt a bit steep (especially since I wasn’t told there’d be a charge). That said, it’s fair to assume extras may be charged.

Service: The restaurant was quite busy, but I was seated straight away and didn’t feel like I waited long for food. The team were kind and approachable, especially when I needed extra syrup. However, there was no check-back from start to finish. A few staff members passed by as I was clearly finished but didn’t engage. It didn’t feel like I was being ignored—more like a case of inexperience or being too rushed. A quick check-in could’ve also opened the door to upselling another drink or dessert, which is a missed opportunity from a business standpoint.

Drinks: • The caramel latte was smooth, creamy, and well presented. • The apple juice tasted cheap—likely concentrated. I’d recommend switching to a higher quality or more natural juice, as it didn’t match the quality of the rest of the meal.

Other Notes: • Toilet facilities are available but I didn’t use them, so I can’t comment. • Both card and cash payments are accepted. • The bill came to £23.

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Overall: A great little spot with character and charm. The food was excellent, the team friendly, and the choice of dishes impressive. A bit more attentiveness from the staff and clearer communication around extra charges would really lift the experience.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Lost a star for the apple juice, unmentioned syrup charge, and lack of check-ins...

Rude Blonde staff member!

We picked here as we enjoyed the food here before and we had family visiting which we thought would be a nice place to go for brunch. After calling to check if they could accommodate a party of 9 to be told they’re chilled and to head down, we left straight away to get down there.

On arriving they said it was going to be at least a 20 minute wait which we were happy to wait. Even though there were multiple tables of 4 free and 4 people who had just got there were sat on a long table (that we could have sat on). A brunette lady said to the blonde shall we move them to the blonde girl saying no.

While waiting there was only myself and partner standing inside due to the heavy rain, a blonde girl came over and asked for us to stand outside which we obliged due to the small entrance. We stood outside for 30 minutes during this time they continued to allow other parties (fair enough 2,3, 4 and even 5) due to being soaking wet and also we had been waiting 30 minutes we went back in to find out if we were close to being seated and also to let them know we were happy to spilt onto different tables if that makes things easier for us to be seated.

The same blonde girl stared at us from behind the counter and continued to stand there for 5 minutes. She then eventually came over to us she was very rude and said “I told you to stand outside” I responded with we’re just wondering how much longer the wait will be and that we were happy to spilt. She the said she can’t sit 5 people due to health and safety and needing to keep walk ways clear. (Even though they sat a party of 5, 10 minutes before this!) I asked again how long as it’s been 30 minutes to which she replied I told you at least 20 minutes. Not giving us any other time on how much longer we could be waiting.

After this encounter from the blonde lady we left as we didn’t feel they wanted our custom. It’s a shame really as she wasn’t willing to give us a time scale due to her be a very stuck up...

The best vegetarian breakfast I’ve had so far! A lot of places seem to assume that vegetarians / vegans mustn’t like the taste of meat so emit imitation sausages / bacon for a plate full of greens instead, at which point ceases to be a Full English in my opinion. Whilst I appreciate there are vegetarians / vegans that don’t like the taste of meat, or can’t detach it from the animals / don’t want to be reminded, there are plenty of us that love the taste, and want that but minus the loss of an animal, there should at least be the option which Butterfly Cabinet offers. The fake bacon that’s somehow hard to find in a cafe despite being in every supermarket was really nice. The sausages were good though I think the Richmond ones are far superior to Quorn. The eggs were done perfectly, a sea of golden yolk that my toast decided to skinny dip in. Everything else was superb except the potato scones which weren’t bad, I just didn’t care for. Decent price considering the portion. The latte was also surprisingly delicious, I perhaps unfairly always expect coffees from cafes rather than coffee shops to be mediocre. Possibly the biggest variety of syrups I’ve ever seen. Popcorn syrup? Certainly a first for me, I just had to try it which I did not regret, it did actually taste like popcorn, and was not sickly sweet. My only negatives are that the staff weren’t particularly welcoming or friendly, took quite a while for them to come over, and whilst I appreciate the old aesthetic and vastly prefer it to modern minimalism, it didn’t feel the cleanest. Overall though a very positive experience, I strongly recommend it, and will...