The Dispensary Coffee House + Eatery — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

The Dispensary describes itself as a ‘coffee shop’ but it’s much more than that which contributed to the excellent and surprising first visit (on only their second day). We were welcomed in a friendly manner and were given seats on a small table near the window, although squashed, it was fine and we were understanding due to how busy they were.

Throughout the waiters and waitresses were accommodating for all customers and regularly asked if their seats were okay and if they’d prefer a move to a different table if available. They were also very kind and friendly to an elderly lady who needed to sit down whilst a table opened up. The service was slower than I’d usually accept however understandable due to the ‘newness’ of the place. We also noted that they were training some members of staff ‘on the job’ in a calm and cool manner which was really nice to see and made us feel even more comfortable.

The decor was modern and the finished is polished... in line with their menu, which is experimental yet comforting as it offers unique twists on classics and familiar flavours with their more unique dishes. We opted for their dirty breakfast fries, shakshuka and eggs florentine. All plates were filling enough for a morning breakfast and ticked all the boxes regarding flavours.

I’d love to have a ‘sample option’ at The Dispensary... an opportunity to sample all plates on a given menu e.g the breakfast menu, for a set price in order to make a more educated choice next time.. they could all it ‘The pill box’ or ‘The Morning prescription’ to keep up the theme. Everything looks too good to choose between at the moment. I hope with the development around the area and the exciting menu, they continue to grow and stay relevant for all Tynesiders to enjoy for...

So we decided to visit this place today with the family. We called online to see if we needed to book. The guy said walk ins are allowed we said we are a family of 11 so he said we won't be able to give you a table for that big size buy we can split the tables so we said that was fine. So then we made a visit. Now mind you were are not from this city. So from out hotel made a 30 min drive to this place. As soon as we entered the guy at that was approaching us straightaway looked at my mum which made my mum say to me I don't think we will get a table. So we started talking to tye guy and without going any further we got a straight answer from him saying we don't have a table. So we said we are happy to wait the answer was still a no. Anything we said he basically was not willing to give a table giving excuses of it being fully booked. Despite the fact us mentioning we called before coming. Now whether or not I do feel that this was due to my mother wearing a head scarf and our skin colour. I may be judged for saying this but from the start he was very very rude to us. Very disrespectful. I general go to many good places and review alot of food places. Never have I experienced anything like this before! He was openly rude, disrespectful first on the phone he said we accept walk ins and u may have to wait a little. When we went there the answer was a straight up no. I'm sorry but I'm not having this. I will be taking this further. Through social and every method possible. The date of my visit was 27/08/23 around 10.20am. My mum was right she felt it from the start as soon as she walked in and the way he looked at her. I wouldn't ever...

I got a candy floss hot chocolate and biscoff french toast. Slightly disappointed that they had no creme eggs left for a creme egg hot chocolate as I love them! However the candyfloss hot chocolate was still intriguing. It tasted delicious, not too sweet so it was easy to drink. I wish the hot chocolate had been a little hotter though as it got cold pretty quick, I assume they make it to a certain temperature as you have to pour the hot chocolate yourself from a beaker like a fun science experiment to melt the candy floss. I arrived at 2pm for my booked table appointment and when my biscoff order came the waitress said they ran out of bread so I had one less bread slice than usual. I was certain I wouldn't finish the whole plate anyways but thought it was a bit strange that they ran out of bread, I assumed french toast would be quite a popular option. I wish they had an option for Nutella or biscoff waffles! Not too sure if I like the idea of chicken and waffles haha. Overall it was a decent experience and I will probably return in the future. It's certainly a place designed to take some good photos for Instagram if...